With the presidential election looming, partisans on both sides of the political spectrum have been thrown into an uproar. Although there is disagreement over the Iraq war, health policy, environmental policy and other platform issues, the two parties are united by one cause: anger. Anger has pervaded the campaigns of both Democrats and Republicans. Never before has cultural schism been so embraced.
On Sept. 1, Georgia Sen. Zell Miller addressed the Republican National Convention. This old-school Democratic senator supports a strong military, low taxes and preservation of the family. During his address, Zell called Sen. John Kerry "more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure."
He also stated, "Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator. And nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators." As Jon Stewart noted on last Thursday's "Daily Show," if Miller truly meant his statement, he must have been ripped when Bush stated in April, "(the Iraqis are) not happy they're occupied. I wouldn't be happy if I were occupied either."
When Chris Matthews P '05 interviewed Miller for his MSNBC show, "Hardball," the exchange ended in an outburst by Miller that was so comical, it almost masked its embarrassing nature. Miller memorably stated that he wished "we lived in the day where you could challenge a person," namely Matthews, "to a duel."
Even more appalling than Miller's outburst were Morton Blackwell's actions. Blackwell, a GOP activist from Virginia, handed out Band-Aids with purple heart-shaped stickers affixed to them. The intended message: "It was just a self-inflicted scratch, but you see I got a Purple Heart for it."
The Band-Aids were intended to be an attack on Kerry's war record of three Purple Hearts during his service in Vietnam. Members of the group sponsoring anti-Kerry ads that challenge his wartime service contend that Kerry's first wound was caused by his own fire.
It is understandable that Vietnam veterans would seek revenge against the man who turned against them by infamously throwing away his medals and calling American soldiers "baby-killers" in 1971 while fellow soldiers watched on televisions in Vietnam. Even though one of Kerry's medals is contested, Blackwell committed a shamefully disrespectful act in mocking the service of a citizen.
Anger pervades the rhetoric of current Republican leaders, where "good" and "evil" are the only two shades of international affairs. In the meantime, Democrats use their overwhelming anger in a less effective manner. Anybody reading this article knows at least a few vehement Bush-haters. Endless online advertisements by MoveOn.org and other groups have called Bush ignorant, a killer, and even a Nazi. It is impossible for the Democrats to have an effective political debate without appearing blinded by an emotional dislike of Bush's character.
Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, recently stated that "George Bush has unleashed a new McCarthyism that, under the cloak of a time of crisis and peril, has vilified and questioned the patriotism of those who have policy and political differences with him and his administration." He also stated, "The story goes that as the lifeboats were being loaded, the wealthy of the passengers of the Titanic pushed aside the women and children. The values of this administration would be quite at home aboard that ill-fated ship." Cute, Terry.
And amid all the anger, Howard Dean's career is ruined by one enthusiastic scream.
My prediction for the 2004 election: mudslinging, anger, cultural schisms. Nothing new. We will get all the emotionally charged speeches we want, in exchange for political effectiveness.
Laura Martin '06 is a biophysics concentrator.
