In my article today, I touch on the way the right was branded the enemy after Oklahoma and the left was declared the traitor after 9/11. I remember now even more clearly how much during the late 90s the conservatives went on the defensive, until Monica-Gate, anyway. Oklahoma, and its distortion of the history of Waco, solidified the notion that the red-state, gunowning, anti–federal government, anti–public schools, anti-'"liberal" folks were a threat to American peace and civility. Oklahoma retroactively validated Waco, to which it was a terrorist response. David Koresh and Tim McVeigh melded together in the minds of many, as if they were basically the same man, somewhere slightly to the right of Rush Limbaugh and the NRA. Championing gun rights and opposition to the government is a slippery slope to aiding the domestic terrorist threat.
After 9/11, the left was put on the defensive. Jerry Falwell blamed the atrocity on the ACLU. Even many in the larger libertarian movement saw the leftists like Michael Moore as somehow helping the enemy. 9/11 validated retroactively the past interventions to which it was a terrorist response. Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden melded together in the minds of many, as if they were basically the same man, somewhere slightly to the left of Al Franken and the ALCU. Championing due process and opposition to the war is a slippery slope to aiding the foreign terrorist threat.
