Buzzflash: A Democratic Deterrent against the Politics of Fear

[demobabe]

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Peter Michaelson

Rudy Giuliani has unveiled his presidential campaign strategy: He will pursue the Republican Party's goal of encouraging Americans to be fearful, thereby weakening the country.

Giuliani didn't reveal his strategy in such forthright terms. Nonetheless, he practically paraphrased Gordon Gekko's famous saying, "Greed is good," from the 1987 movie "Wall Street." In Giuliani's worldview, fear is good if it keeps a Democrat from becoming president. A Democratic president, the front-running Republican said last week, would "wave the white flag" in Iraq, put us back on defense, and cause greater loss of life.

The Democrats are prepared for this line of attack. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) quickly retorted that Giuliani had taken the politics of fear to a new low. However, Democrats can say a lot more to the American people about why this Republican line of attack is a verbal assault upon us all.

When fear is used as a political tool, that generated fear isn't directed solely at terrorists or political opponents. It spreads indiscriminately into the nation's social fabric. Before terrorism, Republicans used both fear of communism and crime as their tickets to power. Handguns, security systems, guards, gated communities, surveillance cameras, and domestic spying all proliferated. The support of fearful citizens enabled Pentagon budgets to increase, facilitated our production of weapons of mass destruction, and blasted a gaping hole in our privacy.

To put an end to the politics of fear, we need to understand the nature of irrational fear...

Full article here: http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/979

[sam sarrha]

1. has no shame and sometimes no pants.. admit you're gay rudy.. you dont have to dress like a woman to

get a man, 'gay is OK'... your Marylin is ugly even at closing time,

[demobabe]

2. kick

:kick: