Democrats, who have long posed as the party of peaceniks and doves, have been anything but during the great rhetorical war of 2013. In fact, the party of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter has been mad as hell as of late, leading an offensive of bombastic insults and rhetorical bullying that has dominated the government shutdown. It’s a perfect storm, with Democrats leading the pace.
President Obama called Republicans “reckless and irresponsible,” casting the Grand Old Party in the role of villain. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, referred to Republicans as “anarchists,” and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, deemed Republicans “legislative arsonists.”
“Public attacks make it personal. The response, the entire conversation, goes to the attack, not the problem at hand. The moment there’s an audience, posturing takes over,” said Peter Post, director of the Emily Post Institute and author of five etiquette books.
Insults have hidden risks because people don’t always equate aggressive behavior with authority. Roger L. Simon, founder of Pajamas Media, has suggested that Republicans counter Democratic acrimony with a Ronald Reagan-style “charm offensive” to win over disaffected voters.
There are a bunch out there. The Pew Research Center revealed that 77 percent of the public is either angry or frustrated with the government while Gallup found that almost half of Americans said the budget debate was an attempt by both sides to gain political advantage.
Yet unity in the proverbial foxhole has its place, too.
“I want to publicly praise Speaker John Boehner for standing firm against the Democrat government shutdown and their refusal to negotiate on a law they themselves have delayed and exempted themselves from,” said Rep. Steve Stockman, Texas Republican.
“Democrats have hurled every insult imaginable, such as ‘terrorist,’ ‘arsonist’ and ‘murderers’ against Americans who differ with President Obama. Despite their threats and childish behavior, the speaker has been steadfast in his vision to reduce the size and scope of government and treat everyone fairly,” Mr. Stockman said.
None of this is a shock to Mark Gerzon, a conflict resolution mediator who co-designed and facilitated the Bipartisan Congressional Retreats in 1997 and 1999, dubbed “civility retreats” by the press of the day.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/2/doves-and-peaceniks-no-more-these-democrats-relish/#ixzz2ghXDIdLu
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