# Kerry presidency as a precursor to Nationalist USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 3, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270 "2004-10-03T01:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EvilGhandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/1 "2004-10-03T01:41:15Z")
OK, so yesterday I was setting tile, thousands of em. For those of you in non-construction vocations, setting tile is like filing TPS reports. That is, it requires training and skill but once you get going, its automatic, the mind wanders. During this wandering I was considering our upcoming elections. Bush gets re-elected, world hates us no big change there, world has hated us for a while. Kerry gets elected, world pretends to like us for a bit but really no change. Then comes the tangent, if there is a major terrorist attack on Bush’s watch, the US would grumble and demand policy change, probably electing a Dem in '08. If a major attack occurs on Kerry’s watch, I imagine a national outrage. Look at what that UN pussy did to us. Result, a reactionary canidate getting elected in '08. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/2 "2004-10-03T02:40:42Z")
What do you mean by “Nationalist” in the thread title? All American politicians are publicly nationalist to a large degree; internationalist ideas have very little following in America outside the left. ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/3 "2004-10-03T03:35:39Z")
**BrainGlutton** , IMO, I think the OP means that if Kerry is elected and another major terrorist incident occurs on US soil, then it sets the stage (in the OP’s opinion) for a reactionary Republican government in 08. This government will come to power by whipping up nationalistic fervor in order to destroy the enemy totally. Things that may occur: institution of the draft (or significant increase in the size of the military); further supression (or outright suspension) of civil liberties/constitutional rights; internment of Muslims/Arabs/foreigners; expanded military operations in the middle East or other areas; silencing of internal dissent via numerous methods (suppression of free speech, calling Democrats or anyone else opposed to the supression/suspension of dissent “traitors”, increase in physical intimidation, etc.); almost total isolation of US from the rest of the international community. In other words, probably the beginning of the end of the US as we know it. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/4 "2004-10-03T03:54:19Z")
> [@eponymous](#): > > IMO, I think the OP means that if Kerry is elected and another major terrorist incident occurs on US soil, then it sets the stage (in the OP’s opinion) for a reactionary Republican government in 08. This government will come to power by whipping up nationalistic fervor in order to destroy the enemy totally. Things that may occur: institution of the draft (or significant increase in the size of the military); further supression (or outright suspension) of civil liberties/constitutional rights; internment of Muslims/Arabs/foreigners; expanded military operations in the middle East or other areas; silencing of internal dissent via numerous methods (suppression of free speech, calling Democrats or anyone else opposed to the supression/suspension of dissent “traitors”, increase in physical intimidation, etc.); almost total isolation of US from the rest of the international community. Oh. Glad you were there for the translation, eponymous. 🙂 So, if there is an attack on Kerry’s watch then we will get the pre-cursors to a Republican Facist government? Not likely IMO. If it were going to happen at all (something I find vanishingly small in probability) it would happen if there were such an attack on BUSH’S watch. If it happens on Kerry’s watch some of the ‘blame’ will fall on Bush anyway, some of it will be defrayed…after all, such an attack happened on Bush’s watch, no? Mostly it will just make America a bit more paranoid again. A more interesting question than the OP is…what WOULD Kerry do if someone did another attack of the same scope as 9/11? -XT ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/5 "2004-10-03T04:03:26Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > A more interesting question than the OP is…what WOULD Kerry do if someone did another attack of the same scope as 9/11? He would go after the perpetrators of the attack without causing distractions such as an invasion of a country that had nothing to do with the attack and nothing to do with the perpetrators of the attack. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/6 "2004-10-03T04:14:35Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > A more interesting question than the OP is…what WOULD Kerry do if someone did another attack of the same scope as 9/11? What would **you** do in such an event if you were president? It’s a question impossible to answer meaningfully without knowing more details. The range of appropriate, indeed the range of possible, responses would depend on the situation. The “someone” who “did another attack” might be al-Qaeda, or some other Islamic fundamentalist group with a very different agenda, or North Korean agents, or a cell of diehard European Communists, or a group of homegrown right-wing radicals like Timothy McVeigh. ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/7 "2004-10-03T05:47:51Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Oh. Glad you were there for the translation, eponymous. 🙂 So, if there is an attack on Kerry’s watch then we will get the pre-cursors to a Republican Facist government? Who really knows? > [@](#): > > Not likely IMO. Probably - however, the liklihood (IMO) has been increasing. Still small, but larger than it used to be. > [@](#): > > If it were going to happen at all (something I find vanishingly small in probability) it would happen if there were such an attack on BUSH’S watch. If it happens on Kerry’s watch some of the ‘blame’ will fall on Bush anyway, some of it will be defrayed…after all, such an attack happened on Bush’s watch, no? Mostly it will just make America a bit more paranoid again. If an attack occurs while Kerry is president, the conservative/right-wing/Republican/“patriotic” powers that be will no doubt do everything in their power to ensure that he (and Democrats) are driven out of office. After all, it was President Bush who REALLY stood up to the terrorists and took the fight to them. It was Kerry (and the Democrats/liberals/liberal media/“traitors”/etc.) who helped get rid of Bush. So, no, I don’t think much blame will be deflected back on Bush. WIth respect to an attack on Bush’s watch, some would argue that we’re already moving in that direction. Check out this quote by Ann Coulter: [“…The survival of the Republic is threatened by the election of John Kerry.”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/537452/103-0825199-8563026) Also, check out this site: [Orcinus](http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/). Scroll down and read the installments on proto-fascism. Food for thought… ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/8 "2004-10-03T06:29:45Z")
> [@eponymous](#): > > …If an attack occurs while Kerry is president, the conservative/right-wing/Republican/“patriotic” powers that be will no doubt do everything in their power to ensure that he (and Democrats) are driven out of office… Won’t they be doing that even if there isn’t an attack? ---
**Author:** ![EvilGhandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/9 "2004-10-03T08:46:04Z")
eponymous, Thanks for the help. While I didn’t mean my question to be as far reaching as your explanation, it pretty much sum up my fears. Christ I wish I could write like you. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/10 "2004-10-03T17:35:56Z")
> [@eponymous](#): > > Check out this quote by Ann Coulter: > > [“…The survival of the Republic is threatened by the election of John Kerry.”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/537452/103-0825199-8563026) I notice she never says just **how** a Kerry Administration would threaten the survival of the Republic; she just repeats the message over and over. I expect better than that even from Ann Coulter. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-presidency-as-a-precursor-to-nationalist-usa/267270/11 "2004-10-03T18:53:01Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I notice she never says just **how** a Kerry Administration would threaten the survival of the Republic; she just repeats the message over and over. I expect better than that even from Ann Coulter. Shine on, you crazy optimist!