Linoge looks a pretty whaky example of an Obama supporter and concludes that the administration is certainly heading down the path for re-education of all us gun clinging cousin humpers. I can’t say that I really find it persuasive in terms of indicating where The Administration is headed, when you have folks on our side threatening journalists and anti-gun supporters with consequence on the day of reckoning that is certainly fast approaching.
There are extremes on all sides. Part of the reason our system works is that it tends to dull extremes. The ship of state does not turn on a dime. The captain can throw the rudder hard to port as much as he wants, but unless successive administrations do it, it’s hard to execute a sharp turn in either direction. Because our system is slow to change, it takes a serious consensus among the people in order to keep it moving in any one direction.
Given that there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of actual change going on, I think it’s safe to say that the re-education camps, at best, will be a second term project. I’m not saying we’re not going to get some really bad policies and legislation out of this Congress and this Administration, but we’ve seen all this before. My problem with hyperbole, and I do think it’s hyperbole, is that while it might be emotionally satisfying, it’s not entirely useful for actually rebuilding the coalitions we’re going to need to defeat this. Fear is a powerful motivator, but I think what this administration has actually been proposing is plenty scary enough to get people motivated.