Posted on 10/14/2008 7:54:11 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
"Waving the bloody shirt" was the phrase once used to describe the standard demagogic tactic of the late 19th century, when memories of the Civil War were still vivid and loyalists of both parties could be moved to "vote as they shot." As the years passed and the memories faded, the shirt got gorier, the waving more frantic.
In 1896 the Democrats chose William Jennings Bryan as their leader, a man who was born in 1860 and had thus missed the Civil War, but who seemed to threaten the consensus politics of the time. In response, Republican campaign masterminds organized a speaking tour of the Midwest by a handful of surviving Union generals. The veterans advanced through the battleground states in a special train adorned with patriotic bunting, pictures of their candidate, William McKinley, and a sign declaring, "We are Opposed to Anarchy and Repudiation."
The culture wars are the familiar demagogic tactic of our own time, building monstrous offenses out of the tiniest slights. The fading rancor that each grievance is meant to revive, of course, dates to the 1960s and the antiwar protests, urban riots and annoying youth culture that originally triggered our great turn to the right.
This year the Democrats chose Barack Obama as their leader, a man who was born in 1961 and who largely missed our cultural civil war. In response, Republican campaign masterminds have sought to plunge him back into it in the most desperate and grotesque manner yet.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
In the same article, Ayers regretted he "hadn't done more."
And this dude describes him as a "model citizen"?
The MSM has determined he is.
Who is Thomas Frank? I’m sure Ayers is decent guy as long as you ignore his politics. But how can one ignore his politics?
Ayers is a traitor to his country and a card carying commie. And he should have been punished appropriately and to the fullest extent of the law.
To the MSM he IS a model citizen. He despises America and advances revolutionary Marxist beliefs.
bump
I apologize for my having missed the explanation as to why Ayers has not been indicted on criminal charges. I have read that he comes from an influential family background, (father a CEO blah, blah) but how has he avoided prosecution? Oh, by the way, his employment by the University system of IL is certainly a credit to that state.
NOT!!
Mr. Ayers may be a “friend” of Mr. Frank, but he’s no friend of America and neither is Obambi: they need to be defeated on all fronts.
So the way I see it, since he failed to make any lasting impression with bombs in the 60’s...he changed his tactics and decided to infiltrate the minds of our youths. A very clever tactic. And a worrisome one. How many other Ayers are there in our lower schools and universities??
Probably more than we care to think about.
“I am a friend of Mr. Ayers.”
What does Thomas Frank want, a medal? Some people are friends of Charles Manson.
“in its haste to convict a man merely for associating with Mr. Ayers, the GOP is effectively proposing to make the upcoming election into the largest mass trial in history”
What’s wrong with questioning the values of someone who is running for president? Oh, yeah. Conservatives are being “judgmental”.
“Also in the dock: the demonic city (Chicago) that once named Mr. Ayers its ‘Citizen of the Year.’ “
By who? Barak Obama?
“His 2001 memoir is shot through with regret, but it lacks the abject style our culture prefers.”
Yeah I know what he means. Ayers admitted that he’s shot through with regret about not doing more and better bombings.
Frank cannot see this problem, because he too is a redistributionist, and believes anyone seeing things differently is a morally corrupt enemy of, though he would never use the word, "the revolution".
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