Good article - events don't take place in vaccuo.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-zogby/danger-on-the-right_b_254421.htmlThere is a social movement stirring on the far right of American politics and it bodes ill for our future.
It is, in the classic sense, a movement, not an organization, with no coherent structure, no creed or litmus test for membership. Rather, it represents disparate currents, born of transformative developments and traumatic events that have impacted the US in recent decades.
This movement has manifested itself in several forms. There are the anti-immigrant armed militias patrolling our southern border keeping out "illegals." There are also the "tax party" demonstrators, many of whom have morphed into the angry chanting mobs that are now disrupting Congressional town meetings over health care reform. And there are the so-called "birthers," a not so small fringe on the far-right, that questions Barack Obama's birth in the US and, therefore, his right to hold the office of president.
If the individuals involved in these currents have anything in common, it is that they are angry and alienated and have identified "government" as a source of their problems and, therefore, as a target of their wrath.
Behind all of this discontent, of course, are real problems. The economic crisis in America did not just begin with the collapse of the financial sector in the fall of 2008. For years now, the US economy has undergone a steady transformation. The loss of our manufacturing base has resulted in dramatic social dislocation evidenced by the collapse of many once prosperous and stable communities. As factories closed, not only were jobs lost and economic security threatened, but people were forced to move, neighborhoods died and families were at risk.
All during the 1990's, despite gains on Wall Street, many middle class Americans were squeezed. Real incomes declined, costs of health care, education and basic commodities rose, resulting not only in a declining standard of living for many, but, for the 1st time in American history, a significant portion of the middle class began to question whether their children would be able to achieve the same economic status as their parents.
The trauma of 9/11 and Katrina presented a double jolt, shaking to an even greater degree American's sense of security and their confidence in the government's ability to perform.
Add to this a nativist/racist current, fueled by large numbers of immigrants from the south and fear of new foreigners (especially, after 9/11, Muslims) and the persistent presence of anti-black sentiment, and you have the ingredients of the lethal brew that is now coming to a boil.
All of this, however, did not erupt spontaneously, it was helped, fueled by fires set by those who sought, in ways subtle and not so subtle, to exploit the fears afoot across the land. Radical talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Mike Savage, Fox News and even CNN's Lou Dobbs exploited these issues -- as did President George W. Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, who used it for electoral success. Even Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign playbook tapped into these currents, as did the McCain/Palin campaign strategists.
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