An example of "us vs. them" in the Republican Party

[acroyear]

"Let's look at who is supporting John Kerry. The U.S. Communist and Socialist Parties and the head of the communist Sandinistas in Nicaragua, for example. If you cast your vote for John Kerry these are the people who you'll be joining." -- Michael Reagan (Ron's son)

So once again, they fall on the tactic of "the people who like Kerry are not like you at all, so why should you join them", the ultimate in bad-taste ad-hominem attacks.

Whether its extreme leftists, latte-drinking yuppies from the cities, cultured wine enthusiasts from the california valleys, well-educated scientists and economists who speak their mind (and the truth) about how corporations are destroying the country for their short-term gains, black leaders asserting that the right to vote in the constitution shouldn't be taken away by the ruling party, gays and lesbians asserting that their right to be treated as normal shouldn't be taken away...

...its all about "well, you good and true people of America are not one of them so why should you vote for the candidates that they support?"

and the worst part about it is shit like that actually works on these people.

Comments

[greendalek.livejournal.com]

Agreed, pretty cheesy. With just a quick search-and-replace, you can use the same rhetoric on the opposing side:

"Let's look at who is supporting George W. Bush. The Ku Klux Klan and The World Church of the Creator, and the royal families of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, for example. If you cast your vote for George W. Bush these are the people who you'll be joining."

Good ol' "US versus THEM." Never underestimate its power. *sigh*

Now i'm remembering George Carlin, circa '86

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

talking about the Reagan campaign and sponsors, such as the Catholic Church and the Teamsters Union.

Slogan: "Organized Religion and Organized Crime, working together to build a better America!"

[omarius.livejournal.com]

Either you're for Bush, or you're with the Terrists!

just made the connection

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

The day after the election do they want to wake up realizing that they were on the same side as the Communists and the Sandinistas who brutalized Nicaragua before they got thrown out?

as in, they know they can't say "Kerry is supported by the current terrorists we're facing" so instead they say "Kerry is supported by Terrorists we *used* to face"...

completely missing the fact that had Reagan (the author's own dad) ever REALLY put his efforts into that region with the country's support and understanding, rather than as a covert war with too little information to run it effectively, there wouldn't even BE any Sandinistas and Communists in that region to be supporting Kerry 20 years later.

so we also have yet another case of a Republican policy failure being used to discredit the Democrats.

[dawntreader]

that's okay. bush said that celebrities are not real people. he said that all these celebrities were coming forward to support john kerry but that he was confident that he had real people like churchgoers support him.

i'm trying to find the exact quote, but it was JUST on this morning's news.

i'm sure all of hollywood wants to be thought of as "not real people."

all i know is that this race is going to be ugly.