This defines the modern political landscape:
I was flipping through the channels briefly this evening and caught Sean Hannity saying that if the Connecticut primary race had been held next Tuesday rather than yesterday, Lieberman probably would have won.
Just think, Joe Lieberman might not then have been blasting his constituents and the Democratic Party as well as Ned Lamont as appeasers of terrorism. Those words are going to be tough for Lieberman to walk back when he realizes he’s ticked off a good number of Dems and Independents who thought Lieberman was more judicious and thoughtful than his knee-jerk outbursts demonstrated.
But Hannity’s comment was actually useful.
Can Lieberman win without FEAR? Can Cheney and Rove win another election without FEAR?
Can Fox News stay in business without FEAR?
The answer is obviously no. And it’s not just limited to terrorism, but to science, religion, environmental policy, name it and the Republicans focus on the traditional tool of the marketer: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
Opposition to gay marriage is founded on some non-specific fear of the destruction of, well, something… society? “Values?” I’m not even sure. Opposition to environmental policy is founded on non-specific fears about jobs and the economy. Just talk about vague fears, scare people, and get them in line behind your banner of protection. Unfortunately, it’s false security, and I’m sure we’ll be talking about how our use of military power precipitated a decline of American power in the future.