Here's What I Don't Get

It's pretty clear to a lot of people on the extremes of the American right that the Democrats may well take over at least one house of Congress in a couple of weeks and a few days. A lot of Republicans are feeling demoralized and disappointed about the prospect of losing. I can understand that; that's normal.

Of course, the unpopularity of Congress and of the President suggests very strongly that there are a lot of disenchanted Republican voters out there who are perfectly willing to give their party a time out. Disappointed by the failure and incompetence of a party that suffers from the arrogance of excessive power, they want to head towards a split government, possibly to restore a system of checks and balances. Again, I understand that; it's a normal, reasonable part of the American political process, and has been since the founding of the Republic.

What I can't understand is stuff like this. Billmon passes along a quotation from the Republican whip, saying that Democrats would

plot to establish a Department of Peace, raise your taxes and minimize penalties for crack dealers.

Then there's Sean Hannity, whinging on as follows:

I don't think abandoning our troops on the battlefield or closing your eyes to enemy communications or listening to enemy communications in our country, or killing the economy, or supporting illegal immigration, I don't think that's something to run on. So I'm saying, for the sake of the nation, I think you Democrats should stay home. For you there's no reason to vote.

And then there's this priceless conspiracy theory, found on a right-wing web site and then passed along by ShakesSis:

I had an interesting discussion with a conservative-leaning friend who doubted that liberals were anti-American, and sided with the terrorists. “Why would they want the terrorist to win?” he asked. I think it is quite simple.

First, the left is still enamored by Marxist/Stalinist socialism. This is why they embrace Castro, Chavez, Kim, ad nauseum. I know this is different than Islamo-fascism, but hang in there, I’m getting there…

Second, left-wing extremists hate our free society. They do not appreciate hearing viewpoints that disagree with heir own. They believe that they already have all the answers, and any conflicting arguments are counter-productive at best.

Third, they believe their socialist ideal is achievable, but only after the current capitalistic, democratic republic is eliminated. Therefore, they see the Islamo-fascist sabotage of our country as an opportnity [sic] for their takeover. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. They believe that after they can take over our country only after:

1. Islamists nuke Washington DC and the US Government fails, or

2. The democrats win both houses of congress and vote to surrender to the Islamo-fascists, or

3. The democrats win both houses of congress and vote to weaken our defenses to
the extent that #1 or #2 occur.

Then the fun happens. The constitution will be re-written to change “rights” to “demands”. Free speech will be replaced by “correct” speach [sic]. Religion will be outlawed. Private property will be eliminated, and a system whereby income taxes will rise to 100%, with the government deciding how much money to distribute. We have seen this pattern before.

Of course, the Islamo-fascits [sic] have no special love for leftists, either. They will not be satisfied with nuking one US city. They have made their case quite clear…they intend to eradicate us “devils”. Even a leftist attempt to placate the Islamo-fascists by offering American Jews to them will not satisfy their hunger for western deaths.

This is the snapshot view of my opinion of the leftists’ motivations to our current problems.

Honestly, where do they get this crap from? And what on Earth does any of this have to do with the Democrats taking over Congress? A Department of Peace? Handing over Jews? Abandoning troops on the battlefield? What???

I can only guess that this last fellow's sensible conservative-leaning friend was blinking in the same astonishment I was when I read this.

The Democratic Party (which, I hate to tell you folks, may be "liberal" by US standards but is a centre-right party by international standards) had control of the House of Representatives for forty years before the Republican takeover of 1994. It's had control of the White House for twenty of the last forty-six years. It last had control of the Senate in 2002, a mere four years ago. There is plenty of history of the Democrats being in control of part or all of the federal government. At any time, has that party established a Department of Peace?Made alliances with Castro? Launched a communist revolution? Done anything like any of this crazy crap?

No, no, no, and no.

Of course, anyone who was even remotely aware of American politics during the Clinton Administration remembers the paranoia: black helicopters were coming to take all conservatives away to prison camps; civil war was going to break out any moment; Clinton was going to declare himself President for Life; jack-booted government thugs from FEMA were running a secret government that would take away all your freedoms; everyone would be forced to have chips implanted in their brains; the United Nations was going to take over the United States and turn everyone into serfs; the Bible was going to be banned; all white women would be forced to marry black men; abortion was going to become mandatory.

I'm not making any of those up. I remember hearing, seeing, and reading every single one of those dire predictions, all advanced with total seriousness, on right-wing radio, in the Republican House, in right-wing publications and listservs all throughout the decade.

Of course, none of those things ever happened or came close to happening. None of them ever could have happened. None of them was ever even planned. These dystopian nightmares were never part of anyone's agenda. None of them ever existed, even as notions, except in the fevered minds of those who were "warning" everyone about them. The demonic Left that the American Right keeps talking about, the entity that wants to do all of these horrible things, simply does not exist. At no point in its entire history, in power or out of it, has the Democratic Party ever even suggested or hinted any of this stuff.

Undoubtedly, if and when the Democrats take over Congress, the paranoics will go into full meltdown, and spend the next several years panicking about the same old things, which will still not happen because nobody is going to make them happen. That's entirely predictable. What I still don't understand -- what I've never understood -- is why.