Trick or Treat: Night of the Living Republicans

 

by Michael Arvey

 

 

 

As autumn stumbles toward winter, Halloween paraphernalia hits the stores--a spooky harvest of rubberized faces, devils and hobgoblins, witches, politicians and other figures. Jack-O-Lanterns begin their seasonal toothy grinning from lawns and porches to frighten away the bad spirits floating on the wind. Another All Hallows Eve looms this 2004, taking us right up to the most important, and potentially terrifying, election in this country's history.

 

The next few weeks represent an extended, long Night of the Living Republicans, dirty tricksters enacting a willful, nation-wide onslaught of political mischief. They will continue to scare the public by conjuring up fears and by slinging smears: The terrorists favor Kerry, so a vote for Kerry is a vote for the terror! Communists, too, endorse Kerry! Kerry will raise your taxes! Kerry shot himself to win a battle citation! Kerry runs but he can't hide! Kerry's effete and soft on terror! Kerry bites off the heads of chickens and babies! Just ask that Orwellian-named group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for the real scoop.

 

Such tactics are by no means new and recycle through the decades. Interestingly enough, GOP campaign tricks can find their birth pangs in the presidential election campaign of 1896 between Republican William McKinley and Democratic Populist William J. Bryan. Cleveland business tycoon Mark Hanna managed McKinley's run and could easily serve as one of Karl Rove's earliest political forbears, aside from Lee Atwater.

 

According to Harold Evans in his book, The American Century, Theodore Roosevelt described Hanna as marketing McKinley "as if he were a patent medicine." Rove sells Bush as a strong and decisive Commander-in-Chief. (Columnist George Will would have us believe Bush is a man with "vision.")

 

Political scare tactics may very well have begun in the McKinley campaign of 1896. Evans writes, "He [Hanna] also ran a scare campaign, getting businesses to put notices in pay packets to tell workers that they would lose their jobs if Bryan won."  A tactic that rings familiar? The current vice president suggested if we vote for Kerry, we'll be killed by terrorists. Furthermore in 1896, Hanna waged the most frenzied, nationalistic flag-waving spectacle in U.S. history.

 

Some of McKinley's biographical details even parallel George W. Bush's. Again, according to Evans:

 

1. McKinley never read a book.

2. McKinley oversaw a period of Republican dominance founded in the politics of      business.

3. McKinley was a teetotaling Methodist.

4. McKinley reveled in the image of a common sense, cracker barrel populist.

 

Deja vu? Only enough aware citizens holding pumpkins full of light, waving talismans of truth and protecting the vote will ward off this current and too long Night of the Living Republicans.

 

Michael Arvey (marvey@email.com) comments from Colorado. Read other articles by Michael Arvey at his Article Archive