E.J. Dionne: Has McCain created "a new movement built around fear, xenophobia, racism and anger?"

WP: McCain and the Raging Right
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008; Page A21

Are we witnessing the reemergence of the far right as a power in American politics? Has John McCain, inadvertently perhaps, become the midwife of a new movement built around fear, xenophobia, racism and anger?...

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(C)ulture war politics is relatively mild compared with the far-right appeals that are emerging this year. It is as if McCain's loyalists overshot the '60s and went back to the '50s or even the '30s. What we are witnessing is the mainstreaming of the far right, a phenomenon that began to take shape with some of the earliest attacks on Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

False claims that Obama is Muslim, that he trained to overthrow the government and that he was educated in Wahhabi schools are a standard part of the political discussion. These fake stories come from voices on the ultra right that have dabbled in other forms of conspiracy, including classic anti-Semitism. McCain and his campaign do not pick up the most extreme charges. They just fan the flames by suggesting that voters don't really know who Obama is, hinting at a sinister back story without filling in the details....

(T)he angry McCain-Palin crowds, and particularly those who threaten violence or shout racist epithets, should be a wake-up call to McCain. The dark hints about Obama that McCain's campaign is dropping dovetail too nicely with the nasty trash floating around the Internet and the airwaves.

We are in the midst of what could become the worst economic downturn in decades. The last thing we need is a campaign that strengthens fanaticism, tarnishes the authority of the next president and whips up the worst kinds of prejudice. This works both ways: Obama should not be delegitimized if he wins, and McCain should not want to win in a way that would undermine his own capacity to lead....

McCain has an obligation, to his own legacy and the country he has served, to separate himself and his campaign from the kooks. Extremism in defense of liberty may be no vice, but extremism in pursuit of the presidency is as dysfunctional as it is degrading.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/13/AR2008101302173.html?nav=hcmodule

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the driving forces behind John McCain's campaign: Every day a big new hard on and a new pile of sh!t!

trouble in Alaska, she is history and they have no center.

... in the Lower 48. I'm quite grateful to the Alaskans who are continuing their investigation into her and her husband's activities, and are publishing the results before the election.

Hekate

McCain, and Palin in particular, have "gathered up the kooks", which has driven many real conservatives like Chris Buckley away from the party. This comment from Chris says it all: "You know," the conservative hero William F. Buckley Jr. said, "I've spent my entire lifetime separating the right from the kooks."

Hasn't E.J. Dionne been paying attention the last 30 years? Hasn't he ever watched Bill Bennett or Pat Buchanan? Has he never heard of the Minutemen?

I read that and was like, "What country has he been living in even the last 7 years?" :wtf:

*big sigh*

The rampant racism, and fervent ultra-patriotism brings to mind some interesting parallels.

but the loons aren't too pleased with McAnus after he made a half-assed attempt to stifle them at his rallies recently. Mooselini will probably position herself as their spokesperson after this election is over; after all, she's already said she's got nothin' to lose.

:kick:

of course he has. that was the plan all along I think he and the wingers are going to be surprised at how the civil war they want ends up, though.

What does a Nazi do? What about a Confederate?

You can change the name of the profession, but a doctor still does what a doctor does.

If anything, they are being flushed out into the cold light of day where people can see that these horrifying creatures really do exist in the deeper reaches of the Republican base. More urbane conservative types are taking note and being revolted by their presence. It makes the long-expected "conservative crack-up" that much more likely.

I don't think they're being "mainstreamed" at all. If anything, the final result will be their marginalization as the moderates become extremely uncomfortable being in the same party with the remnants of John Birch-ism.

Maybe that's just wishful thinking. Hopefully not.

These people have been exposed to the light of day, and the vast majority of America has recoiled in horror.

It's not new and McCain isn't even all that instrumental to it. Electing a black man president was bound to unleash a few loons. It's the dying gasp of an irrelevant racist world view. It's annoying and occasionally dangerous, but in the end these people are doomed to disappear from history.

Such an innocent naif!

There's nothing "new" about this hateful strain in the U.S. body politic, they've always been with us.

sw

The John Birch Society, for example, was never considered acceptable to Barry Goldwater's and Nelson Rockefeller's and Richard Nixon's Republican Party. The KKK wasn't allowed to rally with the GOP, they weren't even allowed to rally with Wallace's party. They were out of the mainstream unacceptable kooks. EJ's point is that we are now watching the theofascist kooks come right out of the closet at GOP rallies, and have their kookery not only accepted but encouraged by the top of the ticket. This is new ground. Kookery has been around for ever, it just used to be kept out back and not invited into the living room.

BY CHOICE, and no longer locked in the attic. The kooks are now running the asylum that is now the Repiglican party for one and all to see. As a rule, the mushy middle types run from out-and-out kooks as far and as fast as they can.

Great post -- you've done an excellent job of explaining what I missed. Thank you!

sw

because he would rather destroy his country than lose another election for president.

What Dionne is calling a "new movement built around fear, xenophobia, racism and anger" is just today's republican party. That party's progression to its current philosophy of "fear, xenophobia, racism and anger" started with Barry Goldwater and so many other conservative republicans opposing the civil rights laws in the 1960's.

That was soon followed by the launching of the GOP Southern Strategy and all of the racist dixiecrats switching parties. And that was soon followed by the Reagan Revolution which united the racist wing, the Religious Reich wing, the "evil communists (now terrorists) are hiding under my bed" wing, the "there is no greater evil than taxation" wing and the economic conservative wing of the republican party. And then Gingrich took over GOPAC and taught republicans to recite the infamous list of divisive and hateful words and to campaign only on wedge issues in order to divide the country. And shortly after that the republican party reached the peak of its power.

But its new found power was born of the evil it encouraged and embraced over all those years. And now it is becoming progressively weaker as that evil drives away decent Americans, many of them once loyal republicans. And today the weakness grows even more, like a cancerous tumor, as a result of the various GOP hate groups blaming not only decent Americans, but also other GOP hate groups for the growing weakness.

Different factions of the republican party now proclaim that the war mongers are not sufficiently xenophobic or racist and therefore must be hated. Other factions now proclaim that the xenophobes and racists are not sufficiently anti-taxation or pro-war and therefore must be hated. And this particular faction must hate some other faction. Another faction must hate this other faction. And so it goes, with hate being the only common denominator.

Today's republican party is rapidly becoming a party rooted only in hatred. It is becoming not only an un-American party, but also an anti-American party. And McCain is more than willing to beg for any anti-American party's approval if it means not losing another presidential election.

Guess EJ and his ilk just don't hear them raging away on right wing talk radio,

or realize that Fox News caters to them with its highly partisan coverage.

Or EJ has forgotten the last two elections that pumped them up to come on out and vote for the 3Gs.

But he may be talking about the intensified George Wallace rally type of snarling hatred. And that has been more closeted heretofore.

phuck from Alaska to be his lying hatefest, megaphone.

A very dangerous fascist rabble has been running this country for 8 years and they are angry that power is slipping from their grasp just as they were within reach of overturning Roe and marginalizing LGBTs.

He thinks Lewis owes him an apology-----just unbelievable!

... it's just reared its ugly head again.

They are playing with fire. EJ is exactly right about this.

rec'd

:thumbsup:

being republican has meant being fearful, angry, racist, homophobic for some time

the world to see.

... in all its glory. They worked hard to get here -- it was no accident.

Thanks for the post as always, DMM.

Hekate

She is a worthless,POS, Snowbilly!

The same thing with Hitler. He tapped into emotions that were already there.

Please be considerate of others:

wipe,
flush,
wash,
rinse

before leaving the rest room.

Have a Great Day!