Funny that the authoritarian Right didn't learn from the last time it attacked the military. Joseph McCarthy's latest reincarnation, Liz Cheney, ought to know that the hapless drunk of a senator from Wisconsin went down after targeting the military as harboring "communists." In going after the DOJ as the "Al Qaida 7," Cheney should meet a similar fate. Although, it is true that "conservatives" these days are allowed to say whatever asinine things they want through media without serious rebuke (Must be a left-wing mainstream media conspiracy). Quite the contrary, they usually get a louder mic and more coverage. This really is appalling:
The tough and terrified hypocritical vein that "conservatives" try so desperately to strike really is an overt appeal to the authoritarians among us: those susceptible to the irrationality of FEAR. A couple of years ago, I wasn't surprised to learn that according to a psychological study, "conservatives" are more prone to fear as a motivating force (This study was much talked about at the time. However, I am not sure what to make of the methodology of it though).
I've long wished someone would write a book (Tough and Terrified) juxtaposing all the jingoistic-America is#1-tough-guy-rhetoric against all the fear-the-Islamic-medievalist-cave-man-existential-terrorist-threat messages out there. Which is it, authoritarian propagandists? We are either tough, or terrified. Not both. For more on this historical, psychological drama there's this great BBC documentary about the parallel rise of the neo-conservative and Islamic jihadi movements, which was banned here in freedom-loving America, The Power of Nightmares.
After watching this film, the context of "conservative" fear is quite apparent. If the right wing has any discernible credibility left, Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol's propagandistic neo-McCarthyism would be repudiated by every single so-called conservative who participates in the public sphere. This is inexcusable.
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