tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811634852448526364.post-42711196118788484652008-04-22T15:56:00.003-05:002008-04-22T16:40:43.228-05:00"Politics of Fear": Darn Right<div align="justify">From the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/politics/22campaign.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">NY Times</a>: <blockquote>As she sought to spark a comeback in the Democratic nominating contest, Mrs. Clinton warned voters not to “take a leap of faith or have any guesswork” when they cast ballots Tuesday.<br /><br />The Obama campaign accused her of employing “the politics of fear.”</blockquote>I am the last person who is going to defend Hillary Clinton, but Obama's response is interesting.<br /><br />Liberals frequently use the phrase "politics of fear" when conservatives want to implement policies to fight terrorism, to ban gay marriage or to protect us from violent criminals. However, they never use that term for their own policies.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Don't liberals employ the "the politics of fear" when they try to convince us that the Earth is in danger from man made global warming? Or when they argue that practical safety measures will be the first step toward removing our civil liberties?<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Both sides employ the politics of fear. It makes sense to some degree. Government's primary role is to keep us safe. Of course, it becomes little more than pandering when politicians overstate their case, but demagoguery has been a part of politics at least since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Aristotle tried to classify the fallacies of orators and politicians over 2,300 years ago.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">But to dismiss fears is another form of fallacy. There is nothing logical or rational about ignoring those things which most concern voters or society as a whole.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">We are going to hear a lot about the "politics of fear" from now until November. If so, great. If Hillary's comments were the "politics of fear," I hope and trust that McCain will try to scare the heck out of us. Obama scares the heck out of me (although Hillary does not exactly give me the warm fuzzies either).</div><div align="justify"></div>Reaganitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17454289278342875631noreply@blogger.com