# Republicans have become the propoganda arm of Al Queda **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 20, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250 "2006-10-20T17:26:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/21 "2006-10-20T20:07:13Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] I’m not so sure about that. There was the infamous Willie Horton that Bush the elder ran. Not just once, either. [/QUOTE] That’s another good example, to be sure, but if you’re ranking scare messages in political advertising, “If you vote for my opponent, a black man will rape your wife,” ranks pretty far below, “If you vote for my opponent, everyone on Earth will die in a nuclear holocaust.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/22 "2006-10-20T20:18:25Z")
Yeah, who can forget when Lyndon Johnson was the “peace” candidate. And I wore a “AuH2O!” button and distributed leaflets for Goldwater. Ah, but I was young and foolish, now, I am no longer young. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/23 "2006-10-20T21:13:53Z")
The thing that strikes me most is that the Republicans have stopped listening to themselves, since the ad basically serves as a reminder of the disastrous effect of their policies. Osama bin Laden? Oh, yeah, we didn’t catch him and didn’t really try. Iraq? Oh, yeah, that was our doing as well. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/24 "2006-10-20T22:12:15Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] The thing that strikes me most is that the Republicans have stopped listening to themselves, since the ad basically serves as a reminder of the disastrous effect of their policies. Osama bin Laden? Oh, yeah, we didn’t catch him and didn’t really try. Iraq? Oh, yeah, that was our doing as well. Etc. [/QUOTE] I was thinking something like that when I saw the ad-- do they really want to remind people that Bush has so far failed to capture ObL? And the scene where you could see the sillhouettes of “terrorists” walking thru the trees… I’m sorry, but that just made me laugh. They’re coming to get you!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/25 "2006-10-20T22:17:26Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I’m not going to defend this ad or the Republican Party as a whole, but you pretty much just lableled every poltician that every lived a terrorist. [/QUOTE] Works for me. To Gitmo with the lot of them. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/26 "2006-10-20T22:18:23Z")
[QUOTE=Harborwolf] Works for me. To Gitmo with the lot of them. 😉 [/QUOTE] I knew someone would pick up on that as soon as I typed it! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/27 "2006-10-20T22:34:15Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Yeah, who can forget when Lyndon Johnson was the “peace” candidate. And I wore a “AuH2O!” button and distributed leaflets for Goldwater. Ah, but I was young and foolish, now, I am no longer young. [/QUOTE] as did I. I was a politically abused child, even was forced to distribute campaign materials for [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Brooks_Patterson) _::shudders::_ ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/28 "2006-10-20T23:40:23Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] …if you’re ranking scare messages in political advertising, “If you vote for my opponent, a black man will rape your wife,” ranks pretty far below, “If you vote for my opponent, everyone on Earth will die in a nuclear holocaust.” [/QUOTE] You committed to those interpretations? 'Cause (IMHO) the message of the Horton ad(s) was “Dukakis is so soft on crime he lets rapists and murders out on the weekends” vs daisy girl’s “Goldwater wants to use nukes in Vietnam” (that whole “extremism = virtue / moderation = vice” thing). Sorry, but, nuking third world countries ranks pretty far below crime in the American reptilian brain. CMC fnord! [QUOTE=wring] …I was a politically abused child, even was forced to distribute campaign materials for [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Brooks_Patterson) _::shudders::_ [/QUOTE] I see your politically abused childhood and raise you this [one!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._Sandman,_Jr.) (Yup, leader of the eleven to vote against impeachment) Handed out campaign fliers and went on a motorcade through town with him, I’ll never forgive my Mother (I was only 10, but even then I new better)! ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/29 "2006-10-20T23:55:06Z")
eww. But did **your** father set aside individual copies of [_None Dare Call It Treason_](http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/reds.html)? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/30 "2006-10-21T00:06:03Z")
