WORDS OF POLITICAL CULT WARS

[Samantha]

A "cult" connotation stamped onto a political campaign is simply a slide into a political slur. In other words, it is just another political dirty trick, but a vile one at that.

It is not a coincidence the “cult” reference is starting to crawl out of a myriad of different corners. It is an orchestrated attempt to slime a political campaign, using a word with connotations reminding the listener or reader of creeps such as Charles Manson and David Koresh. Though slickly presented in various forms such as earnest political commentary, that very discussion does not negate the fact the word “cult” is political sludge with the potential to smear those upon whom it is heaped. What seemed at first a random observation on the earnestness of Obama and his supporters is rapidly morphing into a treacherous meme, the repetition of which appears to grow vociferously each day. Religious zeal inferences attach. Suggestions of a brainwashed multitude abound. Terminology that would make a snake charmer blush permeates our daily reads.

There are three preferred terms used by “Inside-the-Beltway” players to instantly Demonize a political target. He or she is a liar. He or she is a crook. He or she is insane. That "cult" connotation is simply a variation of the last one on the list. After all, what sane person participates in a cult phenomenon?

Holy Moley! Next will come the whisperings into the ears of the Religious Right in Southern congregations. That word “cult” will play in the South as a ritualistic threat upon The Word itself and a direct assault upon the First Commandment. Email to follow.

Let’s define that “cult” stamp word for what it is – a potent word weapon. It has political campaign destruction tool written all over it. The stench from that word wafting through the air has the potential to mold a political campaign into a dark caricature of itself.

More importantly, Democrats deploying this weapon at the primary level run the risk of possibly seeing that same weapon picked up and redeployed by their true opponent against them in the General Election. It is potentially a self-defeating tactic to use this maneuver.

It is just another political dirty trick but a very ugly one at that. STOP THIS in its tracks before it escalates to the point it snakes back to bite us in our political posterior during the real race for the White House.

[K Gardner]

1. I didn't see this one, Sam, so allow me to K&R. IMO, the MODERATORS

or ADMINs need to get in here and do something. Of all the b/s spewed here, this one is potentially the most damaging with the most devastating long term effects. If this is what DU promotes and allows, we're all sunk for a LONG time. And look.. its been done to us by democrats.

[Samantha]

2. That's the important point

Thank you K Gardner. I was working very hard on this last evening drafting even stronger words than I left in this thread. I got up early this morning to delete some of those comments, hoping that by doing so I could encourage all moderate thinkers to at least give some consideration to the potential damage that can be done by even "toying" with this label.

The "cult" label will have a pervasive impact in the Southern communities. I come from the South and I can assure you of this. I can hear the whisperings now.

I want to beg everyone here on this website to immediately discontinue the use of all Kool-aid references (even lightly) and an immediate cessation of using that word "cult" unless it is to deflect that ugly meme growing out of control in and outside this website.

Thank you.

Sam

[K Gardner]

4. Yes, I"m from the South too and agree.

[Samantha]

10. The literal definition of "cult"

as defined by Webster's:

"n. A particular ritual or system of worship; a subject of special study; devoted or extravagant homage or adoration."

I believe the first definition is the one most people associate with the word. To use that word in the context of a political campaign is to operate with the intent of undermining the candidate using a ploy that will devastate him or her in certain religious realms, particularly the Bible Belt. Inasmuch as we desperate need as many votes from the South as we can get, I am hoping Democrats will re-consider their use of that word.

[niceypoo]

45. It is called CULT OF PERSONALITY

A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise

A http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality">cult of personality is similar to general hero worship except that it is created specifically for political leaders

[rug]

20. Why is it the most damaging?

[Samantha]

25. "Cult" will translate in the South as "Evil"

and that translation has the potential to greatly adversely impact turnout for Barack should he prevail.

(I realize you did not ask me this question but I just wanted to add my two cents).

Sam

[niceypoo]

46. It is already spreading on the internet that he is the anti-christ

Largely because of the cult label

It is Obama's supporters that are fueling it, falling apart over hearing a stump speech written by slick, paid, professional speech writers.

Obama's supporters will start dragging his campaign down soon because it will start to scare people, for the reasons you describe

[ClericJohnPreston]

47. And

"Elmer Gantry" will be exposed....

[Samantha]

50. I think this meme is snaking out from a lot of different corners

Take a look at this February 7, 2008 link from Daily Kos:

"But today, Jake Tapper and ABC jump the shark. Tapper spins the enthusiasm of Obama supporters as verging on a cult. He draws on the MSM's own echo chamber, citing a string of media pundits who have compared Obama's surge to some kind of Second Coming of Christ as proof that voters have become unhinged.

