tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post7701473094071405201..comments2024-03-29T02:03:49.151-04:00Comments on History Unfolding: Have We Dodged A Bullet?David Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-40328297926720500212008-12-07T14:39:00.000-05:002008-12-07T14:39:00.000-05:00The emotional exuberance of most right-wing coalit...The emotional exuberance of most right-wing coalitions since Joe McCarthy really stems from a combination of fear of outsiders (blacks, immigrants, intellectuals)on one side and resentment of a supposed elite, usually reified as affluent, well-educated cosmopolitans on the other. That set of beliefs has linked the Republican right-wing from McC to Goldwater to Nixon (who was more moderate in some discrete domestic contexts)and on to Reagan and the Family Bush. <BR/><BR/>The role of certain wealthy business leaders and groups, particularly the oil industry and the Bechtel/Haliburton land use giants is also intriguing -- they <BR/>seem to be the financial lubricant and often chief beneficiaries of this rightist, though far from fascist, formation in the moments it achieves victory in national elections.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08566031764992958428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-31468563191004188872008-12-07T14:06:00.000-05:002008-12-07T14:06:00.000-05:00American voters were exposed as intellectual infer...American voters were exposed as intellectual inferiors as the republican party rolled out nothing but corporate bimbos, yes men, and butt kisers, one after another with the same rhetoric, and won majorities in the house the senate, and of course the greatest bimbo of them all, "W"...<BR/><BR/>I'm a union Ironworker and I seen how the press legitmized these closet idiots and whatnots, treating them as if they actually had more of a purpose than the self serving con men/women they turned out to be, and made me hesitant to believe anything coming from the American media about anything.<BR/><BR/>I believe the move of certain networks away from these right wing extremist views was a direct result of views expressed by viewers and bloggers alike to this media that seems to ride this flow of public opinion no matter which way the wind takes it.<BR/><BR/>I guess it's something America had to live through to see more clearly,, but I for one never understood how it could have been missed by some in the media whose first political rodeo was long before this one. <BR/><BR/>I believe it's still a sore spot to some in the American national media.<BR/><BR/>Drjykellhyde44@aol.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-64528902635738241032008-12-05T10:39:00.000-05:002008-12-05T10:39:00.000-05:00David—I found your post very interesting. I’ve bee...David—<BR/><BR/>I found your post very interesting. I’ve been thinking about the southern strategy and its implications in re the GOP and American politics in general for quite a while. I haven’t seen The Boogie Man yet, but definitely intend to.<BR/><BR/>I wrote a blog post of my own on this subject, coming at it from a somewhat different angle—the irony of the GOP’s faustian bargain with racists and the far right in general, and the ideological underpinnings of the GOP’s increasing reliance on know-nothing candidates. You can read it here:<BR/><BR/>http://signsanssignified.blogspot.com/2008/10/people-like-me.html<BR/><BR/>I’d be really curious as to your reaction.<BR/><BR/>Thanks.Sign Sans Signifiedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05517112691932613138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-90809804050130690832008-12-01T09:12:00.000-05:002008-12-01T09:12:00.000-05:00They tried. They lost, and will be swept away on t...They tried. They lost, and will be swept away on the tides of history. It's my belief that all they ever wanted was to protect their own wealth, power, and privileges, and that what they wanted power for was to increase that wealth and those privileges. Ta-ta!<BR/>P.S. Every time I try to sign in with my lj identity, Google tells me I have issued a "malformed" request. WTBH? Anonymous works better!<BR/><BR/>Pat aka idiotgrrl from ljAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-11661541254710344752008-12-01T08:49:00.000-05:002008-12-01T08:49:00.000-05:00A very interesting blog for those of us who are hi...A very interesting blog for those of us who are historians (as well as citizens). I had many emails from people, after the election, who used the very phrase "dodged a bullet." The realization that we could very nearly have had an ignoremus like Palin as Vice President to an elderly president suffering from cancer was suddenly very real, once people saw the many millions who voted Republican. But you have put that into historical perspective, bless you - and thank you.