Democratic Party Strategies

The Politics of

Shame, fear and intimidation

By Jim Williams

Well the health care debate is well underway. Congress has started their August break and our representatives are coming home to listen to their constituents. And listening they are; whether they want to or not. The people are speaking out about the health care bill in a loud singular voice that is seldom heard. This has stunned those on the left who see no problem with the government take over of almost 20% of our economy. The people are asking poignant questions and only want straight factual answers. The problem comes in because these questions can not be answered with substance. This seems to be a losing debate for the supporters of a national health care system.

Because the left doesn’t have facts to support their position they are now instructing the use of shame and satire to bolster their argument. This is their substitute for using facts to win the debate. Two Democratic strategists, interviewed yesterday on MSNBC, suggested these tactics to control the objectionable crowds at the town hall meetings. The theory is if they can shame the crowd by starting the meetings with heart wrenching health care stories and laugh at their concerns when formed as questions, then they can belittle and intimidate the people into accepting any and everything this administration purposes.

A third horrific tactic that the left is deploying is false accusations of racism. Because President Obama happens to be black, all objections being posed and all questions being asked about his policies and positions are being contributed to racism. This, again, is a method of intimidation. No one wants to be labeled a racist. Fortunately, most people can see through these false accusations; unfortunately, there are those who can’t.

If Martin Luther King could see how the movement he started for social equality has been hijacked to leverage political power, he would drop his head in despair. The side effect of the left using false accusations of racism as a tool of intimidation is that it desensitizes and de-legitimizes true civil rights issues when they occur.

As long as the left continues these tactics, they are not allowing President Obama to build the true political capital and clout that he is due. But when you don’t have sound philosophy and facts to stand on, then these tactics are all you have to fall back on!