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Posted by: Beau7890 6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Beau78906 months, 3 weeks ago
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"what is it with the level of virtriol rising?"
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I suspect many have learned the lessons of the Republican political strategists beginning with Lee Atwater--vitriol works better than reason. Marketers since Bill Birnbach have known emotional appeals work better than rational ones. And in this day when the Internet has broken down the historical barriers preventing the opinions of the masses from reaching a wider audience, people can select their own "news" sources and ignore others, allowing less factual opinions to proliferate.
"why can't we trust our nation's democratic institutions anymore?"
Since Watergate, the American public has become far more skeptical of the official government story. Sure, there were skeptics before, but again, the Internet has given them far more reach to wider audiences than those who questioned authority had previously.
"is the threat of violence really the way to live with our fellow americans?"
I'll assume that one was rhetorical. ;-)-
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Goppy6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Your suspicions have merit, Beau7890.
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And I appreciate your mention of Bill Birnbach and the effectiveness of the emotional appeal in advertising.
Let there me no mistake, both parties use this tool.
As a Centrist, however, I see great differences in the target of the application.
I've noticed that Democrats manipulate emotions to further what might be called, issues of the conscience. Social Security, Health Care, Medicaid.
Republicans have an interesting tweak on the emotive effort ... their effort is totally FEAR based.
Whereas Democrats say, "Vote for me, and I won't allow Social Security to fail your grandmother."
Modern Republicans say, "Vote for me, or you will likely lose your freedoms, the Socialists will take over, society will fall apart, the commies will take over, your guns will be taken away, and your daughters will be forced to marry gay men."
It's amazing that people fall for this stuff ... but ... sure enough they do.
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Beau78906 months, 3 weeks ago
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You're right on the mark, Goppy.
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While I'll admit Democrats do sometimes appeal to fear along with other emotions, it appears fear is the only emotion Republicans care to provoke. And they do it in a way that stimulates a sense of such urgency that their more radical followers sometimes believe taking the law into their own hands is the only feasible option, and rarely disavow those reactions. That's where the vitriol comes from, and how it's allowed to fester.
I've seen comments on this thread and others today comparing the hatred stirred up by those Rich calls "enablers" to criticism of Bush and Cheney--but those commenters fail to see the distinction between remarks made by bloggers and outsiders, and those made by legitimate party spokespeople. I don't recall any elected officials saying they hoped Bush failed or speaking of seceding from the Union. I'm sure some on the right out here will doubt that assertion, and if anyone has evidence of mainstream Democratic officials saying such things, I'd welcome them to post links.
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