Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:52 pm
In case any Americans believe there is any difference whatsoever between the fear and hate-mongering campaign tactics of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, or most Republicans for that matter, some assertions by a Cruz “advisor†will put those beliefs to rest. Although it is true Republicans generally incite fear and hatred toward anyone who is not a white Christian conservative, they have spent considerable time and effort demonizing Muslims, particularly American Muslims. Of course there is no basis for the GOP’s attacks on American citizens who adhere to Islam, but neither is there a basis for demeaning intellectuals, scientists, minorities or Hispanic immigrants. Fear and hate mongering requires no veracity to be effective, but they do need a heavy dose of suspicion. Now Ted Cruz joins Donald Trump in inciting what would be a return to a damn, dark dirty time in American history; only with a new “enemy†to seek and destroy.
The McCarthy witch-hunts against alleged communist sympathizers and spies infiltrating the highest levels of government were an abomination in a supposed free and open society, so it is really not surprising that an abomination like Ted Cruz would hire a national security advisor who waxed longingly for a modern-day McCarthy to launch a deep investigation into the “Muslim infiltration and takeover†of the United States government.
The Cruz counselor panting for a 21st Century iteration of Joe McCarthy’s “House Un-American Activities†committee, Clare Lopez, is serving as one of Texas Ted’s valued “national security advisors.†Lopez believes she has the answer to the “Muslim Brotherhood affiliates and associates who are THE go-to advisors and appointees at the top levels of national security in our government and this administration for sure; probably going back decades.†Lopez claims that the Muslim Brotherhood are running the nation’s national security programs and she knows the best tactic to ferret them out and prevent them from taking “total control†of America’s government.
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Lopez says that there is a successful template in place that Joe McCarthy developed, and that it is the best and only solution to deal with and defeat the modern traitors; President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for starters and their vast network of facilitators, supporters, and co-conspirators posing as regular citizens across America. Ms. Lopez is certain that Americans are blind to the “omnipresent Muslim threat†within the government and like Joe McCarthy; her boss is prepared and aware of what is going on and knows how to stop it.
Apparently, in the same way McCarthy saw secret communists everywhere and had a secret list that no-one else could see, America needs a new conservative patriot like McCarthy to hunt down the traitors; if innocent American lives are ruined in the process, “it’s just the price to pay for preserving freedom.â€
According to the national security advisor speaking on Ted Cruz’s behalf,
“And then, like now, we were unprepared and in large measure unaware of what was going on, at least until the House Un-American Activities got rolling in the 1950s with Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who absolutely was spot-on in just about everything he said about the levels of infiltration. So we have precedent for this where we were not fully aware of the infiltration occurring at the time.â€
It is noteworthy that as this column has been unrelenting in preaching; this is a sitting U.S. Senator’s “trusted advisor†and is no different than the man even Republicans claim is a “crackpot†running for the presidential nomination. It is also worth mentioning that although despised by “establishment Republicans,†Cruz is considered the “only true conservative†in the race and likely the Republican Party. He is also completely in agreement with Trump on “eradicating the Muslim menace†in America.
In a similar move to Cruz’s call for American law enforcement agencies to immediately move in and start “securing†American Muslim neighborhoods, and not unlike the Joe McCarthy tactic of calling on Americans to spy on their neighbors, Trump floated an East German Stasi tactic. He told his rabid supporters that besides forcing American Muslims to register as undesirables because they are Muslims, he will task the NSA, FBI, CIA, and local law enforcement to heavily monitor Islamic communities and mosques.
Then Trump called for a decidedly McCarthy tactic in demanding that every American start spying on and turning their neighbors in to law enforcement. Trump said,
“Americans have to start doing things in this country in terms of the enemy. That’s the best way. Everybody’s their own cop. You’ve got to do it. Because you have all those eyes and you see what’s happening. You can see and you report them to the local police. We know there’s something going on, report them in the mosques and other places. There’s some nastiness, there’s some meanness there. They could be ISIS!â€
No doubt, more than a few Americans have noticed the similarities between Trump and Cruz’s policies and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and East Germany’s feared secret police, the Stasi. Both the Nazis and Stasi mandated all Germans to spy on their neighbors and report them to the police. Now Cruz’s campaign has went a step farther and called for a McCarthy-like congressional committee targeting American citizens ‘suspected’ of “un-American†activity such as knowing, talking to, working alongside, or living in close proximity to “the Muslim.â€
There is an inordinate amount of attention being given to the Donald’s close adherence to employing Hitler’s fascist tactics, but they are no different than Ted Cruz’s. What is worrisome is not that both Trump and Cruz have ardent support for their policies targeting Muslims, but that there are too many Americans certain that these kinds of outrages could never happen in America. Just a few years ago most Americans would say these kinds of outrages would never even be mentioned in private conversations, much less shouted on the campaign trail. But just a few years ago America was not nearly as openly hate-ridden as it is today. Make no mistake; that hate goes far beyond targeting Muslims and with conservatives holding a long list of Americans to hate, a 21st Century McCarthy crusade would likely imprison over half the population after it purged Muslim American citizens from the nation.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
