Pamela Gorman Ad States...
This year, a lot of folks think this is our best shot at changing Congress. Course, that all depends on the caliber of our candidates. [gunfire] Meet Pamela Gorman, candidate for Congress in Arizona 3, conservative Christian, and a pretty fair shot. [gunfire] The insiders in the state senate wanted to have her hide when she fought against their plan for higher taxes. [gunfire] But Gorman, she can take care of herself. [gunfire] Rated 100 percent by the NRA, conservative Pamela Gorman is always right on target. [gunfire]"
Gorman Concludes...
"I'm Pamela Gorman, and I approve this message. [gunfire]"
Similar demagogues are not only from the NRA but are just as fringe or ill-informed
about what the country (and Pamela Gorman's state) really needs during the
current economic crises. These
demagogues include Senator Ron
Gould. Gould told Silverstein in an
interview that tax-cuts have never been a problem in his state. Gould claimed,
"I don't buy the argument that tax cuts
created the problem. The problem is overspending. The state collects a
sales tax on new houses and commercial construction, and when housing values
were going up everyone was borrowing against their house to get a pool, a new
SUV and a big screen TV. The high tide came in 2007 but we continued to spend
like we were going up the peak." (Emphasis added)
Gould concluded, "We [the state of Arizona] need to cut back to 2004 levels of spending. if the program didn't exist in 2004, there should be no funding for it now. The cuts will be harsh but I don't see a choice. I told constituents when I ran for office I wouldn't raise taxes and I intend to honor that pledge."
Harsh, the state of Arizona is running around selling state property (including the capital building) and stealing money that belongs to others, such as the states gambling and lottery earning. (Earnings from lottery were already allocated elsewhere).
It All Reminds Me of Kansas, The Great Depression and Goat Doctor
When I look at just some of the leaders or candidates in messed-up Arizona today, like Gorman, Gould, and Brewer, I am tempted to predict that an even greater wave of crackpots and demagogues will soon follow. I say this because I am a historian, and historians of the Great Depression know that when the economy is bad and blame seekers abound, the fascists and crackpots arise.
There were, for example, demagogues like Father Charles Coughlin and Huey P. Long. My favorite, though, among demagogues was Kansas' own -- John R. Brinkley.
Most Americans don't know much about Brinkley, who was nearly elected governor of Kansas in 1930. (Only a major depression like Arizona is facing now could create such a rain of demagoguery.)
John Brinkley:Â An American Demagogue
According to the Kansas State Historical Society, "John R. Brinkley became nationally known as the 'goat gland doctor' for his controversial medical practice that promised virility for his male patients. He was a pioneer in radio broadcasting and advertising, as he promoted his services to his large listening audience.
"After a nomadic life as a railroad telegrapher he attended Eclectic Medical College in Kansas City, Kansas, but never graduated. He was however, able to practice in Arkansas with an undergraduate license and managed to acquire several fraudulent (or questionable) diplomas. Making use of the reciprocal agreements between states Brinkley settled in Milford, Kansas in 1916. There he began to transplant the gonads of goats into his aging customers with the promise of masculine virility. He was soon attracting national attention with his "goat gland" transplant surgery. For several years, the practice was very successful financially and Brinkley built a clinic, as well as a powerful radio transmitter."Brinkley "was able to build and operate one of the first radio stations in Kansas, KFKB (Kansas' First, Kansas' Best). Interspersed with the entertainment programs were ads for Brinkley's secret remedies. Brinkley reached a nationwide audience with his radio programs and he began diagnosing the nation's illnesses over the airwaves. In 1923 he was linked to a "diploma mill' and it was finally discovered that he had no formal medical training. Despite these revelations, Brinkley maintained a loyal following.
"When opposition from the organized medical community resulted in revocation of his radio and medical license he turned to politics. Conducting a vigorous write in campaign for governor of Kansas in 1930, Brinkley garnered nearly 30 percent of the vote. After two subsequent unsuccessful campaigns for the office, he shifted his headquarters of operation to Del Rio, Texas, and built what would become radio station XERA in Villa Acuna, Coahaila. He shifted his specialty from gland implants to the prostate gland.
"Emporia Gazette editor, William Allen White , saw Brinkley supporters as part of 'a moronic underworld' that 'can be taught to read and write, but not to think, and it lives upon the level of its emotions and prejudices.' A misunderstanding about the phrase, 'moronic underworld' led to complaints by Brinkleyites, who believed they were being called evil. The response from White: 'I didn't mean that you were bad. I only meant that you were dumb.'"
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