The Right Uses Boomerang against Obama
Published in Elsevier
(Netherlands) on 14 April 2009
by Rik Kuethe (link to original)
(Netherlands) on 14 April 2009
by Rik Kuethe (link to original)
Translated from
by Anne Hukkelhoven.
Edited by Cara Brumfield.
On the right side of the political spectrum, the rage against American president Obama grows. In the first three months of his presidency he has been accused of fascism by Fox News, while another exponent of the right side, member of Congress Michele Bachmann, warns that this president wants to obige youngsters to go to reeducation camps.
Antipathy
Yet another rightist politician claims that Obama harbors a deeply rooted antipathy against American values and traditions.
The right has greeted with triumphant cries an Pew opinion poll which shows that the appreciation for the president among Democrats (88 percent) is spectacularly higher than among Republicans (27 percent).
Black Michael Moore
In his weekly column in the Sunday Times, the conservative journalist, Andrew Sullivan, explains why this does not mean that Obama, whose actions and personality are appreciated by about two thirds of Americans at the moment, would actually be a kind of black Michael Moore, who is working on isolating himself.
That the difference (61 percent) in appreciation among the followers of both parties is so big, is partially caused by the fact that there are no longer a significant number of progressive politicians among the Republicans and a considerable amount of conservatives among Democrats. Those 'strangers' have now almost completely been 'separated out'.
Cryptocommunism
Obama has gone down on his feet quite a bit for the right, like a series of tax reductions in the stimulus plan, or taking it easy with the exit from Iraq. Moreover, he has held more meetings with Republican members of Congress than his Republican predecessor. What the above-mentioned polls do not show is the spectacular decrease in the number of Americans that call themselves Republican.
That is just a quarter of the electorate. It has not been that little within living memory. Ideologically, this segment shows a considerable cohesion. Previously, when the Republicans had a larger part of the voters market, they knew more sorts and conditions of men.
The tactics from the right are simple. Portray Obama as a cryptocommunist or as a second Stokely Carmichael, without bringing forth plans of their own. That is a well-tested recipe which was tried last year during the primaries, without much success by the way.
Confidence
For those who stir in that pot, it is a dangerous recipe. It hits the cooks in the face. Because those qualifications of socialist or fascist are so far away from the truth (it's like calling Wouter Bos [Minister of Finance] a Stalinist) that most Americans simply shrug it off.
On the contrary, the confidence increases. At Obama's inauguration on January 20, only 26 percent of the population believed that the country was headed the correct way, now it is 40 percent.
Antipathy
Yet another rightist politician claims that Obama harbors a deeply rooted antipathy against American values and traditions.
The right has greeted with triumphant cries an Pew opinion poll which shows that the appreciation for the president among Democrats (88 percent) is spectacularly higher than among Republicans (27 percent).
Black Michael Moore
In his weekly column in the Sunday Times, the conservative journalist, Andrew Sullivan, explains why this does not mean that Obama, whose actions and personality are appreciated by about two thirds of Americans at the moment, would actually be a kind of black Michael Moore, who is working on isolating himself.
That the difference (61 percent) in appreciation among the followers of both parties is so big, is partially caused by the fact that there are no longer a significant number of progressive politicians among the Republicans and a considerable amount of conservatives among Democrats. Those 'strangers' have now almost completely been 'separated out'.
Cryptocommunism
Obama has gone down on his feet quite a bit for the right, like a series of tax reductions in the stimulus plan, or taking it easy with the exit from Iraq. Moreover, he has held more meetings with Republican members of Congress than his Republican predecessor. What the above-mentioned polls do not show is the spectacular decrease in the number of Americans that call themselves Republican.
That is just a quarter of the electorate. It has not been that little within living memory. Ideologically, this segment shows a considerable cohesion. Previously, when the Republicans had a larger part of the voters market, they knew more sorts and conditions of men.
The tactics from the right are simple. Portray Obama as a cryptocommunist or as a second Stokely Carmichael, without bringing forth plans of their own. That is a well-tested recipe which was tried last year during the primaries, without much success by the way.
Confidence
For those who stir in that pot, it is a dangerous recipe. It hits the cooks in the face. Because those qualifications of socialist or fascist are so far away from the truth (it's like calling Wouter Bos [Minister of Finance] a Stalinist) that most Americans simply shrug it off.
On the contrary, the confidence increases. At Obama's inauguration on January 20, only 26 percent of the population believed that the country was headed the correct way, now it is 40 percent.