Republican Mob Mentality - Update

The months since the November election have seen the GOP descend into a mob-like mentality that had its roots in the McCain campaign. It began with McCain and Palin attempting to associate Obama with Bill Ayers as they toured the country spouting their hatred-filled venom. Palin, especially, seemed to revel in stirring crowds into a name calling frenzy, smiling as they yelled "terrorist," "Muslim" and "kill him."

That style of campaigning fell on deaf ears with the voters. As the months went by a new mob style sponsored by the GOP emerged with the "tea baggers" talking about "tea parties" and socialism, and marching on Washington. Then there were the "birthers," endorsed by members of Congress and GOP supporters in the media, continuing to inflame the GOP racist base, while Sotomyor's nomination brought out cries of racism from those same pols and their media hacks.

Now the GOP is organizing mob style disruption of Democrats' town hall meetings. Mobs of GOP supporters invade the meetings, threatening and shouting down congressmen as they attempt to talk to their constituents. This is, of course, organized by the RNC, as they attempt to destroy any discussion of health care reform. At the same time they have organized to scare senior citizens into thinking that health care reform will result in euthanasia.

All of this points to an increasing mob mentality by a struggling party that has come to be identified with racism, hypocrisy, and fear. The GOP has found that its bad and often unconstitutional policies over the course of the last eight years have been thrown out with the dishwater by the voting public, and it has not been able to move away from its backward thinking ways. Instead of looking at the issues and offering positive solutions, all Republicans can do is spout negativity and use scare tactics that are meant to incite the base against the opposing party.

It is fear that incites the mob mentality. The GOP is becoming an expert, using fear at every opportunity to energize the base and to gain support among the ignorant. Government run health care, gun control, abortion, socialism, terrorists, Muslims, even the occasional reference to Communism are all intertwined in the Republican fear mongering tactics. At every chance they manage to work the fear words into their conversations. Their leaders among the right wing media constantly harp on these themes day after day to drive their fear deeper into the psyche of the base.

Unfortunately, the themes of fear will also reverberate with some outside the base. Yet, I still have faith in the mainstream American voter. I said this last fall and I will continue to say it. We are smarter than these Neanderthal politicians think we are. Most of us can think for ourselves and not be pulled down into the whirlpool of fear that the GOP is attempting to create. This tactic will ultimately backfire on the Republican Party. If it does not and the Democrats fail, this country will be drawn back into the dark ages of the Bush Administration with its spying on citizens, unilateral preemptive wars, isolation from our allies, anti-scientific research, and the domination of right wing fundamentalist Christians.


Update: For a late breaking example of the Republican mob mentality and now, violence, read this article about the Tampa town hall meeting today. It reflects the very subjects that I discussed above.