An_Approval_Rating_Conundrum.htm 5-5-05

"I'm appealing to the rest of you - those who have the intrinsic ability, whether you realize it or not, to 'connect the dots'. You need only to put aside that uncomfortable feeling of dissonance that occurs when confronted with the possibility that things are not as they appear..."

An Approval Rating Conundrum
Posted May 5, 2004 thepeoplesvoice.org

By: Kerry Tomasi

Let's see…

Bush approval rating at around 50% (on a good day) and falling.
Nothing positive in the foreseeable future on the domestic or international front that will reverse the trend.
And a certain 'Bush fatigue' growing among his not so fervent supporters.
What's a right wing cabal to do?

Maybe recent history could shed some light.

Sept. 10th 2001:

Bush approval rating at around 50% (on a good day) and falling.
Nothing too positive in the foreseeable future on the domestic or international front that would reverse the trend.
And a certain 'Bush fatigue' beginning to set in among his not so fervent supporters.
One week later:

Bush approval rating at 90% - the highest ever recorded for a US President!
Humm… it's a little hazy, but I suspect there might be a clue or a connection in there somewhere.

What could it be?

You ever wonder what it means when Bush repeatedly says - as he did in his recent press conference - that "we fight the terrorists over there so we don't have to fight them here"?

How is it he can assure us - with the level of confidence he displays by repeating this claim over and over - that the terrorists will not attack us here as long as we're killing folks in Iraq? Does he exude some kind of influence over the al Qaeda network we're unaware of? One that would preclude them from attacking us here in this country?

If on Sept. 18th 2001 a poll had been taken to determine if anyone believed we would be hit with another terrorist attack - even a minor one - within the next 3-4 years, I'm fairly certain it would have come in at around 99% in the affirmative.

Yet nothing to date. Out of a hundred thousand sworn to destroy us - many already residing in this country - not a single suicidal nut, armed with a grenade or a homemade pipe bomb or a bag of "out of state" fireworks. It's truly remarkable. In fact, it defies almost all probability.

One might be tempted, if one were so inclined, to suspect that BushCo actually does exude some kind of influence over if, when, and where a terrorist attack 'over here' might occur.

Come to think of it, Dick Cheney made a comment buttressing such a suspicion during the 2004 campaign:

"It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States.”

Was this statement what it appears to be? A implied threat? "Vote for us, or else…"? It certainly could be construed as such.

Of course there are many who believe that all this simply means Bush and Company are doing a bang up job preventing another attack; that programs like the color coded alert system, airline travelers in socks, and imprisoning/torturing those with Muslim sounding names are actually working.

And that Kerry, had he been elected, would have eliminated the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and the color coded alert system, then spent the rest of his time figuring out ways to promote homosexuality and undermine Christianity across the country.

But then, I guess I'm not really addressing that crowd.

I'm appealing to the rest of you - those who have the intrinsic ability, whether you realize it or not, to 'connect the dots'. You need only to put aside that uncomfortable feeling of dissonance that occurs when confronted with the possibility that things are not as they appear, or as we would like to believe they are, and to recognize that the people within this very dangerous right wing movement - all of them cloaked in the flag and clutching a Bible - are not who they project themselves to be.

Because unless you're extremely wealthy, or one who looks forward to an authoritarian theocracy, you and/or your children are eventually going to be touched personally, in some manner, by these people - or by their fervent followers. And I don't mean "touched" in a pleasant way.

Meanwhile, as I suggested in a piece some time back, it might be advisable to respond to the next pollster you encounter with a hearty: "I think George W. Bush is the greatest President ever!"

I realize such mendacity might be difficult - it certainly would be for me - but… "Remember, Rove [or Cheney] is watching, he’s listening, he’s gauging the need to take more drastic action if necessary. If he believes, due to the poll numbers, that it’s going to be close, all bets are off. They will do anything - and I mean absolutely anything - to maintain their hold on power and see their goals of domestic and global domination to fruition." (From "Runaway Train" 4-9-04)

As I've also stated before - I really, really hope I'm wrong about all this. I truly do.

But I don't think I am. I have this overwhelming 'sense' that we are heading over that cliff toward a theocratically based (disguised) fascism. And that 'sense' is not coming from too much hydrogenated oil, or too little beer; nor is it from the seemingly endless barrage of low pressure systems we're confronted with here. It comes from painstakingly uncovering and putting pieces of this often complex puzzle together.

And the emerging picture is not a good one.

Trust me, you - the 'not so fervent' crowd - do not want to be a part of it. Not now, and certainly not in the future, when it will all become a bit more clear what this movement was up to.

-###-