Have you noticed how repubs put terrorist and liberals together?

[quinnox]

It is something going on for a while now. It never fails, a repub commentator or talking head will deliberately put the words terrorists and liberals in the same sentence, or instead of liberal they will use Democrat. And it doesn't necessarily have to be provocative, for example, "the terrorists want to hit America and the Democrats are blocking the tools we need." or "America has to fight these terrorists in Iraq, liberals don't understand how significant this war really is."
It could be said they are not doing this on purpose, but I have seen it over and over again and I think it is a deliberate tactic. Make terrorists and liberals or Democrats equivalent in a subtle manner. These repubs make me sick.

[whistle]

1. 14 characteristics of fascism...one key one is scapegoating

<snip>
The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
by Lawrence Britt
Spring 2003
Free Inquiry magazine


Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine's policy.

The 14 characteristics are:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.


Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.


Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.


Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.


Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.


Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.


Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.


Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.


Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.


Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .


Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.


Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.


Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.


Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.



http://www.veteransforpeace.org/The_14_characteristics_030303.htm

[KansDem]

2. They did the same thing with "communists" and "liberals"

Witness the McCarthy hearings. I don't recall seeing or hearing any conservatives on the hotseat. Just those "liberal" Hollywood types. But with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the neo-con fascists needed another boogieman. Enter the "terrorist."

We've seen this all before...

[Yoda Yada]

3. Remember in elementary school....

...when you were taught about why and when you should start a new paragraph in a report. (New, UNRELATED thought = new paragraph) The Republicans have turned the REVERSE of this rule into an art form. They purposely include two UNRELATED ideas in the same sentence or paragraph. In your sentence above...."the terrorists want to hit America and the Democrats are blocking the tools we need." what two unrelated words stand out? "Terrorists" and "Democrats". Those are the two words they will morph together to form an UNTRUE, manipulative connection in the minds of the American people. No one questions the falsehood of the statement.

Why do you think so many Americans still think Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11? Because this administration has been instructed to ALWAYS include the words 9/11 and Sadaam Hussein in the same paragraph. Our minds make the connection, even though the Republican response is always that they never said that directly. They didn't. They just combined those two unrelated ideas in the same unit of thought.

[quinnox]

6. exactly

[madmusic]

4. Anthrax Coultergeist said she wants to banish all liberals.

And she would if not for that pesky Bill of Rights. The Right almost had enough power to pass and enforce a law like that.

[Cerridwen]

5. One of the first propagandist tactics in "modern times"

came about in the 1920s.

The Department of War (yes, it was actually called that then) which is now called the Department of Defense (Orwell, anyone?) put out a Spider Web Chart which showed the "link" between peace groups, women's rights organizations and other types of progressive cause organizations with socialism.

The "notorious spider-chart" propelled, as well as initiated, many "red" accusations from the Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Defense Society, and The Woman Patriot. When the Women's Joint Congressional Commission investigated the source of this chart, it discovered that Brigadier General Amos A. Fries's assistant, Lucia Maxwell of the Chemical Warfare Bureau, compiled it. The discovery of government involvement in the chart's origins aroused the protest of Carrie Chapman Catt (see Document 4). The chart's title was taken from a report on seditious activities compiled by the Lusk Committee in 1920. State Senator Lusk of New York headed this committee which conducted raids on "radical" organizations and investigated alleged radicals. (emphasis added)

What the Department of War began at that time has helped to promote the same twisted ideas throughout our history since. The Russian attempt at communism served well to demonize much of the populist ideology which resides in the philosophy of communism/socialism. Communism and socialism were conflated into one boogey man. mc carthy helped to further conflate liberalism/progressivism with communism/socialism; which was furthered by additional propaganda during the nixon, then reagan/bush I years. The current regime in power continues to profit from 20-30 years of corporate consolidation of the media into fewer and fewer "ruling class" hands who have continued and fine tuned the message that populist/progressive/liberal/Democrat are communist/socialist/"enemies of the state"/traitors.


"Those who cannot remember the past (or who never been told the truth about it) are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana (with editorial addition from ~Cerridwen)