Screwtape #12: The Importance of Hatred

To: House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Democratic National Committee, Our Media Allies, State Democratic Leaders

My last attempt at sending an encoded report was less than a stellar success. This was the best translation anyone received. Therefore, we're back to business as usual here at the Screwtape Report.

I've read many reports decrying the lack of civility in politics. This is fine when Republicans are being condemned for causing incivility by pushing their ideas, however those who speak against our hatred of Bush need to understand that hatred fuels our party.

The fact is that hatred is the glue that holds our party together. Hatred and fear are the greatest forces in politics. I ask you to consider what would happen if we stopped hating Bush, Reagan, Limbaugh, and the rest.

Think about the minority votes. If Blacks didn't believe Republicans were racists, and Hispanic voters didn't believe Republicans looked down on them, the results would be catastrophic. There are enough socially conservatives, pro-school vouchers voters to make our party a permanent minority. It's not necessarily that all of them would vote Republican, it's that they would start to vote like individuals, rather than as a group.

Groupthink is a close second to hatred as a source of power. We want minorities to think as groups, with the belief that the Republicans are the enemy of their race. The scariest idea is when any person of color starts thinking for themselves as an individual and basing their votes on their own views and ideas rather than the group consensus.

It's also important to keep all the activists on board. The fact is that our dear former President did go to the right, but we kept most of the activists on board for fear of what would result if they broke away. The Nader debacle has strengthened their fear. They don't want to risk re-electing Bush.

Hatred gets the college students on our side. Professors teach them to value total freedom of expression, free love, and a strong state. This isn't enough to get them to vote. But, we tell them that there is a party out there who wants to take away their MTV and make America a '50s sitcom with no tolerance for other beliefs. We make the religious right into a caricature and hang them about the Republican's necks. They hate the religious right, they hate the Republicans, and they vote.

We have yet to perfect hatred throughout America. Dr. Dean's noble, but poorly worded attempt to create class hatred among all poor Americans failed, but it is our ultimate goal to unite all the poor and middle class in hatred of the rich. We've succeeded in building a certain level of resentment among many but have not succeeded in creating that unanimity of hatred we need to dominate the country. Without the 40% of union voters who voted for Bush, Al Gore would be in the White House. Our friends in the media must continue to work to build the sense of class warfare in all people.

We hate Reagan and Bush because they cut taxes and increased defense spending. We hate them because Republicans took over the Senate while they were in office. Most importantly, we hate them because the people loved them.

I learned to hate after McGovern lost in '72, and have hated every Republican president since. I hated Reagan when he was in office and when he left. I felt no sympathy for him when he got Alzheimer's. Many questioned whether it was appropriate to show "The Reagan's" while he was dying in bed.

My answer is yes. The more of a buffoon, the more of a caricature we can make him the better. The less warm and human he seems in people's memory, the better, the easier it is to create hate. The actors are to be commended. Like love, hate is a verb. Hatred that's just thoughts is not hatred at all.

I hate Rush Limbaugh and want to see him in jail. I don't care about what he did. I want him gone. If we can get Limbaugh in jail for a long time, his show will go away. This would have meant a lot more a decade ago, but still I long to get the man who has done so much to hurt liberalism.

I hate the Church and most Christians. There are good Christians. Those who tear down the Church from the inside by proposing that Christians adopt humanism are among those I love most. I love John Shelby Spong who wants to create a new Christianity in his own image. As for Reverend Gen Robinson, if you read his first sermon, it sounded like a stump speech for our party.

The bigots who try to keep Christian churches following the Bible and Christian traditions are the ones I loathe most. Our friends in the media must continue to paint the worst picture of them possible and the more stories they do on it, the better.

Very few on the right have caught on to how much we hate them. Ann Coulter has and David Horowitz knows from experience. The rest haven't a clue. To them everything is political, not personal. They're surprised as the level of hatred and animosity they encounter.

George W. Bush wants to be friends with everyone like he was with some Democrats in Texas. He has not fully realized that he's not in Austin anymore. The more moderate Republicans and most of the conservatives don't want to face the fact that we hate them with a passion.

We hated Christie Whitman, we hate Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Rowland, and George Pataki, pro-choice views and all. We hate every single Republican in the House because they're not Democrats. We hate all that stands in the way of our victory.

P.S. As I will be out of town until New Year's, I want to wish you a Happy holiday season.

The Screwtape Report is written by Adam Graham. The Screwtape Report is written from a Democratic perspective by a conservative in order to reveal Democratic strategy and thinking. You can subscribe to the reports by clicking here.

2 posted on 12/15/2003 3:49:19 PM PST by MarkeyD (Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.)

I have always believed that Democrats had it easier than Republicans, because grassroots Dems are united by their hatred of Republicans, thus Dem candidates can tack much further to the right (ala Bill Clinton 1995-1996) without fear of losing their base.

Perhaps this is changing, since Dem voters seem so consumed with rage at Bush that they may simply refuse to tolerate anyone who does not reflect that hatred. Hence the success of Dean.

If Republicans hated Clinton the way that Dems hate Bush, Republicans would have nominated Keyes in 1996. Instead they nominated the most vanilla man possible, Bob Dole, who could barely find his way to criticize Clinton on anything.

I love John Shelby Spong who wants to create a new Christianity in his own image. As for Reverend Gen Robinson, if you read his first sermon, it sounded like a stump speech for our party.

Your ping list might be interested.

did a google search on "hate Bush" - 22,900 hits. did a google search on "hate Clinton" - 1,600 hits. don't know exactly what this means, but it suggests that Democrats are full of a lot more hate than Republicans...

If Republicans hated Clinton the way that Dems hate Bush, Republicans would have nominated Keyes in 1996. Instead they nominated the most vanilla man possible, Bob Dole, who could barely find his way to criticize Clinton on anything.

That was very well said! I have great respect for Bob Dole, but I agree that he wasn't the man to beat Bill Clinton. As it is, it's hard to believe that the race in 2000 against Al Gore was a nail-biter. It shouldn't have been even close.

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