From Politico:
Republican leaders have largely abandoned former President George W. Bush's post-Sept. 11 rhetorical embrace of American Muslims and his insistence — always controversial inside the party — that Islam is a religion of peace. This weekend, former Bush aides were among the very few Republicans siding with Obama, as many of the party's leaders have moved toward more vocal denunciations of Islam's role in violence abroad and suspicion of its place at home.
The shift plays to a hostility toward Islam among many Republican voters, and it fits with traditional Republican attacks on Democratic weakness on security policy.
"Bush went against the grain of his own constituency," said Allen Roth, a political aide to conservative billionaire Ron Lauder and, independently, a key organizer of the fight against the mosque. "This is part of an underlying set of security issues that could play a significant role in the elections this November."
Obama's remarks provide a clear, national focus for the simmering question of Islam in American life, and Republicans showed every sign Saturday of beginning to capitalize on it, with Republican candidates in New York and Florida seeking to inject the issue into local races as Democrats largely held their silence.
That stance in the GOP — both in terms of political strategy and policy views — appears to be carrying the day. Most of the potential Republican presidential hopefuls, led by Sarah Palin, came out sharply against the mosque.
This is what the GOP does best. Create an enemy, and then scare the shit out of their constituents until they vote them into office to protect them from a politically advantageous boogieman.
I am so damn tired of seeing this same bullshit scenario played out time and time again. When will these idiots get a clue?
Beware of the Commies, the Socialists, Big Labor, the gays, abortion doctors, the brown people, the terrorists, activist judges, the atheists, the east coast elite, and the secret Muslim sitting in the White House! Remember only WE can protect YOU from the things WE imagined are putting YOU at risk!
And while that is playing out here in the politics of our country right now, a handful of Jewish Americans are trying to use education to build bridges with their American Islamic brothers.
The unusual trip was the brainchild of Marshall Breger, an Orthodox Jew and a Republican who served as a senior official in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Breger, who wore his yarmulke on every leg of the trip, said he first had the idea of organizing the expedition last year, while he was in Israel during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. He described it simply as a kind of eureka moment.
“There is a view that there is growing anti-Semitism in the Muslim world, reinforced by people like President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, that there is growing Holocaust denial in the Muslim world,” explained Breger, now a law professor at Catholic University. “In light of that, the idea was to offer education to those who might not have the kind of knowledge that we’ve had about World War II and the Jewish community, and to do this in a public way.”
It is impossible to know what the long-term impact of such a trip will be. But if the heartfelt comments of the trip participants — including some with a history of previous statements that many Jews view as problematic — are any guide, Breger did not underestimate the value of direct experience in promoting education, understanding and even, perhaps, change.
You know perhaps the so-called "Christians" in the GOP could learn a little something from these members of the Jewish community about healing old wounds and moving forward in peace. But of course they won't, because, as 9-11 proved to everyone, a fearful populace will eagerly hand over all of their rights as citizens for the promise of protection if you can just frighten them enough.
If you are a Republican in this country who is still falling for this crap you should be ashamed of yourselves! What is it that Bush once said?
Good and necessary points, Gryphen. I think we need to keep reiterating them because repetition counts. It may get through to those still able to think independently who are under the current sway of the right.
ReplyDeleteMany good people are getting caught up in this false patriotism based on emotions such as fear, pride, or insecurity. It is up to all of us who not part of that frenzy to keep watch, to keep repeating the truth, to hope it breaks through the wall of ignorance and arrogance and misplaced trust that people such as Sarah Palin keep building in order to maximize their own prestige and power.
Good job.
This is NOT a scare tactic yet, but it's close. As you indicted Gryph, these clowns will use any lie to scare their constituents OR yours and LIE about any subject that their elders tell them to. Look at the Swag-Hag in your neck of the woods... Her ghost writers will make up anything she wants them to!!
ReplyDeleteThe reslulicans have NOTHING of value to bring to the public..NOTHING. Can you imagine having Grampy McSame and the Swag-Hag in charge right now?? Let's see.. we would already be in a WW 3 because they would have already OK's a Nuclear strike on Iran from Israel; ALL Muslims would have been deported - US citizens or not; As would have every other person of color; We would be a fourth-world country by now because the economy would have completely collapsed. Unemployment would probably be 40-50% by now; there would be riots in the big cities; Bunkers would have already been constructed in most resluglican district because they would be under physical assault.
AND, Grampy would have told the Swag-Hag to take charge of the oil spill in the gulf and it would be on fire by now...ALL of it.
Now thinking about these RESLUGLICAN clowns in charge, we would be done.
It's not just Republicans who oppose this insult:
ReplyDeleteA large majority of Americans oppose the construction of a mosque near the Ground Zero site in lower Manhattan, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The CNN/Opinion Research survey showed that 68 percent oppose the plan to build the mosque, compared to 29 percent who favor it.
