The Daily Background

AFSCME has sent out a rather stunning new mailer to New Hampshire voters that I’ve got sitting right beside me (you can find photos of the piece here) which sounds quite a lot like a hypothetical question at a Fox News debate. The oversize two page full color glossy piece is the largest mailer that AFSCME has sent out this cycle, and it seems to follow Clinton’s new strategy of using fear tactics.

“48 million Americans without health care looking for relief… Global Warming getting worse by the day… A Prime Minister is on the phone: They’ve lost a warhead” the ad reads, later suggesting that Clinton is the only candidate prepared to protect America.

“How can we be sure the new President is ready?” the ad continues.

Here’s John Aravosis’ take on this, which I completely disagree with:

Hillary has decided that national security and fear are the new message that will resonate for her campaign. On one hand, it’s nice to see a Democrat finally embrace national security, and even fear, and turn it to our advantage. On the other hand, she’s using it against fellow Democrats. Then again, isn’t it a fair point to ask whether Hillary and/or her competitors are ready to handle the job on day one? I suspect all of them are, but am curious what you think? Fair game, or foul?

How is it “nice” to see a Democrat embrace fear as a tactic to scare people into voting for them? It isn’t. At all.

And not only is it despicable for any Democrat to stoop to such low measures, it’s also ineffective for the Democratic party in general. Study after study has shown that oh a psychological level, the more scared people get, the more conservative they get. That’s why it’s such an effective tactic for Republicans to use, but it just won’t work when Democrats try to use it. Wikipedia explains this phenomenon thusly:

Terror management theory (TMT) is a developing area of study within the academic study of psychology. Empirical support for TMT has originated from more than 175 published experiments which have been conducted cross-culturally both nationally and internationally (Solomon, 2004).
[…]
The data appears to show that nations or persons who have experienced traumas (e.g. 9/11) are more attracted to strong leaders who express traditional, pro-establishment, authoritarian viewpoints. They will also be hyper-aware of the possibility of external threats, and may be more hostile to those who threaten them. Additional research indicates those who are raised by authoritative parents tend to conform to authority more frequently than those who are not.

I’d highly recommend the documentary Flight From Death, which is about this very subject. Fear makes people conservative. Simple as that. Karl Rove knew it, and now Hillary is trying to use it to further her own candidacy as she attacks Obama for being too liberal.

Filed under: Z-TDB Blog