Steve Benen links to this quote from up and coming wingnut wannabe Allen Quist, a Republican candidate for the House:
“It’s because I, like you, have seen that our country is being destroyed. I mean, this is — every generation has had to fight the fight for freedom. This is our fight. And this is our time. This is it. Terrorism, yes — but that’s not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C., with the radicals. They aren’t liberals, they’re radicals. Obama, Pelosi, Walz — they’re not liberals, they’re radicals. They are destroying our country. And people all over are figuring that out.”
The thing is, I agree with him. Maybe I’ve just gotten soft on terror, but I really do not see Al Qaeda as an existential threat. I’m just not afraid of terrorism anymore- I’m more likely to choke to death on an apple or get hit crossing the street or to wreck my car than I am to get killed in a terrorist attack. If we’ve learned anything the last couple of years, it is that no matter who is in office, the National Security State is going to reign supreme- because everyone is terrified of having an attack on their watch and of being called soft on terror.
In short, what terrorists do has very little impact on my life. On the other hand, the Republicans in congress have an enormous impact on my life. The banksters and the FIRE crowd have an enormous impact on my life. The insurance lobby has a big impact on my life. The gun lobby has a big impact on my life.
If the Republicans get their way, they’ll be privatizing social security, deregulating more, and my retirement fund and my social security will get looted. If Republicans keep their way, every time I eat a hamburger from a fast food joint, I’m sucking up ammonia. And on and on and on.
So while everyone wants to pile on Quist, they should realize he is exactly right. What the radicals in Washington and in your state house do is far more threatening than anything the terrorists can do. Quist just can’t figure out who the radicals are.