Do Repugs really think Liberals hate America, or do they just say it to

[Gothic Sponge]

piss us off?

[CO Liberal]

1. They Say It To Keep Hating Us

And to make others hate us as well.

Conservatism has become a mixture of ignorance, hatred, and paranoia, IMHO.

[smiley_glad_hands]

6. I think you are exactly right. eom

[Ready4Change]

13. Slight correction.

Conservative leaders say it to keep their followers hating us.

Then many of their followers parrot the mantra.

[Fla Dem]

15. Yes, but you say it long enough over and over again, then you believe it.

[bryant69]

2. I think it's about 60-40.

60% really hate us, particularly at the grass roots level. About 40% say it to piss us off (or to make a buck off of the 60%).

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[skylarmae]

3. no either/or about it! One inherent to the other.

If it were the latter, then five times the pissed off they deserve.

[dkofos]

4. They just don't understand that you can HATE your govt,

and still LOVE your country.

It pisses me off that they are so FUCKING IGNORANT.

[Piperay]

28. and yet they hated Clinton so

much but were never accused of hating America. :shrug: :argh:

[davhill]

5. I think they really believe it

They are having trouble dealing with social changes and look for a conspiracy behind it all. They honestly believe that rich Hollywood liberals, blacks, and gays are conspiring to deliberately destroy America.

[shoelace414]

7. They are the most

oppressed people in power in world history.

[DelawareValleyDem]

8. They're ignorant enough to believe it.

[PATRICK]

9. They have no trouble doing both.

Whatever makes them feel empowered. Nixon was sincere in his hates, pragmatic in his voicings and propaganda. he believed but used it as a meme as if the truth didn't really matter anyway, because he could get more Americans to see his way than liberals bothered to.

[whosinpower]

10. They do it to divide and conquer

It is all about power baby. Divide and rule. It is a great fallacy that liberals hate America. Liberalism, by its very definition is one of tolerance, freedom and liberty. It was liberal ideals that founded this nation, gave birth to constitutional rule, created democracy out of the pain, ashes, and sorrow of autocratic regimes.

I see conservatives - no strike that - neocons who are bent on going back to a form of autocracy, where one party/family rules all. Where dissent is silenced, where controversial dialogue ceases to exist.

Just once, I would dearly love for one of our politicians to take the bull by the horns and strike back square and fair at the definition of liberals that the neocons are so fond of framing.

[AmandaRuth]

11. the truth of the matter is that

conservatives are the ones that REALLY hate America. Between the American taliban that wants to establish religion as the rule of law, and the economic terrorists that have declared war on the unions, working poor and middle class, they truly hate America and are salivating to remake it.

[ComerPerro]

21. Exactly. If anyone doubts this

they can go to free republic and check out some of the posts from the nineties.

They said Bill Clinton was wagging the dog when he was trying to do something about terrorism, they said that he had no right to bomb Iraq or Afganistan, and some even said that Afganistan and the Taliban should be our allies.

And, with just five minutes on google you can find countless right wing websites that consider people like Timothy McVeigh to be patriots.

Conservatives love Bush, but they hate America. They are only loyal to Bush and the Republicans.

[Kansas Wyatt]

12. General Rule:

Anything that the Republicans accuse the Democrats of doing, they are guilty of it themselves. Throughout the election, there was always a strategy of discrediting anything the Republican was guilty of by accusing the Democrat of it first.

If people think both candidates are guilty of it, then it's a mute point and Republicans cannot be harmed by what they are guilty of. Heck, the Republicans even get to score some votes by tarnishing their opponent with what the Republican is guilty of.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Reply to them with, "Does it make you feel better to believe that?"

-----------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[MGKrebs]

16. May I suggest a good read: George Lakoff.

"Don't Think of An Elephant".

[Book Lover]

17. Think? No, they parrot it,

bleating from their mouths without that entangling nonsense of the brain.

[eagler]

18. Limbaugh said just yesterday that

he declares war on the liberal media and liberals. No hate there. We really do need to get the Fairness Doctrine reinstated if we are going to be heard.

[tsuki]

25. Put him in JAIL. It is where he belongs. He would be the first to

demand that anyone breaking the law should be punished.

[vonZapfenau]

19. Funny you should ask...

I wrote an article in response to their slander, called " Why the Right Hates America."

It's right over here:
http://www.counterpunch.org/zepezauer02282003.html

[Wind Dancer]

35. That is a great article.

Thanks for sharing, one of the best pieces I've read in a long time.

Welcome to DU! :toast:

snip

And the election of 2000 isn't the only one stolen by the right. In 1968, and again in 1980, the right-wing candidates, as private citizens, interfered with foreign-policy negotiations of the US government in order to (successfully) gain electoral advantage. Come to think of it, they did that again in 2000, advising the Israelis to drag their feet in the Camp David talks. But I guess they can get away with that, since they love America more than us pesky leftists.

