"From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August."
That's what Bush Chief of Staff Andrew Card said of a very special marketing campaign launched in September, 2002. A marketing campaign, a selling campaign….to convince Congress and the American people that invading and occupying a country which did not pose a threat to the U.S., had no truck with al-Qaeda of 9-11, and which had been emaciated militarily by a decade of sanctions and flyover bombings,….was an imminent threat to every American life.
They made their sale. America lost 4400 U.S soldiers and $1 trillion in the transaction, so far….and are less safe as a result. But the sale was made.
It's now September, 2009…..the new product being marketed by the same people, even though now in minority status,….is the same old product, FEAR.
Fear works, fear sells. We don't like to be afraid, we take fear seriously and act upon it. Whether it's duct tape and Visqueen to prevent biological and chemical attacks(!), or guns to fend off a newly elected Democratically-led federal government(!!)…… Americans predictably buy in to fear…..and if the fear is marketed by professional practitioners of the arts of deception…..we buy in to it in spades.
So, here we are, another September, and a new fear product is being prepared for roll out by the same folks who have been marketing fear for a living for a long time. Only this time, I suppose because of the minority status of the conservative party, there has been a pre-rollout sales event in which millions of eager-to-be-afraid-when-a-Democrat-is-president American citizens have already bought the new product.
In 2002 it was "mushroom clouds", "WMD's", "Iraqi drones off the Atlantic seaboard", "reconstituted Iraqi nuclear, biological and chemical weapons", "Iraqi collusion with Bin Ladin's trigger man, Atta", "yellowcake purchases"….etc.
In 2009 it is "death panels", "death books", "socialism", "government takeover of health care", "pulling the plug on grandma",…etc.
Same game. Scary words and phrases meant explicitly to sell Americans on being afraid of something when they shouldn't be.
The new-product rollout extravaganza of 2009, the new conservative marketing campaign of fear officially launches September 12. That's the date that Dick Armey, Ari Fleischer, Glenn Beck and FOX "news", coordinating with the incoherent-yet-scared-anyway TeaBaggers of wingnut Tea Party fame, have planned for their "09.12.09 March on Washington". If you check out the link, you'll find that the only national sponsor of this "March", is the FreedomWorks Foundation. That site says that the "Honorable Dick Armey" is FreedomWorks Chairman. Funny.
The largest "sponsor" of the 9-12 event, however, is the crazed Fox show host, Glenn Beck…..
"GLENN WILL BE ANCHORING THE COVERAGE OF 9-12 EVENTS, LIVE ON FOX NEWS… SEPTEMBER 12, 2009 FROM 1-3PM Eastern time.
SPREAD THE WORD!"
Here's part of the fall fear-product rollout "mission statement"….
This is a non-political movement.(funny) The 9-12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created. That same feeling – that commitment to country is what we are hoping to foster with this idea. We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again.
What emotion was pre-eminent on September 12, 2001? Wasn't it fear and uncertainty, followed by feelings of vengeance?
That's the emotional point where Fox's Glenny and Dick's FreedomWorks want all Americans to return to. Why? To stop all Americans from having access to affordable, available and reliable health care coverage….to kill President Barack Obama's primary domestic policy goal of reforming health care coverage. To make that sale.
The pre-rollout season sale was successful. Hopelessly compromised corporate-whore media spent weeks covering the numerous town hall buster-upper events. The rollout went as planned, having been orchestrated by GOP operatives working closely with health insurers and pharmaceutical public relations outfits. Loaded guns were carried, be-very-scared signs were held, rude and loud participants successfully outshouted and intimidated Democratic Congressional representatives. Americans were scared, Obama's polling numbers slipped, the scare tactics worked, health care reform is now doubtful.
Now comes the big event. Driving a stake through the heart of health care reform. Right at the time that Congressional Democrats reconvene to try to salvage health care reform from the black hole of the fearmongers, those who shill for the powerful and the rich are, once more, opening a can of Red Bull fear on us.
The Glenn Beck, Fox, TeaBagger, FreedomWorks message on 9-12 will be familiar. Health care coverage for all Americans is the enemy to fear. If America does not kill health care reform right now, health care reform will "kill" us in the future. The only proper frame of mind for Americans to have, in light of this "enemy"….is to be very afraid. The only way to quash those fears is to take vengeful action against the "enemy" and kill it before it kills all of us.
Nothing has changed.
Also: Read about the Tea Party Express Bus……it's rather amusing.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Not only were we at our most fearful on 9-12-01 we were at the absolute pinnacle of our most ethnocentric, biggoted, hypocrytic behavior.
I detest the actions of the cowards that committed the 9-11 attacks, and my heart goes out to all those that died and were injured during the rescue attempts, but we sure as hell rednecked up for the next 6 years. We sure as hell sold our freedoms out the window for "protection" and we sure as hell started treating anyone with an Ala in their name as though they were the enemy.
It also created the absolute worst clique of people in the country. The "fear mongering, we are all in danger if we don't do things the way the conservatives tell us, can't think for his/herself" voter.
Precisely.
Funny but I haven't heard about too many anti-Muslim attacks or anything since 9/11, Tbomb. They seem pretty rare in this country, considering.
I also can't name a single noticeable infringement on my personal freedom, even though I had misgivings about the Patriot Act from the start. Have you had any particular rights trampled on, Tbomb?
Imagine there being a climate of fear in this country after 3,000 innocent people were killed on 9/11, after a decade of increasing terrorist attacks against American interests. We have nothing to fear except fear itself !!! Pay no attention to the buildings blowing up here and around the world. Nah, it's all just because we hate Muslims.
