Between the Lines: Fear is on the agenda
As if election-year politics weren’t scary before
By Patrick Callahan, senior writer
Posted on September 14, 2006

Be afraid; be very afraid — at least that’s what many of our leaders in Congress would have you believe. Yes, my friends, election year is in full swing and congressmen and women on both sides of the isle are pulling out every imaginable trick in their political spin bags. No matter which side picks up the most seats and regardless of who controls the House or the Senate in January — the real losers in this oh-so-exciting election season will unfortunately be the voters — and for that matter, the non-voters. As has happened far too many times in our nation’s lengthy election history, matters of the utmost importance are taking seats in the bleachers while the political players focus on the “meat and potatoes,” if you will, of their campaigns. Party spokespersons, senators, representatives and their respective staffs will all be focusing on the issues that will portray them in the best light. At the same time, they’ll be baiting voters with the issues that political polling and campaign experts have assured them will be the turning point in the race to court the “in-between” voters.

The political pundit Jon Stewart, in doing what he does best, casually called out our fearless leader in classic style by broadcasting to a national audience a quote that might not have otherwise gained the media attention it deserved. In a White House press conference televised on CNN and CSPAN, President Bush was asked by a reporter what exactly Iraq had to do with the attacks on Sept. 11. To this he responded, and I quote, “Nothing.” A small sound bite for all intents and purposes, but nonetheless it is a comment worth drawing attention to. The very crux of the argument behind our invasion of Iraq was that its leaders had been collaborating with al-Qaeda and seeking to develop a nuclear or biological arsenal with which to combat the United States indirectly through global terrorist networks. We’ve known for years now that there was no discovery of any weapons of mass destruction and now we hear straight from the source that our government knew there were no ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda — yet continued to mislead us in that direction anyway.

The wheels of the spin machines are just beginning to turn in an effort to make up for nearly six years of misguided policies and priorities unrepresentative of the views most essential to the majority of constituents. Be prepared to feel the brunt of a massive scare campaign in the coming weeks. Members of Congress on the political hot seat this election year will stop at nothing to scare the public into a semi-comatose state of utter impressionability. The talk will shift to the global effort to combat terrorism and Iraq will be pushed to the side because it isn’t an admirable issue on which to get re-elected. The lobbyist scandals poisoning both houses of Congress for so long will be at least temporarily forgotten. The attempt by Democrats to raise the minimum wage for the first time in nine years will also be put on the back burner. Problems confronting our senior citizens in their effort to gain Medicare benefits will be sidelined once again, and immigration reform will prove to be an issue confronted by a new Congress.

The American public’s insistence on ignoring the issues of true importance while soaking up the political spin of the various campaign machines has proven to be the most detrimental attribute of our system in the past. I would argue that our leaders are not to blame so much as we ourselves are. The system does not manipulate the minds and votes of its constituents unless they allow themselves to be manipulated — a prevailing trend we’re sure to see again this election season.

Patrick Callahan is a junior political science major.