thanks to the banana republicans, all politics is now about hate

[unblock]

the basic distinction between the two parties' ways of thinking and debating and arguing is that democrats argue on an intellectual, rational level and banana republicans argue on a visceral, emotional level.

this is not to say that there aren't thinking, calculating banana republicans at think tanks and behind closed doors -- of course there are. and certainly, there are very pationate democrats as well. but that's not how the arguments go in the media, in popular discourse.

democrats have long won every single intellectual argument over the invasion of iraq. the banana republicans have been factually and logically wrong with every single excuse they've trotted out. but the bottom line is that we invaded iraq BECAUSE WE HATE IRAQ, and in particular, because we hated saddam. that's all the banana republicans needed. as far as they are concerned, an intellectual justification would have been a nice fig leaf to cover their naked hate, but it was hardly necessary. again, the oil companies had their intellectual agenda, as did some of the key neo-cons, etc., but for the banana republican masses, all that mattered was that we hated saddam and that was good enough reason to go to war.

this meme plays out throughout all banana republican policies.

abortion? they hate the mother who would even consider ending her pregnancy, so they want abortion outlawed. logic does not apply. at every opportunity to discuss the matter, banana republicans lay more hate onto the mother, because that's how they support their position.

welfare? they hate anyone who doesn't EARN their money. to level more hate on, they make sure to imply that the welfare recipient is able-bodied but lazy, female, with kids out of wedlock, and best of all, black. they hate blacks, so they try to toss that in wherever they can get away with it. in some areas, hispanic might play better. all hate is local, or something like that...

estate tax? why, what's there to hate about paris hilton? sure, she did nothing to earn the money, and what calamity would it be if she was worth $30 million instead of $50 million, but why deprive her of the extra month when there's nothing to really hate here? besides, banana republican men are convinced, somewhere in the back of their minds, that one day, paris hilton will meet come to their door and fall in love with them and take them away from their miserable lives and in THAT case, that extra $20 million will come in handy. no hate for paris hilton, therefore no tax.

tort reform? well, we all hate lawyers, so let's cap the fee they can get from those massive class action suits. note that much of their argument is around hatred of the LAWYERS. true, some of it is about hatred of the consumers who spilled hot coffee on themselves and sued, but at least they did get injured. but the lawyers, everybody loves to hate lawyers, and arguing a case hardly seems worth getting 33% of a multi-million dollar settlement, so they want a cap on that. and when they talk about the corporations who caused the problem in the first place, they always point out how wonderful they are to provide goods and services and jobs day in and day out. it's all about deflecting hate from the corporation and on to the lawyers and the victims.


the point is, intellectual arguments are worthless if the other side isn't fighting on the same playing field. it takes two to have a proper debate. worse, they control the microphone. so they get to dismiss all our intellectual arguments and logic as ivory-tower, condescening, elitist, northeast, liberal, ivy league, jewish, whatever serves them to level hate onto our side.

one day we will be able to ensure that the media covers policy debates on an intellectual level. but that day is not today. today we must figure out how to fight on an emotional level. to deflect the hate from us. to deflect the hate from our constituents.

to make people hate the haters.

[drmondo]

1. Yep.

There was a piece a few years ago, I think on Frontline, about how advertisers paid consultants big bucks to figure out what the most atavistic reaction was to any given "product". The idea was to find the hot button that people would react to, not on an intellectual level, but on an emotional, instinctive one...one guy called it "the reptilian". This is what the Repubs have been doing for years and what the Dems have been unable to do. How else could you explain the popularity of the president with evangelical "Christians" when he has done more to advance Satan's agenda than any other US president?

Ok, I digressed. The point is simply that after 9/11 people wanted to feel strong, powerful and to blow up something. Arguing that we need to chase down the culprits, form coalitions, etc. is not going to win the emotional argument against the, "C'mon guys, let's get them, this is war! Ra ra!" Unfortunately it's the wrong, irresponsible argument.

Bush was supposed to be the CEO-leader...well he drove his company out of business, screwed his employees and came out roses...that's the CEO he was and that's the president he became. If we focus the anger on how great America can be and how Bush squanders it all away because he's an incompetent fool, it might work, but we have to offer more than just resolutions against Rumsfeld. Offer a vision of how America could have been changed for the better after 9/11, how we had the entire world on our side, America was finally united behind a president who had lost the popular vote, America was willing to sacrifice for positive change. We could have radically altered our energy policy, invested in real research and technologies to protect our borders, taken a little more time at the beginning to deal with Sadam Hussein using our allies and the UN...but NO, we had a president beholden to oil, an opponent of science and a president who was too proud to rely on others for help. He squandered it all away.

[sandnsea]

2. And only one thing beats that

At least that I can see, and that's pride in accomplishment, when American ingenuity accomplishes something together - like going to the moon. That's the problem I had with that marketing exec piece yesterday, it played on hate and even used Kerry hate to make its point and further the campaign of Richardson, Warner or Gore, wonder which one.

We won't, ultimately, beat them with hate because we simply can't muster up the same gut level hatred that they have. We can, however, beat them with their own better angels, and they DO have them, but we have to target it correctly. We come together and through self-determination and self-sacrifice - succeed. All politics has to become about mutual cooperation and sacrifice - everything we believe in can follow from that. We'll never beat them trying to be as hateful as they are, and I wouldn't know why we'd want to or what it is we'd win if we did.

[MysteryToMyself]

3. Rove and many others do nothing but plot for the rethugs

You are right, the rethugs own the press. They had everyone they could find on Saturday demonizing the Clintons or other democrats. Today they are not as bad. But they do the smearing for the rethugs.

If voters would stop and think, they would realize we are better off with Democrats in power. The Democrats are all about protecting the middle class, freedom of choice and social justice.

Our soldiers that are dying over in Iraq are very much alive. Why are they dying?

People don't care for lawyers until they step into a court room and there is the state ready to hang you and a judge who likes stiff sentences and a hateful looking jury, then that defense attorney looks like a God.

Most people couldn't sue if the lawyer didn't do it for a third of the win. They wouldn't have the money, so two thirds is darned good. The lawyer gets nothing, if their client doesn't win. It costs a lot to gather the evidence and these type of lawyers usually have spent a long time in College. Some have a law and medical degree.

Lawsuits are justice. A lawsuit is justice for a mother that lost her child because of a drunk doctor. It is a necessary justice for those with Autistic children. They will need care their whole life.

Bush hates welfare, but he has given more to corporations, while they drive around in their Welfare limousines. He even gave money to the colleges in the Katrina area because the students couldn't attend because of Katrina. They have fat coffers and could make it better than the people hit by Katrina are.

If you think about it the the representatives get a lot from us. Bush gets free housing, so does Dick. They all get a lifetime pension, plus matches from the taxpayer on their TSP retirement plan, plus lifetime health insurance. I haven't noticed them doing a lot of real work. Just plotting, spying on us and causing wars. Those young mothers are working, still living in poverty and having to leave their babies in bad daycare. Babies and small children are a lot of work, but heaven forbid that the mother stay home with them.

I have never been a revengeful person, but I want Justice and Revenge for having to put up with their ignorance and for what they have done to our country and other countries, while they raided our treasury.

Yep, they are the great reflectors, but we can keep reflecting the truth back on them. They can fool some of the people part of the time, but each year more have become aware of how dangerous the repugs are to a democracy.