But if the right loves America so much, why do they keep subsidizing the corporations that foul our air, despoil our coasts, and clear-cut our forests? Just how patriotic is the Bush administration's new rule that allows mining companies to shear off the tops of our purple-mountain'd majesty and dump them into our streams? Don't you think we could express our love of country a little better by tightening up those fuel economy standards, instead of squeezing the Middle East for more fuel for our Hummers?

Now that reminds me. Why does the right keep making so many enemies for our country? You know, like overthrowing elected governments in Iran and Chile and so on, or backing torture-happy juntas in Turkey and Pakistan, or paying for proxy terrorists in Nicaragua and Angola, or subsidizing the occupation of East Timor and the West Bank. Didn't the left keep saying, "Um, excuse us, if we keep supporting violence and terrorism abroad, it might come back to haunt us"? And we're the unpatriotic ones?

Oh, but that's where we got started here. Any time we criticize US foreign policy, we're making excuses for the terrorists. I guess it's inconceivable that the left could love America enough to want us to stop making new enemies. Well, okay, America. If invading Iraq doesn't work out as nicely as planned, you might give us a call. We still have a few ideas, and, gosh, we just love ya to pieces. Write sometime! After all, who gave you votes for women and blacks, and the weekend, and overtime, and retirement pay, and family leave? Your old pals on the left. God love ya.

[leftofthedial]

20. they don't believe anything

some of them just say whatever they think increases their power or makes them money

Otehrs just repeat what the hear on hate radio

[ElectroPrincess]

22. It's a fine tuned propaganda machine that spits out various

talking points from Rush and Hannity to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Mooney Times and the National Review.

These people rope in those who want to "feel safe" and idolize authority figures, i.e., which unfortunately is a significant portion of the USA's population.

We, as progressives MUST recognize the fact that if they "repeat this lie" long enough, it will become fact to the lemming masses. Or at least enough people who are highly differential to authority to support such bunk.

Listen to the way the "highly intelligent" people spin their lies and deceit. If I didn't have a grip on myself and have a personal aversion to absolute power, it would be easy to be taken in by some of these silver tongued devils. If you can strip away all the flowery language and flawed assumptions within their logic, their allure can be tracked to drawing out basal emotions that are driven by fear.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. In truth, I do not think they do, at least not their leaders .....

.... but their lemming, dittohead type followers probably do. I suspect that most *thinking* republicans don't.

The problem is, fewer of them find it necessary to actually think anymore ...... sad

[jzodda]

24. They say it to do a few things

First off they want the word "liberal" to be a dirty word so anyone defined as such would have to be on the defensive even before a discussion begins.

They do not believe that Libs hate the US, but they want to try to define liberals in such a nasty way that nobody will take what they say seriously. It has been a very successful tactic that they have been using to dilute the messages that we want to get out.

When in doubt, when losing an argument, when you want to promote your position just call them a liberal. It amazes me how dumbed down our nation has become.

I have a friend who is a cop. Hes not political by any stretch. Hell he hardly understands what is a liberal vs what is a conservative, etc. But when a position is a bad one he will say to me "its the liberals" and I was laughing at him the other day because what I was talking to him about was propposed by the Bush admin! So that tells you all you need to know.

[superconnected]

26. I think it's projection

Because they hate America and all it stand for. Have you ever gotten into it with one who insists this is not a democracy? I've ran into that quite a few times. It's more than it's a republic, I mean they HATE the concept of a democracy in that the people have equal say.

[quiet.american]

36. AMEN n/t

[Democracy Died 2004]

27. Well they are not totally incorrect.

In it's current state of affairs i hate America. Only the thought of what it once was keeps me going. I hope one day it will become America again but am not too hopeful.

[CBHagman]

29. They just say it to demonize us and/or upset us.

It's the old Newt Gingrich GOPAC language thing. We are described as "sick," "corrupt," "failures," etc. It has nothing to do with who we are or what they know or don't know about us.

As Bill Maher said to Ann Coulter, "You just make s*** up."

[jdots]

30. they say it because that is what the A.M. radio dial says

It has never been this bad.

[LSK]

31. repugs cant think, just say it because they are programmed to

[dpibel]

32. A far more interesting question

would end right before the word "Liberals."

[SmokingJacket]

33. What do you mean by "think"?

I don't think they distinguish between the two. A handy argument -- a talking point -- is about as far as they get in terms of "thinking" about the issue.

They might mean we hate their version of "America": a cliche about a country filled entirely with white Christians who worship a very specific version of God and the flag.

That, I do hate.

[Mountainman]

34. I hate conservative America, I hate the war mongering America

I have no problem with hating America if America is in the wrong. What this country is becoming here and abroad is something that can deserve my hatred.