Glenn Greenwald: Terrorists in Prison: Is There Anything the Right Doesn't Fear?

[babylonsister]

Terrorists in Prison: Is There Anything the Right Doesn't Fear?

by Glenn Greenwald


The "debate" over all the bad and scary things that will happen if Obama closes Guantanamo and we then incarcerate those detainees in American prisons is so painfully stupid even by the standards of our political discourse that it's hard to put into words, and it also perfectly illustrates the steps that typically lead to America's National Security policies:

(1) Right-wing super-tough-guy warriors project some frightened, adolescent, neurotic fantasy onto the world -- either because they are really petrified by it or because they want others to be ("Putting Muslim Terrorists in our prisons will make us Unsafe! -- Keep them away from me, please!!!");

(2) Rather than scoff at the inane fear-mongering or point out simple facts to reveal its idiocy, Democratic "leaders" such as Harry Reid echo the right-wing fears in order to prove how Serious and Tough they are -- in our political debates, the more frightened one is, the more Serious and Tough one is -- and/or because they are genuinely frightened of being called mean names by Sean Hannity ("Harry Reid isn't as scared of this as I am, which shows that he's weak");

(3) "Journalists" who are capable of nothing other than mindlessly reciting what they hear then write articles depicting the Right's frightened neurosis as a Serious argument, and then overnight, a consensus emerges: Democrats are in big trouble politically unless they show that they, too, are as deeply frightened as the Right is.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/20-6

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

1. And that they in turn cause the Dems to fear so that the entire country is united

in overwhelming,pointless fear of the highly unlikely/improbable? A poster in another thread called this the "wussification of America".

I have noted this trend before, but I call it the "infanticizing" of America where Americans are told that there are very bad people out there , but Daddy will patrol up and down the hallway with a baseball bat, listening and watching and keeping the monsters under the bed where they belong. Americans take to their beds with the nightlites on and cower under the covers, sleeping fitfully.

[NewJeffCT]

2. sigh, that seems to be the story for years now

going back to the days of McCarthyism.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. I think it all comes down to simple logic -

they are terrorists, therefore, we must be terrorized. If we are NOT terrorized, they cannot be terrorists. Everybody insists they ARE terrorists; it is our DUTY to be terrorized.

[leftofthedial]

4. tax cuts.

that'd be about it.

[Winterblues]

5. IMO it is that extreme FEAR of almost everything that helps drive the gun industry.

Keep everyone very afraid...sell lots of guns..

[gratuitous]

6. The Right *probably* isn't fearful of the prospect

But they'd be a lot happier if you and I were good and a-scared. The Rude Pundit gives this talking point the proper treatment today on his blog. Don't, however, look for any similar sentiments to be expressed in the popular media, which is heavily invested in horse racing; he-said she-saiding; fake controversies; and the odd missing white woman. Actual analysis and evaluation of ridiculous Republican talking points is strictly forbidden, until their ridiculousness can no longer be denied. At which point, everyone on cable outlets will unanimously agree that they never believed the blather for a second.

[depakid]

7. It's not just the right

Americans in general- 2/3's would be my guess- are fearful people, and you can see that in myriad ways- but it really becimes apparent when you spend time abroad are people who aren't.

[struggle4progress]

8. There's no point trying to carry on a discussion with them. Just pick a heavily Republican state

with a lot gun-crazies, and relocate Guatanamo there.

The most Republican states are Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Nebraska, and Alaska
http://www.gallup.com/poll/114016/State-States-Political-Party-Affiliation.aspx

The top gun-ownership states are Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, South Dakota, and west Virginia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/health/interactives/guns/ownership.html

So it's either Wyoming or Alaska. Hell, why not honor them both? We can site the "Richard Bruce Cheney SuperMax" in Alaska and the "Sarah Louise Palin SuperMax" in Wyoming