I don’t have the bandwidth to view that thing but there is a big difference in saying do this and I will activally blow up something and saying if you vote from them I can’t stop the terrorists from blowing up something because I won’t be in a position to do so, and the opposing party has shown that they don’t want to or are unable to understand the threat. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/31 "2006-10-21T00:16:48Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] I don’t have the bandwidth to view that thing but there is a big difference in saying do this and I will activally blow up something and saying if you vote from them I can’t stop the terrorists from blowing up something because I won’t be in a position to do so, and the opposing party has shown that they don’t want to or are unable to understand the threat. [/QUOTE] Well, there would be, except that, in fact, it is the governing party which does not understand the threat. This is easily demonstrated by the fact that the governing party, instead of completely and competently cleaning up that hotbed of terrorism and home of known terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden known as Afghanistan, chose instead to take advantage of the inflamed passions of the public to avenge personal grudges against Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/32 "2006-10-21T01:24:38Z")
[QUOTE=wring] eww. But did **your** father set aside individual copies of [_None Dare Call It Treason_](http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/reds.html)? [/QUOTE] No, but Dad did have a Confederate flag on the garage :eek: ! Mind you, we lived in Westfield NJ, sorta midway between [Plainfield](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Plainfield_riots) and [Newark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Newark_riots), Dad walked the streets of our fine town with his M1 carbine that July of '67, so that brought the total to 47+. His M1 wasn’t one of the ones stolen from the Plainfield Machine Company, he stole his from the [US Navy](http://www.usssylvania.org/aka44.htm). Yeah, I _should_ mention that Dad was a Westfield Special Police Officer so I guess that made it OK (although since WSPO’s mostly directed church traffic on Sundays, and Dad missed out on both the land invasion of Japan (damn A-bomb) and [Operation Crossroads](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads) (damn A-bomb), he might have been a little trigger happy, maybe not so OK). CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/33 "2006-10-21T01:49:01Z")
[aside to **Crow**] Man, I can _relate_! My father lied his way into the Navy, and arrived at Iwo Jima too late for the action. Afterward, when he spoke about it, there was an unmistakable tone of regret, of having missed out. I _absolutely_ cannot grasp that. [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/34 "2006-10-21T02:06:43Z")
[QUOTE=Sweet Mercury] Republicans have certainly not been a stranger to that. (And I know this is the Pit and all, but directly equating the 'Pubs with al-Qaeda is a stretch, to say the least.) [/QUOTE] Considering their respective body counts, it’s an insult to al-Qaeda. And yes the Republicans are effectively "the propaganda arm of al-Qaeda ". They whip up fear in America, while at the same time providing them with all the “recruitment ads” they could ever want in the Middle East. Given that the Republicans took out Saddam, they are also al-Qaeda _military_ arm. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/35 "2006-10-21T15:35:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sweet Mercury] (And I know this is the Pit and all, but directly equating the 'Pubs with al-Qaeda is a stretch, to say the least.) [/QUOTE] What did Osama want? Americans out of Saudi Arabia, the establishment of an Islamic theocracy in the Middle East, and America humiliated. What do we have today? Americans out of Saudi Arabia, the establishment of an Islamic theocracy in Iraq, and America humiliated. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/36 "2006-10-21T15:55:46Z")
[QUOTE=rjung] What did Osama want? Americans out of Saudi Arabia, the establishment of an Islamic theocracy in the Middle East, and America humiliated. What do we have today? Americans out of Saudi Arabia, the establishment of an Islamic theocracy in Iraq, and America humiliated. Hmmm… [/QUOTE] Well, to be fair, no form of government has been fully established yet in Iraq, hence the civil war. I bet Osama’s not shedding any tears over that, though. And don’t forget, this is a two-way street. Osama did a pretty effective PR job for the Republicans just before the '04 elections. Kind of a quid pro quo thing, in a twisted sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/37 "2006-10-21T18:27:00Z")
Osama aligns with a particularly virulent anti-Shia sect. It isn’t likely that he would be pleased to see a Shia theocracy take hold in Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/38 "2006-10-21T18:53:04Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] A week or so ago, I decided to start referring to our two political parties as, respectively, Fear and Loathing. It seems truer and truer each day. [/QUOTE] Patent this and sell T-shirts. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/39 "2006-10-21T19:56:15Z")
“Don’t blame me! I voted for Loathing!” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250/40 "2006-10-21T20:37:15Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Osama aligns with a particularly virulent anti-Shia sect. It isn’t likely that he would be pleased to see a Shia theocracy take hold in Iraq. [/QUOTE] I expect he likes it better than a secular state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-have-become-the-propoganda-arm-of-al-queda/377250.md?page=3)