tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post6598137154135699022..comments2024-03-28T10:49:14.510-05:00Comments on Horizons: Keeping an eye on the forestNancy LeTourneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-91042593455084757482012-02-19T19:43:50.238-06:002012-02-19T19:43:50.238-06:00c'mon. "white male patriarchy?" real...c'mon. "white male patriarchy?" really? jeez, you sound like an 18 year old kid who just woke up to the fact that there are jerks in the world. Here's a challenge to you-- evolve past the dialectic of the 1960s, put aside the easy gender, race and parental classifications, and call these people out for the hypocrites and venal bastards they are. give white male miid-50 year old parents like me a break. after all, we aren't all frickin' dick cheneys!Charles Merrimanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10646397614137409539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-2810554934854542802012-02-19T15:36:39.657-06:002012-02-19T15:36:39.657-06:00Lovely stuff, Smartypants. You are an oasis of sa...Lovely stuff, Smartypants. You are an oasis of sanity. With regard to fear, I used to think people would get tired of it, too, but 2010 proved me wrong. The GOP has as one of its primary requirements the need for an enemy. If one doesn't arise organically, they'll create one. That is the essence of what the Cold War was. When they didn't have the Russians as an enemy, they created the axis of evil...go after the Arabs and Muslims. With the ultimate boogey man OBL dead, they're at a lost for the enemy that they can use to keep the populace in a state of panic. They're left with Iran and the President. I suspect that people are more than ready to believe that the latter is the right person to handle the former. Who people could ultimately become afraid of is the GOP itself.Tien Lenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-82172405941050237872012-02-19T15:32:49.186-06:002012-02-19T15:32:49.186-06:00It is indeed like being in a forest during a tecto...It is indeed like being in a forest during a tectonic shift.<br /><br />During the GWB years I got outrage fatigue. I never felt the fear they wanted me to, but I can believe that people are fatigued of that by now. But there are plenty of other ways to manipulate people.<br /><br />I remember in 1976 when the Republican Party was declared dead. It roiled around for a while and then found a winning strategy again (helped by a confluence of historical and economic events).<br /><br />And in 1992, I thought people had had enough, that the GOP was on the wrong side of history, and things would be different. People forget. I would have bet any amount of money against someone like GWB becoming president.<br /><br />The Republicans may have found an effective approach by 2016. They'll still have big money behind them. (And Karl Rove is still around. That amoral brain is great at finding the right combination of lies and half-truths.)<br /><br />(Oh; in the third to last paragraph, I think you want an "e.g." rather than "i.e."; otherwise you undercut the beginning of the sentence where you say "I won't try and predict...." If I offer nothing else of value, there's some free proofing.)<br /><br />Excellent blog, Ms. Smartypants; one of my favorite links.Manuel Royalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00392229225958688128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-73809137754948324802012-02-19T14:04:45.213-06:002012-02-19T14:04:45.213-06:00Great and Truthful....Great and Truthful....akwhiteravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02759658248143533709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-82437331349280142102012-02-19T13:55:40.960-06:002012-02-19T13:55:40.960-06:00Well, Ms. Pants once again you've managed to g...Well, Ms. Pants once again you've managed to get it exactly right. I would dither about only one small point.<br /><br />One of the reasons that Obama won and McCain lost (admittedly a SMALL reason) was that people are just tired of being afraid all the time. As a nation we spent 6 years in fear under Bush. In 2010 the Right went apeshit and won on fear. And now the R's will have to pull out that old canard again.<br /><br />I don't think fear as a campaign element will work ... not even on the base. People are just tired of fear, Physically inervated at the idea of having to marshall the psychic energy to fear again. Its like grief. At some point you just give up on grief because don't have the energy to do this anymore.<br /><br />They also haven't got the charismatic chops to lead from fear anymore.DerFarmhttp://yellowdogpolitics.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com