When Allen West called the progressive Democrats currently serving in Congress "Communists", he delivered an amazing hunk of red meat to the conservative base.
Communism, just like socialism & Hitler, is a word that the GOP has used to strike fear into the hearts of an unsuspecting conservative base.
However those phrases usually offend, you know, decent people as comparing someone to the Fuhrer of Germany shouldn't be used in any circumstance whatsoever. No one should be compared to him, regardless of your political belief unless they oversee the death of over 6 million of their own people.
Yet the party that brought you Freedom Fries has trademarked their own special brand of mainstream hate speech. The use of jingoistic, nationalistic & racist codewords have created ripples of hatred and distrust that preys on the ignorant.
This is today's GOP.
West's remarks on communism had its brief moment in the sun as the top political news story but essentially has been brushed aside as Election '12 takes place. But I still want to touch upon them before continuing on to the next big controversy.
When an elected official, a la Michele Bachmann's quest to investigate members of Congress for "anti-American activities" or Peter King's Muslim hearings, makes a statement that is clearly (and hatefully) targeting a specific section of Congress, we often end up comparing them to Joe McCarthy.
Anyone who has taken a history class knows that the blacklisting of citizens that followed Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn's communism investigations ruined lives. It showed that one pseudo-association to a political party could lead you to a lifetime full of prejudice & inferiority. McCarthy's investigations should be rightfully viewed at as a disgusting waste of time & the biggest wild goose chase in modern American political history.
But no. Much like the continued veiled allusions of Hitler, the GOP hasn't exactly backed away from these cringeworthy comments. Of course our society has been desensitized to Hitler as our world moved on, but really; does his name belong in current discourse?
Of course not.
Still, the GOP continues to do just that. Why? There views on communism is that it is of a foreign idea, i.e. not American. How many times have we heard the phrase "European-style socialism" in a negative sense? They also throw in a horrific foreign leader (Hitler) and even some open shots at the President because they don't even think he is born here! Why? Because he must be beneath us in some capacity, so let's call him foreign!
What do you call Voter ID laws? A suppression tactic brought by the same party that wanted to spread democracy to countries that do not have it installed. Also, an attempt to silence minority groups from a basic American right.
Why is that? They are Americans just like you & I. However, the GOP is slowly realizing a huge tactical error that they made when the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964.
The Democrats owned the South for a majority of America's time as a nation. States like Louisiana & South Carolina were essentially Democratic hotbeds and there was no way for a Republican to find themselves in power.
Gradually, however, the GOP started to cater towards the South as they sought political domination and the Democrats started to lead the fight for minorities.
The GOP hasn't relented since but since the election of the first black President, we are seeing a rise of legislation against various Democratic bases. Women, Hispanics & Blacks are usually safely Democratic and is it coincidental that these groups have seen their privacy and rights violated?
We let this happen though. The Republicans are masters at brainwashing the ignorant and is it really a shock that there are specific regions that the GOP just strictly dominates? If your state has a high Mormon or evangelical population, it's safe to say that there is no chance you vote for the communists, right?
The fight against communism was seen as a way to protect American integrity. We had a pride in our democratic system that made us believe we were the best nation in the world. But with the continued threat of blocking groups of people from voting, we are slipping away from a democracy.
Where is the outrage? Have we become accustomed to the GOP's brand of hatred or do we not think it's not worth our time?
The Republican dream is being forced into the mainstream. Maybe they are finally hoping the trickle-down effect they were promised by Ronald Reagan. They want to insert paranoia into the brains of the "independents" or "centrists" who are so worried about their family's future that they are looking for a scapegoat anywhere.
I have faith that President Obama will be re-elected though we obviously can not take that for granted. But another thing we mustn't lose track of is the fact that the GOP is still relevant due to how they court their voters. They threw away church & state in the same sense that they threw away Equal Pay (courtesy of Mr. Walker) & the people's right to vote.
This is America. We are lucky to have another side even though it's completely sold its soul to fight causes that were relevant around the Cold War. Maybe class warfare isn't the best phrase to use anymore. Maybe warfare would be more apt in summing up the Grand Ole Party.
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EDIT (2:27am ET): I changed the sentence of
"Still, the GOP continues to do just that. Why? Because communism, just like Hitler and the birther movement, is based off an attitude that insists that foreigners are unequal."
into
Still, the GOP continues to do just that. Why? There views on communism is that it is of a foreign idea, i.e. not American. How many times have we heard the phrase "European-style socialism" in a negative sense? They also throw in a horrific foreign leader (Hitler) and even some open shots at the President because they don't even think he is born here! Why? Because he must be beneath us in some capacity, so let's call him foreign!