The business of the Cold War may have taken over the country without most people being aware of it. In those days LBJ type democrats were not much different from Nixon types. On the domestic front, Hoover was king, a very rightwing closet case who abused his power all over the place. Hoover was formerly allied with McCarthy. When the Kennedys challenged the power of Hoover and the military-industrial complex, then threatened to end the war in Vietnam they had to die.
After Watergate those military-industrial forces were contained for awhile, then in came a huge energy crisis (who really arranged that?) and Reagan, with a very suspicious move over in Iran where cronies arranged for the Iranians to hold onto the hostages until Reagan could beat Carter, then send weapons systems to Iran, which they did. This kind of thing in Iran was repeated later during Iran-Contra.
Clinton beat Bush Sr. by taking much of the southern vote and seeming new, fresh and smart. Bush Sr. was also hurt by Perot who railed against corruption and over-spending. Clinton did great, so great that the rightwing indsutrials again had to do something desperate, but this time not literal assassination, but character assassination, ie the smear campaigns against Clinton (rape, murder, drug-running, all nonsense), Gore (mocking his clan fuels ideas), McCain (nasty KKK type smears against him), and later Kerry (turn turn an honest hero into a cowardly liar), as well as smear campaigns against the entire "liberal" democratic party, the "elite" press and our "appeasing" allies.
No matter that 9-11 happened on Bush's watch because he was asleep at the switch (or worse). And beware folks, Sean Hannity is now saying THIS IS THE NEW COLD WAR, at least that's what he and his hardliners want, a return to control of our country by the military-industrial gougers, war profiteers and polluters. |
