Don't jump when Republicans say Booooo!

[struggle4progress]

BY MARTY MOORE

COLUMNIST

Published: January 13, 2010

Hurry, hide under your desk. Wait, that was the Cold War. Oh yeah, duct tape the doors and report unattended packages. Get a grip, folks. The "24" scenarios of terrorists schlepping nukes in panel trucks or releasing biotoxins into air handlers make for great television but hardly the basis for homeland security policy.

While the threat from Islamic radicals clearly demands our vigilance, the chance of being injured or killed in a terror attack is infinitesimal compared to say being struck by lightning. What's far less remote is the chance that amoral, sleazeball Republican hacks like Jim DeMint will whip up terrorism frenzy simply for partisan advantage.

The brouhaha over Northwest 253 has very little to do with reevaluating intelligence, no-fly lists, airport security measures, etc. which President Obama has rightly initiated and a whole more to do with Republicans reviving an issue that worked well for them for seven years - fear mongering.

I don't use the phrase "amoral, sleazeball hacks" casually. What else can you call those who know full well that every procedure followed was a carryover from the Bush administration's playbook; that the mastermind behind the plot was released from Guantanamo under Bush; and that they voted en masse against Obama's Homeland Security budget and have blocked his highly qualified nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration. And yet - and yet! - they accuse Obama of "not being serious enough about terrorism" ...

http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/13/pn-dont-jump-when-republicans-say-booooo/

[Enthusiast]

1. For the entire Bush

presidency, 'Terrorist' and 'freedom' were the Bush Administration's favorite words. The M$M, such as it is, should not give the GOP a spec of credibility. Republicans whining about security should be laughed at by M$M TV hosts. Instead they get their backsides licked.

Ever wonder why this is? As with the Soviet threat of the cold war we simply can't justify outspending the entire rest of the world on the military if the terrorist threat isn't grave enough. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best one.