Bush, GOP Exploit 9/11 Dead and Fear for Votesby
Bill Barnwell
The only thing George Bush has going for him this Presidential election is the fact that he is a "wartime President." Since Bush has taken office, the economy has tanked, energy prices have shot through the roof, the government has expanded at a rate not seen in decades, and little of substance has been accomplished domestically except for political symbolism. Americans realize this, including most Republicans, many of whom are only grudgingly supporting the President because they feel they have no alternative. It’s hard not to argue from a conservative perspective, that this President has been a major disappointment. From a non-partisan perspective, the answer to the old question "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" is pretty clear to most Americans. The answer for most of us is no. Bush’s biggest asset in this race is the fact that 9/11 happened and now America is involved in a never-ending "War on Terrorism." Bush’s approval ratings were already depressingly low on September 10th. But on September 11th he became a "war" President. The country rallied around him. His approval ratings went sky high. Then came the steady decline. After dipping below a 50% approval rating, Bush finds himself largely stagnated in the polls. He is currently several points ahead of John Kerry, mainly because Kerry is a bad candidate and recent attack ads directed towards him. There is, of course, something else. That’s the public perception that Bush is the better man to be trusted in the eternal "War on Terrorism" (though even support for Bush in this area is also fading). All that said, one must ask themselves, where would Bush be right now if it wasn’t for 9/11? Is the memory of 9/11 and fears about terrorism the only thing that is keeping Bush afloat? In a very twisted way, it is very arguable that 9/11 was the best thing that ever happened to George Bush and by extension the Republican Party. Had the terrorist attacks never happened, George Bush would probably be even less popular than he is today. He’d have no issues. No talking points. Regardless of what the GOP convention will try to show this week, Republicans (and particularly conservatives) have few achievements to trumpet to the nation. Economically, the only thing keeping Bush and the Republicans a marketable sale is death and fear. Left-wing conspiracy theorists argue that Bush had advance knowledge of 9/11 or was for whatever reason happy about 9/11. I don’t believe either of those things and don’t believe such arguments should be taken seriously. I don’t believe Bush was happy about 3,000 people dying. I believe he would definitely go back in time if he could and prevent it from happening. But more than any other American, he has benefited enormously from the terrorist attacks and the fear of future terrorism. If George Bush wins re-election he will have terrorism to thank for it. Had 9/11 never happened, Bush would probably have no chance and would be considered a failure of a President. While Americans consider him ineffective in most areas, many still give him the benefit of the doubt because of 9/11 and the threats and risks that terrorists pose. Bush and his GOP strategists realize this and have done everything they can the past three years to capitalize off of the nearly 3,000 dead and the fear that 9/11 spawned. So here we are, the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, a location picked precisely because its proximity to "Ground Zero." No one really argues that New York is representative of the national Republican Party, or that Republicans have a chance this year in New York, all that matters is the symbolism pointing to the terrorist attacks. This is just another example of the 9/11 victims being used for partisan and political gain. Republicans will try and change the subject this week to their non-achievements on the domestic front, and how we must all vote for Bush because the alternative is so horrible (reminder, voting third party or not voting at all for President are indeed alternatives). Yet they know that terrorism and fear are the best cards they hold in this campaign. Without that fear, Bush wouldn’t stand a chance. Fear can drive people to do a lot of things. It can cause people to get behind a candidate. It can cause people to sacrifice their freedoms. The day of 9/11, I was at a church staff meeting. As we all sat shocked and terrified as the two towers fell, the senior pastor made the remark that, "This is it. We’re going to lose a lot of freedoms and liberties now." He was right. It happened. Republicans immediately used the blood and the tragedy to pass their heavy-handed Patriot Act, something they had wanted to do long before 9/11. Fortunately for them, the terrorists gave them an opening to finally impose their program on a fearful public. Most of the foolish domestic proposals and foreign policy strategies since 9/11 have been driven by fear. Fear controls people. Politicians love control. Therefore they use fear to the best of their abilities. Bush and the Republicans are no different. The most shameless act by Bush and the neocons after 9/11 was by launching an unnecessary war against Iraq and implying to Americans that it had something to do with the "War on Terrorism." After 9/11 when Bush received a large amount of public support, he had the opportunity to be a "uniter, not a divider" as he promised in the 2000 election. Instead he exploited public fear and anger to not only retaliate for the 9/11 attacks, but to launch an unnecessary and aggressive war against Iraq to further neoconservative ambitions to reshape the Middle East. Whether or not Bush "lied" about WMD’s or was simply misled by intelligence agencies, he definitely knowingly overstated the case to the American public. The idea was presented that if we didn’t invade Iraq real soon, we were going to see a "mushroom cloud" over America as Condoleeza Rice suggested. To date, both wars continue on and America is no safer because of either of them. Then again, it’s perhaps better if we’re not safe. If we were, we wouldn’t give politicians a free pass on their lies and deception and we might actually start thinking for ourselves. The biggest irony in Iraq was that during the peak of the insurgencies, Americans began to question Bush’s wartime credentials. That spelled major trouble for Bush and his political handlers, who knew that his "tough" leadership in the "War on Terrorism" was his best hope for reelection. It became clear that Republicans had to change the subject. No WMD’s? Eh, don’t pay any attention to the lack of those. Insurgencies? We just gotta stay the course, don’t spend so much time fretting over that. Ever-expanding government? High energy prices and unemployment? Skyrocketing spending and debt? Well…um…hey, let’s have a debate about John Kerry’s service in Vietnam!
August 31, 2004 Bill Barnwell [send him mail] is a pastor in Swartz Creek, Michigan, and a Master’s of ministry student at Bethel College. Copyright © 2004 LewRockwell.com |
Bush
used 9/11 as an excuse to go into Iraq. He also used it to bring
about the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, and
the subservient attitude of a scared public. He wouldn’t have gotten
his war or many of his other proposals passed without fear and had
it not been for national tragedy and for the terrorists. In two
months, he may very well owe his reelection to terrorism and fear
as well. What we should all fear is that neither Bush nor Kerry
appears to want to reverse the damage that has been done the past
four years.