This morning on Morning Edition there was an essay from a Republican delegate describing his trip to New York. He talked about the heavy police presence and the military out in force carrying weaponry. And he said it made him feel safe. I was flabbergasted.
That sort of thing would never make me feel safe. It would have the opposite effect.
The Bush administration is claiming that only they can keep us safe. It sounds so much like a fascist state, saying that it’s putting all those forces on the streets for us to keep us safe.
Instead, they have created a sort of revival of the brown shirts, people who are using the horror of September 11 to play power games with ordinary Americans; destroying our unique civil liberties in order to save them.
Read the story of one man who took some pictures, and how — like asking too many questions — taking pictures and videos is now an act of subversion.
When you’re finished reading, ask yourself what country it sounds like the guy was in. China? North Korea? The Soviet Union?
Nope. This is America. Now.
[via kottke.org]
It wouldn’t make them feel safe if it was Clinton who was the incumbent.
The thing is, we *still* wouldn’t feel safe. That’s because we believe that government only behaves when it is forced to behave. Republicans seem to think it’s only Democrats who can be corrupted.