Paranoid Fox News and hate speech radio fed fear of the
nation’s first black president has reached a fever pitch, as some Texas
Republicans are completely out of control.
Here are some quotes from recent Boston Globe article about the paranoia that has gripped some Texas Republicans:
One of those who began to grow increasingly worried was Terry Wareham, a local Tea Party leader.
“Probably a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t even be
concerned,”Terry Wareham, a local Tea Party leader, said. “But with the
federal government the way it is right now, I’m really concerned about
the military coming here and doing this kind of training.”
….
“What comes home in the conservative consciousness
is: The government is hostile to me,” said, Albert Ellison, the chairman
of the Bastrop County Republican Party. “And if he’s already unleashed
the IRS on us, is it a big leap to think he’d unleash the military?”
….
Why is it not reasonable for me to see this as absolute training for a domestic rendition program?” one man asked.
…
“Our freedom is under attack,” said Jim Dillon, a
60-year-old contractor. “This is one little incremental step in a
long-term plan to not only exercise more control but to gain more
control.”
“I don’t know that I would say this is the big one
where they sneak in under the guise of a training exercise and clamp
down on civil liberties in Texas. It’s too early for that,” Dillon said.
“But it’s conditioning. It’s getting people accustomed to having
heavily armed, camouflaged soldiers on the city streets, ranches, farms,
public roads.”
….
“We have the potential like Nazi Germany
did, to go really bad,” he said. “And if we don’t nip this stuff in the
bud — once it gets its head under the tent, it’s there.”
The quotes above reflect a collective crazed state
of paranoia that has no basis in fact. What is happening in Texas is the
logical byproduct of years of conservative media hate and fearmongering
against President Obama. Republicans have spent so long inside their
media bubble where they have been told daily to fear this president that
they are extremely susceptible to conspiracy theories.
The talk of military takeovers and Nazi Germany
sounds just like vintage Fox News era Glenn Beck and conservative talk
radio. This sect of Republicans wants to believe that they are special.
In their hearts, they know that President Obama is after them. They have
been told by Fox News that they are the enlightened ones who know the
real truth.
As the rest of the nation looks on in disbelief at
the level of crazy among some Republicans in Texas, it needs to be
understood that the insanity over Jade Helm is not unique to Texas. The
Republican Party has been gripped by paranoia. Republicans are paranoid,
and they elect candidates who legitimize and indulge their taste for
conspiracies.
This dynamic is why House Republicans investigated
the IRS. It is also why the nation is suffering its eighth investigation
into Benghazi. Republicans benefit by playing to the paranoia.
What Jade Helm teaches us all is that Republican
fear of the nation’s first black president is getting stronger even
though his time in office is winding down.
Even after President Obama is going, Republican paranoia is likely to linger on.
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