One Trick Pony

Playing Politics with Terror
...It's the only strategy they have left

(Actually, it's the only strategy they ever had.)

Think about it: you're eight months into office and you've decided to pretty much blow off all warnings by the previous administration because, well hell, they're DEMONCRATS who can't keep their pants zippered and you've got you're shiny new neo-con theories. You TOTALLY FLAKE on warnings that bin Laden is determined to strike within the US, cause baby, it's VACATION TIME and there's brush to be cleared. And then, the unthinkable happens -- well not really unthinkable, you were fucking WARNED -- the largest terrorist attack on American soil occurs ON YOUR WATCH.




Watcha gonna do?

Well, for the first couple years, you don't have to worry. America is scared shitless. The opposition party Democrats will do anything you ask -- hell you don't even have to ask -- they are unified behind you almost to a man.

But then, you keep fucking up.

You outsource the capture of bin Laden to warlords and he gets away. You pull troops out of Afghanistan to go to your misadventure in Iraq. You don't plan for an insurgency and now you're bogged down in an ugly civil war in Iraq and Afghanistan ain't looking much better. Meanwhile, everything else goes in the shitter as well -- Katrina, the economy, gas prices -- pretty soon you can't even get any real legislation passed even though you control all three branches of the government.

BUT YOU KNOW THAT FEAR WORKS

So you gin up the fear level whenever necessary: '...a political downturn for the administration, followed by a “terror event” - a change in alert status, an arrest, a warning.'

But after five years, that strategy (combined with bumbling everything else) can only go so far.

Now you're at the point where more than a third of your own citizens suspect that "federal officials assisted in the 9/11 terrorist attacks or took no action to stop them so the United States could go to war in the Middle East, according to a new Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll."

Watcha gonna do, Skippy?

Your poll numbers bite the big one. There's really only one thing you can do. In the time honored Republican tradition:

YOU DEMONIZE YOUR OPPONENTS AND PROJECT YOUR OWN MISDEEDS BACK ONTO THEM.

Yes, folks, it's hard to tell if the talking points are coming from the crazies who call into C-SPAN or if they are parroting their masters.

Caller to C-SPAN's Washington Joural this morning:

"If the Liberals take over this country, we will all perish."

www.gop.com:



(Notice the faint Hitler mustache on Dean from my screen capture? It's gone now.)
After you demonize them:

Bill O’Reilly: Lieberman’s Defeat Shows ‘Americans Have No Will To Restrain Iran’s Jihad’

Cal Thomas: Lamont's victory "completes the capture of the Democratic Party by its Taliban wing"

John Gibson: On Daily Kos and Michael Moore: "Pol Pots," "Khmer Rouge wing of the Democratic Party"

Bill Kristol: Democrats oppose Lieberman because he is "pro-American"

Ann Coulter: Lamont supporters are "anti-American"

Tom DeLay: Describes the liberal world view as “Can’t we all get along?” and said that liberals’ reaction to a terrorist attack is, “You can’t go after these wonderful people that just killed a bunch of Americans.”

Rudy Giuliani: Give $$$ to the GOP or the terrorist win: "In the middle of a war on terror, we need to remain focused on furthering Republican ideas more than ever before. We can't turn back now...That's why I am emailing to ask you for a favor: will you click here to make a contribution."

Joe Lieberman: On his loss. "If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out [of Iraq] by a date certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England. It will strengthen them and they will strike again."

Ken Mehlman: On the Lamont win, "...the Democratic Party has chosen to nominate for Senate a leading proponent of the isolationist, defeatist, blame America first philosophy. "

Dick Cheney: Lieberman Loss ‘Disturbing’ Because al Qaeda Is ‘Betting They Can Break The Will of The American People’

Tony Snow: A Vote For Lamont Is A Vote For Another 9/11

You then project back on to them that it's the Democrats who are actually the ones politicizing terror.

So how are the Rethugs/Bushies actually doing at making sure we don't "all perish?"

As The Huffington Post notes:

In a survey of 100 top foreign-policy experts (both Republicans and Democrats), 84 believed that we're losing the war on terror and 87 thought Iraq has had a negative impact on our efforts to defeat terrorists.

So to recap:

- Largest terrorist strike on US soil occurs on GOP watch
- Under GOP, US continues to blow the war on terror

Conclusion:
It's the Democrat's fault! Vote for Republicans or you'll all DIE!

Yeah, sounds about right...

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Timeline: A Profile in Politicizing Terror
Snow: Bush approved RED Alert WEDNESDAY

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Of local interest:
Jim Burn, Chair of Allegheny County Democratic Party, will be on PCNC's Night Talk: Get to the Point this evening and none of the above has been lost on him. (8:00 PM)