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| Indecision 2010 - Revenge of the Fallen - FearStock.com | ||||
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Funny, huh? "This is the most terrifying scenario of all. There aren't enough stock photos of scary minorities out there to represent all the scary minorities we know have gotta be out there. ... Anyway, Ms. Angle, Sen. Vitter, next time use FearStock.com for when reality is not as terrifying as you need it to be."
But is it really that funny? Think of the real problems in America. We've still trying to dig our way out of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. We're still fighting two wars, and in particular, mired down in Afghanistan with no real prospect of a successful exit. As China ramps up its spending on education, on research and development, and on 21st Century infrastructure, our own infrastructure is crumbling and our children are failing in math and science.
So what are Republicans concerned about? College tuition for illegal immigrants! Yeah, that's a biggie, isn't it? What would happen to us if Hispanics get an education? It's certainly a scary, scary prospect, don't you think?
Or is it? In reality, it's just scapegoating. It's just white Americans wanting to find someone else to blame, instead of ourselves. We're in this mess - these messes - because we elected Republicans who gave tax cuts to the wealthy instead of balancing the budget, who deregulated our financial industry, leading to economic bubbles, who invaded two different nations - at least one for no reason at all - without paying, or even budgeting, for the wars, and whose politically-motivated mantra of tax-cuts, tax-cuts, tax-cuts ignored, and continues to ignore, the needs of our children and the long-term consequences to our nation.
But we don't want to believe that, do we? We don't want to believe that all this is our fault. Republican politicians, who haven't changed their policy positions one iota, certainly don't want to admit it. And given how bigotry always increases in stressful times, dark-skinned illegal immigrants make a great scapegoat (as long as we voters remain ignorant, short-sighted, and not very smart).
And so they use stock photos of scary minorities in campaign ads that focus on college tuition, of all things! Well, this is normal for the GOP. This is just the continuation of their Southern Strategy of appealing to white racists. As I say, it's even easier in stressful times, when people are eager for a simplistic "us" vs "them" message. Of course, Tea Partiers indignantly deny that they're racist, even while eagerly lapping up - and distributing - racist messages.
Look at that stock photo which Sharron Angle and David Vitter both used. Those scary, dark-skinned Hispanics really look like eager college students, don't they? Heh, heh. OK, racism isn't funny, nor is the gullibility of ignorant voters. But... we've got to laugh sometimes. And ridicule is one valid response to stuff like this (the other is to vote and to work to get people like this out of office).
PS. Note that David Vitter is that right-wing "family values" Republican caught patronizing prostitutes in Washington D.C. While cheating on his own wife, he was demanding that Bill Clinton resign for infidelity and arguing that gay rights threatened the holy sanctity of traditional marriage.
Quite the little hypocrite, isn't he? But none of that has hurt him politically. He's still in office and heavily favored to win election again this year. Amazing, isn't it?
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