You make that sound like a bad thing. 
Sometimes they’re a little more open about it than you’d expect…
How do these nuts respond when people point out that the whole theory was ripped off from the 1983 TV miniseries V?
It’s use in conspiracy circles predated Bush’s use of the term to describe the post-Soviet world.
The term originally was used pretty much in its obvious sense. Wilson and Churchill both used the term “a new world order” to refer to major changes in international politics. But starting in the fifties, the term began appearing in conspiracy literature to describe secret government programs.
So when Bush used the term in 1990, he presumably meant it innocently and in its original meaning. But it was a poor choice of words nonetheless. Several decades of negative association had become associated with the term. It’s calling something “a final solution” - you can’t just ignore the connotation of its previous use.
It should be noted that many (if not most) people who use “New World Order” to refer to a shadowy world government are talking about da Jooz. Personally I thought it was bad enough when the NWO took over WCW.
Incidentally, I second the recommendation of Jon Ronson’s book Them mentioned upthread. It’s a fascinating and hilarious look at conspiracy theories (mostly about the author’s confusion at why it’s always the Jews who get blamed.)
Ronson also wrote the equally brilliant The Men Who Stare At Goats, which will sadly probably be remembered as the worst film adaptation of a book in history.
Oh, by the way, I’ve cracked the code
I’ve figured out these shadow organizations
And the Illuminati know
That they’re finally primed for world domination
And soon you’ve got black helicopters coming 'cross the border
Puppet masters for the New World Order
Be aware: there’s always someone that’s watching you
And still the government won’t admit they faked the whole moon landing
Thought control rays, psychotronic scanning
Don’t mind that, I’m protected cause I made this hat
From aluminum foil (foil)
Wear a hat that’s foil lined
In case an alien’s inclined
To probe your butt or read your mind
Looks a bit peculiar ('culiar)
Seems a little crazy
But someday I’ll prove (I’ll prove, I’ll prove, I’ll prove)
There’s a big conspiracy
For everything there is a Weird Al song and a Weird Al song for every thing under heaven.*
It is a clever ploy. Who would suspect a television show would be made about a secret conspiracy?
Thank you. I did not know the term had currency in CT circles before President Bush’s presumably innocent usage.
Between Bush I using “NWO” apparently inadvertently and Bush II using “Crusade” apparently inadvertently I have to say that family is bad at picking untainted turns of phrase. Or maybe they’re just bad at hiring speechwriters who don’t have hidden agendas working for sinister hidden forces. Hmmm …
The NWO crowd was more worried about secret communists working within the American government. Of course, to a lot of people of this mindset, the communists are the Jews and vice versa.
A lot of people think anti-semitism is behind Icke’s reptilian conspiracy. They think that Icke talks about reptilians as cover. He’s really talking about the Jews but he maintains deniability be saying reptilians.
But Ronson has talked to Icke and he says that he’s convinced Icke is serious. When Icke says reptilians are running the world, he means it literally. He really does believe that alien lizard people are here on Earth.
I surprised he doesn’t claim they’re the true force behind global warming.
So we just have to destroy their Secret Basking Lamp, which is powered by their Secret Power Station on the Dark Side of the Moon, and we are in business!
Yes, but Ronson also thought some of Icke’s close supporters thought he was talking about Jews in code.
You mean the historical documentary V? 
I wonder, are there studies comparing the wacky demographics among nations? For instance, what percentage of reptile-overlord-believer are there in Great Britain? France? Russia? Etc.
David Icke often get interviewed for those TV shows about the Freemasons, and the Bilderberg Group, and the Skull & Bones Society. He doesn’t mention reptiles in those interviews. Just the standard evil-rich-people conspiracy stuff. He is calm and articulate, and often comes across as the least nutty of all the people they interview for those shows. I have not read any of his books, but if he writes as well as he speaks, he is probably very persuasive.
Then he’s a reptile. What better cover?
Dammit!
For what it’s worth, Icke more or less got laughed out of Britain when he went nuts. In large part this was because he appeared on Wogan (sort of like Letterman, but with more interview-y stuff and almost zero humor) and predicted the end of the world (catastrophic flooding and mass starvation and stuff). Oh, and claimed to be the son of god.
He had to come to the US to become famous again with the lizard stuff, though in fairness that might be because nobody here knows he once claimed to be the son of god.
Icke does have genuine issues with the Jews as well. Sometimes he talks about what the Jews are secretly doing and sometimes he talks about what the reptilians are secretly doing. A result is that some people, both his opponents and his followers, think Icke is always talking about the Jews but sometimes uses code.
But Ronson thinks this isn’t true. He feels that Icke really does believe that reptilians are just as real a thing as Jews are. And that when Icke is talking about Jews he means Jews and when he’s talking about reptilians he means reptilians.
When asked, Donald Rumsfeld refused to deny that he was a lizard. What more do you want?