"The Holy Season of Lent is upon us. Can Obama worshippers try to give up their Helter-Skelter cult-ish qualities for a few weeks?"

More from the post at:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/7/12047/61912

Unbelievable, the spin coming from Jake Tapper, who did such wonderful work during the 2000 Election. Look at some of the key words in this poster's entry. Absolutely appalling. Note the date - February 7, 2008. This is just one example I found on a Google search, many popped up.

Sam

[Kaylee]

3. Kick...

because this post shouldn't get lost in the shuffle.

[Samantha]

6. Thank you Kaylee, I am hoping we can keep it kicked to

get those now using this reference on this website a chance to read these thoughts and reconsider their words.

Sam

[npincus]

5. K & R

no doubt who is coordinating the dissemination of this dirty tactic.

[Samantha]

7. The Penn is mightier than the sword

but that is simply a suspicion of mine; I have no evidence.

Regardless of whom one is supporting in this campaign, this word does not belong in the discussion.

[Big Blue Marble]

12. You have just coined an new meaning to that old phrase.

It has deeper meaning that you might realize. Because this tactic was probably started by one Mark Penn.

As we say now, it is Pennian.

[Samantha]

13. I put two "n"s on that word (and capitalized it) for a reason

I have no proof Mark Penn started this, but he is of the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove school of politics, and so it would not surprise me. Additionally, others, such as Carville have referred to the "cult" comparison when speaking of the campaign.

As I mentioned above, I am from the South. Some of my friends and relatives in Tennessee, I am embarrassed to say, are fearful of Mormonism. The idea of a "cult" would absolutely scare them; they would immediately bolt to the polls to cast their ballot for whomever is running against Obama. It's not a difficult thing to do -- to smear a politician from the East using ugly rumors spread through churches. People in congregations trust that pastors and other members of their church would not lie about politicians, and so they believe what they hear from them.

Carville knows this, as does Karl Rove -- they are from the South. This is no accident. And that is why I am hoping people will recoil against the "cult" meme and, in fact, stand up and speak out about it.

Thanks for your response. Hopefully people reading this thread will give some thought to the issue.

Sam

[Stephanie]

21. At $5.8 MILLION he better come up with something.

That's a very expensive con job.

[Samantha]

38. Is he conning Hillary, conning us or would you simply classify it

as an all-inclusive con. Mark Penn is truly disgusting. The fact Hillary hired him I think sends a true signal about her taste in political advisors.

Al Gore dismissed Mark Penn from his campaign. Just one of the many differences between Hillary and Al, I guess, but says a lot about both, doesn't it?

Sam

[alteredstate]

49. Kicked!

[Stephanie]

8. Under insane, add subheading "conspiracy theorist"

That one's used to sweep all questions of the official story under the rug.

Positive buzzwords currently include "serious," as in "all serious people agree that the surge is working," and "robust," as in "we are making a robust effort in New Orleans."

We need to bust open the Beltway, send the Kool Kids back to school and let the people IN.

[Samantha]

9. Good point - I had to edit that line down quite a bit for clarification

I think "Conspiracy theorist" is a subheading under "The Insane", and I think "sexual deviant" is a sub-heading under "Crook." I stopped struggling with figuring out where "Moron" fit, when I realized it was a once-in-a-political-lifetime legitimate label....:-)

[chieftain]

11. You have me rethinking my approach to this cult attack

which has been treating it as a joke and thereby trivializing it. Key points you make are that the attack is vile, orchestrated and potentially damaging to a candidate that at least half of the electorate, so far, likes. Obama's enthusiastic and growing following ought to cheer Democrats. If he wins it speaks well for reaching voters who would otherwise go Republican or stay home. If he loses fair and square, he can play a vital role in uniting the Party's various constituencies and be a powerful voice for reclaiming America from the thugs and crooks who run it now. But if he loses due to dirty tricks or manipulation of election rules, we may end up with 4 more years of a RWer in the WH. That would be a travesty.

[Samantha]

14. I wish everyone on this website would read your words

You make the point so well.

Seven years out from Election 2000, we still hear the Al Gore is a liar accusation.

Al Gore is one of a handful of politicians that has a reputation in Washington, D.C. for impeccable personal integrity. Even Chris Matthews noted that when he interviewed Gore one-on-one a couple of years after the election. Think about all the pundits on NBC who used that Al-Gore-Is-A-Liar tag during the 2000 campaign, and relate that to what's happening to Obama now. Same difference.

[chieftain]

15. Thanks. As do you.. What the WAPO and MSNBC did to

Gore was reprehensible. I remember watching Mathews and Fineman giggling like middle school twerps as they tore down a great man. I don't like it when the same crew makes sophomoric and factually challenged statements against Hillary either. An essential element in maintaining our democratic processes is a strong 4th estate. Unfortunately it has become 24/7 bread and circus. News as entertainment is neither informative or entertaining.

