The Politics of Fear in '08

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt

In the annals of great political speeches one thinks immediately of three American presidents; Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lincoln, the champion of black emancipation who guided the Union through a bloody and divisive Civil War, delivered what is now referred to as the Gettysburg Address in a total of just 269 words. He defined democracy as “government of the people, by the people and for the people” and the American Civil War as an opportunity for a “new birth of freedom” where all men are created and treated equally. One hundred years later John Kennedy gave hope to a new generation of Americans and evoked their patriotism and sense of public service by asking them to contemplate “not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”.

As Adolf Hitler was coming to power in Germany, Franklin Roosevelt was elected President of a country that was in the midst of the worst depression in the country’s history. With a quarter of the workforce unemployed, two million people homeless and industrial production at less than 50% of what it had been just 4 years earlier in 1929 at the time of the Wall Street Crash, FDR called on Americans to rally themselves, their families and their country. Calling on them to recall their natural sense of optimism, fortitude and commitment to hard work, he suggested that they “had to nothing to fear but fear itself”.

As we move into a new election year in 2008, a different kind of fear is being evoked in the mind of Americans. The tragedy of 9/11 has left Americans suspicious, panicky, confused, angry and even revengeful. Unfortunately the administration of George W Bush has played on these emotions to heighten the paranoia of many Americans about the possibility of future terrorist attacks, enabling W to stream roll dodgy legislation through congress (the infamous Patriot Act) and implement illegal practices (wiretapping and unlawful detentions at Guantanamo) that undermine the civil rights of Americans and the protection of prisoners as handed down by the Geneva convention. Since 9/11, the Bush administration has continually played the fear factor for blatant political advantage and in the process severely undermined American civil liberties, the legal system and the essence of democracy.

Whatever else you can say about the co-presidency of George Bush and Dick Cheney, at least you know where they stand. We have come to expect hawkish and aggressive foreign policy, disregard and contempt for the co-equal branch of government as defined in the Constitution (the House and Senate) and an inability to accept accountability and responsibility for bad policy decisions (where do I even start). Republicans have long professed themselves to be better at protecting America in times of war than Democrats but that concept is laughable now in light of the presidency of George W Bush. You would have thought therefore that current Republican presidential candidates would be less inclined to advertise themselves at being better equipped to protect the country than their Democratic counterparts. Not likely. Not only are the Republican candidates hawkish on continuing the war in Iraq and still saber-rattling over possible conflict with Iran regardless of recent developments, they also have the gall to say that America would be less protected under a Democratic president and that the country would see a return to pre 9/11 complacency and inaction.

Step forward one Rudolph Giuliani. The self proclaimed “Mayor of America”, Giuliani has raised the blood pressure of Democrats across the country with his contention that Democrats are somehow unpatriotic and disinterested in taking the fight to the terrorists. This is an unbelievable statement from a man that it is now known did nothing as Mayor of New York to protect the city from a terrorist attack after the World Trade Centre was first targeted in 1993. Giuliani had 7 years from the time of his inauguration as mayor in 1994 to ready the city for the possibility of a future attack. In a mind boggling decision, Giuliani decided to locate the headquarters of the Office of Emergency Management (long identified as a target for a terrorist attack) INSIDE the World Trade Centre, even though that very same building had been targeted previously in 1993 and was as we found out on 9/11 the chief target for Al Qaeda in the United States.

In addition, Giuliani has received much criticism for the significant communication failures that hampered the response and recovery effort on 9/11 and the following days and weeks. The lack of working walkie-talkies, which had been an ongoing issue in the 1990’s in New York City, has led many of the 9/11 families, as well as members of the fire, police and emergency services to protest at Giuliani for President rallies. The groundswell of anti-Giuliani feeling has included the Fire-Fighters Union of America refusing to endorse Giuliani for President and they have posted an open letter on their website criticizing the former mayor for the “egregious acts he committed against our members, our fallen on 9/11 and our New York City union officers following that horrific day”. Not to mention the fact that Giuliani has reportedly earned over $20M in speaking fees since 2001 on so called leadership and the importance of winning the war on terror. Giuliani's recent performance on "Meet the Press" was a disaster, sniggering and side-stepping his way through a minefield of scandal curveballs tossed at him by Tim Russert.

The hypocrisy of candidates like Rudy Giuliani who continue to play the fear card for pure political advantage on the one hand, while being shown to be at best careless and at worst downright irresponsible in the aftermath of 9/11 on the other, underlines that if this guy is elected President we can look forward to another 4 years of Bush style policies and the continued erosion of the values that make this country great.

America needs to wake up to the divisiveness and moral corruption of candidates like Giuliani, and fast.