The Next Civil War

The Civil War ranks as the most costly of US wars, with 625,000 deaths
and a comparable number of injuries. Now the Republican Party is stoking
the fires of insurrection and for thousands of right-wing zealots a new
civil war seems a political necessity. As increasing numbers of
Democratic politicians are threatened, how long will it be before
domestic terrorists use their weapons?

The first Civil War was precipitated by a dispute regarding slavery and
states' rights. It was inflamed by volatile rhetoric and widespread use
of guns.

The looming civil war reincarnates the debate about states' rights.
Immediately after President Obama signed Healthcare Reform into law,
several state Attorney Generals filed lawsuits arguing the Federal
government violated the Constitution.

Rather than slavery, the new civil war is being waged over the necessity
to guarantee human rights for all Americans - whether or not every
citizen deserves healthcare. Many Republicans feel this is not a
legitimate use of government power, that it infringes on the sacred
"free market."

In the run up to the first Civil War, passions were inflamed by fiery
rhetoric from secessionist politicians such as Jefferson Davis. The
impending civil war is being fed by mass-media personalities, such as
Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who routinely feed their listeners blatant
falsehoods. The success of these demagogues was revealed in a March
23rd Louis Harris poll of Republicans: 67 percent
"believe that Obama is a socialist." 57 percent "believe that Obama is a
Muslim." 45 percent believe that Obama "was not born in the United
States and so is not eligible to be president." 38 percent of
Republicans say the President is "doing many of the things that Hitler
did." And, 24 percent believe Obama "may be the Antichrist."

Coupled with these skewed beliefs is increasingly strident rhetoric from
Republican leaders. House minority leader John Boehner compared
healthcare reform to "Armageddon" and declared the GOP to the Party of
"Hell no." This refrain was picked up Senator John McCain and former
Governor Sarah Palin, who added, "Freedom is a god-given right worth
fighting for."

There's little doubt that the use of inflammatory language has increased
the ratings of the Fox News Channel, which is now the
highest rated cable channel, and "the highest rated basic channel in
primetime." Fox commentators such as Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly
regularly contend the US "is headed into socialism" and compare
President Obama to Hitler. On March 23rd, prominent conservative David
Frum, a former George W. Bush speechwriter, appearing on ABC Nightline observed, "Republicans
originally thought that Fox worked for us and now we're discovering we
work for Fox."

Beck and his new Fox News associate, Sarah Palin, have appropriated the rhetoric used by the Militia movement,
language that suggests violence may be required to "save" America. Since
Barack Obama became President there has been an unprecedented run on guns fomented by a right-wing rumor
that Obama was going to restrict gun ownership. As documented in the
Spring Report of the Southern Poverty Law Center, there has also
been an explosive growth of hate and militia groups. "An astonishing 363
new Patriot groups appeared in 2009 - a 244% jump." (On March 29th,
nine members of one of these groups the Hutaree were charged with conspiring to
kill police officers.)

The Republican Party's embrace of militant extremism follows a grim
logic. The GOP is losing members; a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll found that only 24 percent of
respondents self-identified as Republicans - versus 34 percent for
Democrats and 38 percent for Independents. Grasping for support, the GOP
has abandoned traditional conservative ideology and allowed its message
to be highjacked.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party lacks a leader with the gravitas to
speak out against the escalating violence of its supporters. Elected
Republicans such a Boehner, McCain, McConnell, and Steele are much less
influential than are conservative media figures such as Beck, Limbaugh,
O'Reilly, and Palin. As a result, as Fox News becomes even more
outrageous, and violence against Democrats escalates, GOP leaders either
claim to be powerless to stop it or argue the mainstream media has
exaggerated the problem.

Meanwhile, a second civil war is brewing. Considering the volatile
mixture of inflammatory rhetoric, weapons usage, and growth of militia
groups, it appears likely there will be a tragic event: an assault on a
Democratic politician, the burning of a congressional office, or another
bombing of a Federal office building.

In 1860, the onset of the Civil War could have been averted.
Dispassionate observers saw that the Confederacy did not have the
resources required to defeat the Union. In 2010, the impending Civil War
should be averted. Right-wing zealots are a minority and do not have
the resources to commandeer America. Nonetheless, they can cause
needless bloodshed.

What will it take for voices of reason to rise up within the Republican
Party? How long will it be before a major Republican leader speaks out
against domestic terrorism and urges the GOP to return to reason and
reconciliation?