[K Gardner]

16. Kick.. evidently people have forgotten this

[Samantha]

18. Have you noticed the amount of sarcastic threads which have

broken out this afternoon out with a sarcastic twist attached? It's disappointing people are not taking this more seriously.

Thanks for kicking my thread.

Sam

[faithfulcitizen]

17. great, now go get your friends to do the same!

:)

[Samantha]

19. Looks like we have a lot of work to do here on this

Any thoughts?

Sam

[faithfulcitizen]

22. I really don't know...I'm truly shocked that the mods haven't stepped in at all.

I know everyone gets excited about their candidate, but rw smears shouldn't be tolerated. This ain't the DU I used to know... sad.

The sooner either candidate wraps up the nom, the better. This is crap is going to hurt the party. I'm hoping tomorrow gives Obama more momentum.

[calimary]

23. Kicking!

It's too bad we even have to deal with this shit. Well, internally, that is. It's bad enough it comes at us nonstop from the Dark Siders.

[Samantha]

24. It's the Dark Side of DU and it appears to be getting worse

It's pretty demoralizing, Mary, that after I posted this this morning, more "cult" threads erupted. What is wrong with us? Can't people appreciate the rationality of the fact that by demeaning the Obama campaign in this ugly manner they are enabling the Republicans to pick up their very same arsenal and use it against us should he be the nominee in the General Election? I am not the biggest Hillary fan, but I use facts when disagreeing with her positions, or at least rationale arguments, but this practice of using Republican-like techniques against our own could potentially derail us in November.

It also makes us look like hypocrites to utilize the same techniques Karl Rove used against Gore and Kerry during 2000 and 2004, when we complained so bitterly about those techniques.

I don't know what the answer is, but thanks for responding.

Sam

[calimary]

33. I've been kind of out-of-it since last night and had quite a bit to catch up on.

GEEZ it's getting stinky out there!

I'm just now finding out, for example, about the whole David Shuster faux-pas.

What I wanna know is - um - when do we get to start aiming all this shit OUTWARD? At the republi-CONS??? At bush and cheney and mccain and gomer and mukasey and the pnac and limbaugh and the rest of 'em? You know, the ones who really deserve it? I mean, it's not as though we don't have any offenders.

I haven't even had a lot of time yet to get reacquainted with GD-P all day, and already I spotted a couple of "cult" threads while hardly even looking.

I think Mercury's in retrograde - always good for crossed wires and stall-outs and postponements and heel-dragging. Usually, according to what some astrologers have told me, Mercury retrograde is when you stay home and clean out some closets. You put everything really critical on hold for a few days and try not to stick your neck out or sign anything til the condition improves.

[Samantha]

37. That is such excellent advice, perhaps that is what I needed to

hear. But it is depressing if you read some of these threads how people simply continue on. A couple of people have posted really great Obama-support threads and spoken out against the cult meme. I loved reading them. But they have been in the minority. Other's start the really silly cult threads, and others simply post silly cult responses within other threads. It feels a lot like Halloween here.

Okay, I am going now to review the contents of my hall closet and thanks for steer in the right direction. It's always a pleasure to hear from you. While I am cleaning out the closet, could you possibly get out there and clean up this forum....thanking you in advance,

Something tells me you are the woman for the job! You are a kick-butt kind of person who always gets things done, and lives to write so charmingly about it....

Sam

[calimary]

39. Yeah, but it sounds like a good time to haul out one of my all-time favorite quotes:

From Lucy van Pelt to Charlie Brown, early in the "Peanuts" saga, in one of many episodes in which she's being her usual brat-child self: "I'm never quite so stupid as when I'm being smart."

:silly:

[Samantha]

40. God, did I ever need that laugh -- thank you so much

Now have I been acting stupid in this thread? If so, I am sorry. Also, please be advised it might not have been an "act."

Thanks, Mary,

Sam

[izzybeans]

26. kick "political campaign destruction tool"

for sure

[Samantha]

27. Thanks izzybeans

Do you have any ideas regarding how we can encourage posters here to discontinue sleeping with the enemy? What would be both proactive but not overkill?

Sam

[izzybeans]

28. I don't know I've become so jaded I've been one of those combating it with sarcasm

and tonight I've been especially bad. i read up thread about your view of sarcasm and believe you are right.

I think you calling it like it is, is a good start. I've mentioned it as a tactic for suppressing political movements before but not as eloquently.