<BR/>I too wanted to see Boogieman - in fact I traipsed across Boston to Brookline (Coolidge Corner) to watch it. Imagine my disappointment when they said it had been canceled, as the "projector is broken." (They gave me a free ticket to see Peter Ustinov in Max Ophuls' masterpiece, Lola Montes, not quite the same circus, tho.) Eschewing conspiracy suspicions I called up the next day. Boogieman had been canceled entirely!<BR/>Best, NigelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-70159491248417044732008-12-01T07:23:00.000-05:002008-12-01T07:23:00.000-05:00I did not realize you replied to comments; it was...I did not realize you replied to comments; it was my first time visiting your blog. Thanks.<BR/><BR/>marcdcase@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-64174940955240659922008-12-01T06:02:00.000-05:002008-12-01T06:02:00.000-05:00Don't sugarcoat what nearly happened by using the ...Don't sugarcoat what nearly happened by using the word fascism. It was Nazism!<BR/><BR/>In no particular order, consider the following:<BR/><BR/>(1) The stated goal of a "PERMANENT Republican majority" which is totalitarianism<BR/><BR/>(2) The so-called victories for freedom in the Supreme Court which were not 9-0 decisions but 5-4 decisions; One more Scalia, Thomas, Alito, or Roberts and the unitary executive would be reality<BR/><BR/>(3) The zeal to win elections caused the Republican powerbrokers to unleash the monster within the vulgar many; Amendments banning gay marriage could have been replaced with kill all gay people and passed in 2004<BR/><BR/>(4) Trade unionists and liberals are considered evil; Some right wing talk radio hosts advocate the extermination of liberals<BR/><BR/>(5) Ronald Reagan, Dan Quayle, George W. Bush, and Sarah Palin are all the same ... stooges with mass appealAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-27996259323747024652008-12-01T05:44:00.000-05:002008-12-01T05:44:00.000-05:00Excellent blog - in general - and I look forward t...Excellent blog - in general - and I look forward to getting the JFK book. I was 9 at the time, and the assassination changed my parents' lives, which affected me, as well.<BR/><BR/>I live in Israel now, where people occasionally crack about the conspiracy(ies?) behind Rabin's death. And there are some parallels. The fact that Rabin's killer is a folk hero in certain circles here suggests a segment - at least - of Israeli society was comfortable with the killing, which has certainly had negative effects on our country. We can't - and I don't - forget the Palestinians' and Arab world's complicity in prolonging the conflict, however.<BR/><BR/>The anti-intellectual bent in American life has certainly reached its zenith (nadir?) in Sarah Palin, and my wife and I sighed with contentment when we heard the Obamas answer the (admittedly softball) questions of the recent 60 Minutes interview in complete sentences and with clear understanding of the situation in which America faces itself.<BR/><BR/>On another matter, I am a "former" journalist (30 years in US and Israeli newspapers and websites) working as the Internet Director of a major pluralistic Jewish educational institute here in Jerusalem.<BR/><BR/>I am looking to do some serious research for a thorough historical look at an institution where I once worked that had classic Cold War/CIA ties, and that continues to exist today in one of the Eastern European countries that it had targeted. <BR/><BR/>I have considered doing it as a Ph.D. project, but I don't think a US Ph.D. is a realistic project at this point in my life, with my Jerusalem residency and family and work status.<BR/><BR/>However, I am trying to make contact with a university in Eastern Europe that could help me develop a framework and platform for this work.<BR/><BR/>Can we be in touch offline, so that I can bounce ideas off of you? Any help would be much appreciated.The Eulogizerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14185098203931636636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-46921853303391530482008-11-30T18:59:00.000-05:002008-11-30T18:59:00.000-05:00Very grateful for the analysis.They may not have b...Very grateful for the analysis.<BR/><BR/>They may not have been National Socialists, but Atwater and Rove must surely have had the Goebbels Diaries on their bed stand. <BR/><BR/>We were wondering whether Skull & Bones had a fascist faction that brainwashed Dubya. When Bush used the word, "final solution", when referencing the Iraq war, we almost fell over.<BR/><BR/>Closer to home, a certain family relation and his pals (all alumni from private military colleges) astonishingly go around repeating O'Reilly and Limbaugh rubbish word-for-word. I actually asked this relation whether he was a fascist. The reply? "Of course I'm not a fascist! I love capitalism!"<BR/><BR/>Perhaps we merely escaped Francism, friendly to business. A very close call, in any event.Nur-al-Cubiclehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13240215262850274264noreply@blogger.com