A majority of all political groups polled oppose the mosque. Forty-three percent of Democrats support it and 54 percent say they are opposed. Eighty-two percent of Republicans are against the mosque, as opposed to just 17 percent who support it.
A whopping 70 percent of independents are against the mosque, compared to 24 percent who support it.
Constitution first - my dear. When it comes to constitutional rights, opinions don't matter.
ReplyDeleteDo we re-institute slavery if the polls show a majority favor it?
How about take away a woman's right to vote?
How about deporting anyone with Irish blood?
I personally think that reinstituting slavery is part of the right wing agenda, only in disguise. This time it will be by taking away all benefits, reducing wages to rock bottom, strip out people's retirements and take their houses. What's left then? Those perfectly good JOBS touted by people like Sharron Angle.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Gryphen! Just to put the CNN/Opinion Research poll mentioned (2:38) in perspective: the poll was conducted Aug. 6-10, before Pres. Obama gave his speech defending the mosque plans. This poll interviewed 1,009 adult Americans, including 935 registered voters, conducted by phone with a +/- 3% error rate. For statistical purposes, I believe a legitimate poll needs 1,000 interviews, which means this poll just barely meets the criterion. So, it's not enough to get a real view of what Americans want regarding the mosque.
ReplyDeleteI say build it for peace.
The quote from Allen Roth, "a political aide to conservative billionaire Ron Lauder and, independently, a key organizer of the fight against the mosque" made me wonder -- is he either paying Palin to speak out, or providing her with less tangible, harder-to-prove payment (like his support)?
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, lwtjb. Corp. Amer. has been shipping jobs overseas for how long? When they've finally destroyed the middle class, they strike a deal to bring jobs back, as long as we ditch the minimum wage. People will be so happy to work again, they'll be grateful for 2 bucks an hour.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't just 911 that created the fear in this country. The aftermath with its terrorism codes was a masterful demonstration of psychology. I sat and watched as the Bush administration used operant conditioning especially with intermittent reinforcement to build an extremely strong fear of Islamic terrorists. Example, they would back off the code level until we were breathing easier and moving on. Then they would hit us hard with a sudden, big threat. We'd all jerk to attention. This never knowing when it is safe, is a very powerful reinforcement. This is behavioral psychology at its worst.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 3:49 PM, regarding the size of polls -- there is a LOT of math that goes into choosing the size of the sample that will accurately reflect the whole population. When I took statistics in graduate school, it really was an eye-opening class.
ReplyDeleteThis poll of 1,009 is statistically accurate and, therefore, trustworthy. While it's the minimum that polling organizations use, the maximum isn't much more: "Gallup and other major organizations use sample sizes of between 1,000 and 1,500 because they provide a solid balance of accuracy against the increased economic cost of larger and larger samples."
For more information you might enjoy reading the FAQ at Gallup at http://janda.org/c10/Lectures/topic05/GallupFAQ.htm
The GOP is amping up to attack Iran.
ReplyDeletelwtjb,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in essence. And I want to add that our children are in what is equivalent to debt servitude for many years with enormous student loans for college. This precludes many from going into lower paying jobs like teaching etc. where the are really needed.
And the privitized corporitized prison system makes use of cheap prison labor reaping huge profits. This is an incentive to keep people in prisons-- and most in prison now are there for nonviolent crimes like drugs. (Drug addiction is a medical problem and spuld not be criminalized.)
The US has the most number of imprisoned in the world. We are building more prisons than schools.
Why?
I think that the right already has 'a clue.' This ugly noise taking over the airways on wedge issues has worked extremely well for them for decades. That's why they do it. Why is the entire nation up in arms about a Muslim cultural center blocks away from Ground Zero? Why do we even know about it? Because rightwing pundits made it their business, Fox News* jumped on it and the rest of the MSM--predictably--played along. It's worked every time and the left has still not figured out how to quash these hysterical utterances from the start. We keep trying to use logic and to reason from the Constitution with people who are completely illogical and who lack the capacity to reason.
ReplyDeleteThey just did it with the stupid Boy Scout story and they're doing it again with 'will Obama swim in the gulf?' Why do they get to decide what are important issues that the whole country should be focused on? This is absurdity and we need to figure out how to effectively counteract it before it gets legs.
*Love how they like to play both sides of the fence. They were primarily responsible for pushing the 'mosque' meme, but now they are supporting the president's position on the first amendment. True patriots, that bunch.
Of course they should be allowed to build the Islamic Cultural center - this is AMERICA - not some 3rd-world country in the middle east!
ReplyDeleteWhat that poll shows is that 70% of Good Americans don't understand how freedom works.
Muslims, who are mostly Arab and therefore Semitic, need to be taught about WWII, and antisemitism?
ReplyDeleteWWII is an important part of history, naturally, but it doesn't relate as a teaching moment to the Muslim activities center that is proposed, except that intollerance is very destructive. But it is not the American Muslims who are being intollerant in this matter.