It will not go away on its own. we could ignore it but then it will work virally on its own with people mimetically passing it on exactly like an irrational reflex. These folks are troubling because they don't know they are tools and you can't really just say "hey quit acting like a political tool." That goes nowhere. So I've resorted to making fun of it, and you point out this isn't helpful either, I suppose I had the "audacity of hoping" that it if there was enough satire on the subject it would de-legitimate it.

What do you propose?

[Samantha]

31. I am struggling with the issue

I have looked at some of these other threads where people are continuing this practice. My reflex is simply to jump in and call them on it, but I think I would spend a lot of time going toe-to-toe with them to no avail.

Earlier in the week, I thought about walking away and hanging in other forums until this passed; but that's no good because that is the goal line of those doing this - wear the opposition down.

I thought about David Schuster getting suspended for his inappropriate remark. Don't get me wrong, I really like David Schuster (sp?) but asking whether Chelsea had been "pimped out" by her parents to work in this campaign was simply wrong. I think the public apology and temporary suspension is the appropriate punishment. What is the appropriate punishment here? Perhaps a temporary suspension by those who run the website -- not a tombstoning but a suspension for a violation for acting in a manner to disparage a Democratic campaign. One might reasonably make the argument people who indulge in this type of behavior do knowingly act in a way that undermines the campaign. Perhaps a warning first, a temporary suspension for continued violation, and ultimately a tombstoning for prolonged involvement in this activity. I will probably get flamed for saying this, but this is what I am thinking. Is this too harsh?

Allowing this to continue to happen also greatly undermines this website. It's a great disservice to people who come here hoping for a logical, civil debate.

I don't think it can be allowed to continue because it will only get worse. I am not yet sure what the proper answer is. What are your thoughts, and thank you so much for your response.

Sam

[izzybeans]

34. I'm not really for the suspension in either case

It's better just to keep talking. Whatever the point. So long as a thread like this exists in this tangle of spam then I'm satisfied. Sensible people read them and agree and move on. The one's with the agenda will not do anything but try to undermine it. There will be no attempt to understand. Respond to them directly if you must but do so with the fact that others will read it in mind...

All sorts of stuff has happened here that could have undermined the website. But it hasn't. This will end. The staffers will move on to other positions, the trolls will switch course, and the tools will turn their symbolic weapons back toward republicans. The admins know what the site traffic is like and they would step in if something was threatening it. So I wouldn't worry until they give the "Hey let's settle down" post.

We all want rational discourse but there is always some buffoon ready to drag it down to the level of emotional reaction. We are all that person sometimes. I try to salvage something by poor attempts at humor. Sometimes at another posters expense. But again I'd do the same if they were in my living room with me. Then when I'm more capable of a meaningful response I deliver it. Admission: i called some one an asshole tonight. I don't feel conflicted by it. It was warranted.

I'd rather discuss policy and political philosophy but I've never had a prolonged thread on either of those subjects in the nearly 4 years I've posted here. No one wants to do the hard work of civil government, they'd rather play the election game and play it all the time. "Ewww...that was a wrong move, how's the constituency going to respond, Bob?" "I don't know Wolf, but you do realize we are the constituency, how's 'bout we discuss the details instead of speculate on how we feel about it?" When election time comes around they are so amped up with rabid fervor we are left with nothing but what we are seeing today. political garbage being binged and purged.

[Samantha]

35. Okay I get it, GRIN and BEAR it

That was a great response. I truly enjoyed reading it. Really. If you do start a conversational thread about something that tremendously interests you, let me know and I will try to participate.
Truly. Thanks again,

Sam

[izzybeans]

36. No problem. Thanks for this thread. It's the best I've seen in a while.

[izzybeans]

30. kickypoo

[Adelante]

29. Calling it like it is

Thank you.

[Samantha]

32. Thank you!

What do you think should happen to posters who perpetuate the "cult" meme in order to disparage one of our two potential nominees? And while we are at it, what should happen to posters that indulge in the same type of behavior toward Hillary Clinton? I personally have not seen anything that sinks to level of implying pure evil displayed toward Hillary Clinton, but others might argue differently.

What is your honest opinion about how this should be handled?

Sam

[alteredstate]

41. Fantastic post

kicked and recommended.

[Samantha]

43. THANK YOU SO MUCH

I am so happy people are actually reading this! It took some time to put together last night, and I had to hold it until this morning for editing so no one would be offended. It's really worth the time and effort when people like you take a moment out to read it and recommend it.

Sam

[Levgreee]

42. kick

[Tropics_Dude83]

44. Yes and let's take it down to a even more scary level

If you lead a Southern bible belt voter to think that Obama is in effect just the leader of a cult, you can even take it to the level of saying that Obama is an agent of Satan. Scary that people could allege this.

[alteredstate]

48. yep.