Un-be-liev-able.
Numerous terrorist attacks were thwarted in the days and years following 9/11, but I guess that's irrelevant too. The Reverend has decided we are less safe (after 8 years of no successful terrorist attacks on American soil, despite many attempts). Saddam is gone (though I thought the Iraq war was a big mistake. It is working out better than I ever anticipated it would, however). The Taliban is out of power. We have captured scores of the world's leading terrorists. ALL irrelevant, according to the Rev, because, you know, Bush is a Nazi, or something.
I haven't lost a single freedom, btw, larry. Probably due to the fact that I'm not engaged in any terrorist-related activity.
Rev says, "In 2009 it is "death panels", "death books", "socialism", "government takeover of health care", "pulling the plug on grandma",…etc."
Three of those things are not to be feared – death panels, death books, pulling the plug on grandma. I agree with the idea that these are partisan exaggerations being promoted by the GOP.
The other two – socialism, government takeover, are things to be concerned about, because they are indicative of the gradual big government creep toward tyranny (absolute government power) that has been taking place my entire life. Bush is not excluded from that creep either. He was one of the worst violators, until Obama came along and made Bush look like a piker.
I am in favor of health care reform, but I am not in favor of the government taking over health care (which is what the public option is designed to accomplish). The idea that the ONLY solution to every problem is for government to take over is perverted and dangerous.
The GOP has to use fear , they have no other logical way to sell their beliefs to the average person. What they believe in only benefits the very rich and people who benefit from the insurance industry. Think about it, how else could they sell a war of choice or to destroy a health care plan that would benefit so many people? Unfortunately many uneducated uninformed people fall for it , and that is exactly what they hope for.
Some good people are still around and not getting the coverage that the wackos are getting. Pro Health care virgil's across the country
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=118457&id=7292655492
larry, apparently, hasn't tried to withdraw a large amount of cash from his bank, get a passport, fly on an airplane, ….all now activities highly restricted by the feds. And, naturally, larry doesn't read progressive blogs where all the numerous Muslim bashings and bigotry are enumerated. Muslims are constantly demonized by the same radical rightists he supports, so he's probably immune. We also have "letters of interest" from the FBI which destroys the 4th amendment, rendition, library snoops…..did you forget all that?
"gradual big creep of government power"…..King likes government creep, but only in national security issues. He's more than willing to give up liberties, as we have all been forced to do under Bush, to feel safe. But don't anyone dare suggest national health coverage. King is fine with torture, when necessary. He's fine with the destruction of the 4th amendment, if officials tell him it will keep him safer. What he's against is government creep that actually helps Americans rather than restrict their freedom.
Take his explanation about health coverage. King's not in favor of the government taking over health care, so he's against a public option provision which would, it is projected, only cover 11 million people, a tiny fraction of the whole. To King, that is a socialistic foot in the door. That kind of thinking is the very definition of extremism.
Where is Steve, and his voice of reason when we need him? Or at least we'd know what Reagan would do in these times.
Maybe you could provide some links or something in regard to all these attacks on muslims, Reverend. Or some numbers or something. Among regular readers, your word doesn't really carry the capital you seem to think it does.
Flying is a little more inconvenient, it's true, but I wouldn't call it "highly restricted" by any means.
I fly a lot. Never had a problem. I do have to take off my shoes………oh, the inhumanity !!!!!!!!!!! Damn that Bush !!!! Arrrrggggghhhh !
And Rev, you support the destruction of the 4th Amendment. You admitted that a couple weeks back, so give it a rest. ObamaCare turns over all our medical records to the government, and you have NO problem with it. It's only when we're trying to stop terrorists who are trying to kill us that you object (ironically, that's the only time I was on board with skirting some privacy).
I'm also unaware of all those attacks on Muslims.
And Rev, calling me an extremist because I don't want a government takeover of health care is moronic. Only an extremist like yourself would even think to make such an argument. That's like calling me an extremist because I believe in free markets and liberty…………oh wait, you've already done that.
larry, do you really think it's been fun being Muslim in America the last number of years? Want to trade places with them? Here's some links out of hundreds….
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200405/ai_kepm471659/
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/nyregion/28detain.html?pagewanted=print
Here's one closer to home….
http://blog.cleveland.com/pdopinion/2008/09/seven_years_after_911_attacks.html
Anything recent Reverend?
From your link it looks like there were 500 hate crimes versus Muslims in this country in the three or four years following 9/11. That's too many of course but hardly surprising, considering. How many hate crimes are there against your run of the mill minority group? I have no idea. In any case, maybe things have gotten better as I never hear about any.
I really don't think it matters to you, one way or the other. No matter the current or past number of Muslim hate crimes and discrimination…it would be "hardly surprising, considering."
Is 500 a lot in a country of 300 million over four years? I really don't know. How many have there been recently?
Rev,
About that conflict between Islam and Christianity that was referenced in your links… Who do you think shares the lion's share of the responsibility for that ? Christianity, which preaches love thy neighbor, or Islam, which preaches that all non-Muslims are infidels ??????
How many hate crimes do you suppose are committed against non-Muslims (or women) in the Middle East ??? I can guarantee it's a whole lot more than 500. Unless you mean 500 per day.
Christians bear the brunt of the responsibility for today's Islamic extremists. Stupid evangelical Christians, with their apocalytic eyewear on, constantly war against an Israeli-Palestine peace accord. Jerusalem must be returned to the Jews and a new Temple built before, you know, Jesus can come back. So, those evangelicals are all for brutalizing the Palestinians, which in turn, enflames Muslims.
I could care less what Christianity preaches…it's the actions that count.
La la land.