I posted a while ago that the Republicans have chosen a propaganda message that Obama is 'not one of us', strange, foreign, scary.
That's powerful stuff; in part, it's a sort of subsitute racism. You can't say "we oppose him because he's black", but you can say, "we oppose him for not being a real American".
That's why a phrase like "Mau Mau" would be thrown around - it sounds 'weird' and is something most Americans aren't familiar with, and it make Obama seem like some tribal Kenya with an odd obsession about some weird African revolution that whatever it's about, isn't about America, and we don't want a President who is some weird foreigner over us.
It might sound crazy, but this can be very effective propaganda.
It's made clear in his closing sentence:
He is going to impose his agenda on Americans, and he doesn't care if we don't share it, don't believe in it, or don't want it.
So the 'agenda' of Huckabee - for Republicans to get power and serve their wealthy masters against the interests of the people - is 'American', and Obama isn't.
Agenda is one of those powerful propaganda phrases the people are trained to be afraid of - 'Marxist agenda', 'gay agenda'.
You don't hear from Republicans about the 'transfer all other Americans' wealth to the very top' agenda, the anti-Democracy 'the people are a danger to the rich' agenda.
No, this is the basic 'make the people afraid of the opponent' propaganda.
The common phrase in the marketing indutry to attack a competitor is to create FUD: "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt".
When you are looking for that, you can spot it much easier, and often recognize it as lies.
This is classic FUD against Obama: fear him and his 'secret agenda' from outside America.
This is why the 'birther' issue has such legs - not because so many people think it's true, but because it makes people have more FUD about Obama being a 'real American'.
This actually can and does affect millions of Americans' opinions - and votes.
It's too bad they don't understand the 'agenda' is those spreading the FUD - a well-funded marketing machine hired by the interests of the rich simply for gaining more money by defeating the people from selecting a candidate who is not on 'their team' to serve their 'agenda' for the rich.
Once you start looking for the FUD to make Obama seem 'foreign', 'scrary', on a 'secret agenda', you have no problem finding it.
Note how this does not require the Republicans to actually discuss any real issues, to defend their agenda for anything from war to letting Wall Street destroy the economy to destroying the middle class; they get to just run around spouting made up nonsense about 'Mau Mau' and trying to win elections by 'don't vote for the Mau Mau scary guy'.
Who cares is the Mau Mau crap has nothing to do with issues and Obama's policies are better for Americans? We didn't talk about that.
He is going to impose his agenda on Americans, and he doesn't care if we don't share it, don't believe in it, or don't want it.
Marketers know the sort of fear from that overrides rational issues. And it's about using fear to get power - and money.
Point me to three policies of Obama's after years in office that JUSTIFY fear of a secret agenda that's scary and anti-American about some Kenyan Mau Mau history.
Oh, there aren't any?
It's amazing we ever electing this scary unknown guy BEFORE he had a record as President.
No wonder it took the disaster of Bush AND an economic meltdown to elect him.
Unfortunately, it's one thing for me to expose the propaganda - but when one side has the money, and the media machine, to spread the propaganda, they can get votes with it.
What this exercise does for me is to say that Huckabee is clearly the 'stealth radical', either appearing devoid of principles and honesty, or a delusional ideologue.
He's the last type of person we should be blindly handing the presidency to, ironically he's the 'secret agenda' guy who we can't trust, despite his cultivated 'folksy' image.
This is how money - big corporate money - translates into propaganda that corrupts our politics, creating fear to take votes away from an Obama based on nonsense.
And this despite their having so much power they are big donors even to Obama 'just in case', and both parties are corrupted by the money's effects in our system.
Our democracy would be a lot healthier without the dominance of the money of the rich in our elections, where voter's opinions were not so strongly changed by massive propaganda.
It works - even something like Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize (admittedly for weak reasons) can be turned into a 'what are those foreigners in cahoots with Obama trying to do to our country' type of fear-mongering.
Or turning his popular support into something to be afraid of too, sarcastic references to 'messiah' or 'celebrity'. Those mobs are out to take your country!
Every bow Obama takes, every slightly mis-worded statement by Michelle of her being proud of the US supporting its first non-white candidate - all can be used as ammunition for this fear campaign.
The money behind this propaganda is causing the equivalent of half of Egypt supporting Mubarak because they buy his attemped propaganda that the protestors are 'anti-Egypt people out to destroy the country'.
How sad that our democracy is doing worse at being manipulated than the police state of Egypt on issues like this. Luckily, Huckabee may well lose trying this stuff, but the millions who do fall for it are still a problem.
It lets money have a good chance to change public opinion against candidates who actually are for the public interest against these monies interests.
It may sound crazy when pointed out - how can Republican marketers use money to turn a Democratic candidate into a foreign agenda outsider to be afraid of - but look at the facts.
He is going to impose his agenda on Americans, and he doesn't care if we don't share it, don't believe in it, or don't want it.
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