Fear. That's really all the GOP has left. They accomplished quite a bit using fear tactics the last 10 years. We were scared into believing an invasion of Iraq was dire to secure our homeland. The result of not invading would have been a large mushroom cloud over large American cities we were told. Nonetheless, had mushroom clouds come it would not have been Iraq doing the exploding. In fact those who attacked us on 9/11, those who love the thought of mushroom clouds and those who persist in waging acts of terrorism against our country are still free as can be. If it had not been for GOP fear that forced us to turn our attention away from the people responsible for 9/11 and toward a country that had absolutely nothing to do with it, things would be much different today. But we heeded to their fear-mongering.
In 2004 fear was used to scare voters into thinking a vote against George Bush was a vote against God. The very future of our country was at stake and Bush was being led by God to save us from evildoers. Fear drove the GOP into instituting torture as a state-sanctioned policy of the United States. Fear led the GOP to illegally wiretap American citizens without warrants-- all in the name of security. Fear was used to silence critics. Anyone who dared speak out against Bush and his government had their patriotism immediately questioned. Their worth as an American lay at the very framework of American society for anyone who dared question the leadership of those who would keep us safe were not real Americans. Everyone was either with George Bush or against him. No middle ground. No dissent. Fear ruled the day.
Today the GOP realized fear again would help them regain their footing. Their "Keep Terrorists Out of America Act" is designed to keep Gitmo from closing and to keep the federal government from relocating prisoners to the mainland and into our prison system. They want to scare people into believing President Obama wants to move Gitmo prisoners to a neighborhood near you. They are demented to a point I'm not sure there can be anything more unpatriotic than to accuse the president of intentionally wanting to harm citizens. They want people to run around in fear at all times. Because if you are scared you are more likely to do as you're told. Fear is a control tactic for the GOP. Remember these are the same people who scared us into invading Iraq, scared us into thinking God was on our side and used fear to create 8 years of the worst and most unpopular presidential administration in history.
I understand Republicans don't like numbers as evidenced by their numberless budget last month, but here's some food for thought. During WWII America held some 450,000 Axis Powers prisoners on the U.S. mainland. About 245 prisoners are held at Gitmo. Our legal system can definitely handle the load.
