by Andy Heintz

Created on: August 07, 2008

Throughout our countries history political propaganda has done significant damage to our democracy. Not only have propagandists been able to manipulate our voting tendencies by disguising myths as unquestioned truths, but they have also caused us to have a distorted view of our own countries history. While both parties have been guilty of political doublespeak, democrats are no match for today's Republican Party when it comes to manipulating the public to their advantage.

One of the great strengths of the Republican Party is their ability to control the language that is used in today's political culture. The republicans know that by defining what it means to be patriotic, they can control the way people vote. Not only have the republicans been able to define themselves as god-fearing patriotic Americans, but they have also been able to define their democratic opponents as progressive secular elitists who are always quick to blame America for the world's problems. Despite the obvious moral shortcomings underpinning this strategy, you have to grudgingly acknowledge how effective it has been in turning this country to the right. It is to the democrat's great shame that they have allowed their parties identity to be defined by conservative republicans. In this article I will explain why I believe republican propaganda has been so effective over the last 30 years. I will also explain what liberal democrats can do to counter this onslaught of propaganda.

Before I go any further, I want to say that I don't hate republicans. I actually have a lot of respect for some republican politicians like John McCain and Chuck Hagel. I also have a lot of admiration for conservative columnist George Will. This article isn't directed at all republicans. Who it is directed at are the republicans who question the patriotism of people who do not agree with certain U.S. foreign policies. I feel these people are stifling genuine debate in this country by trying to smear anyone who doesn't share the same views as they do. In many ways they have succeeded at convincing the American people that anyone who challenges the morality of American policies is both crazy and unpatriotic. In mainstream American culture the idea that the U.S. government has made some foreign policy blunders is generally accepted, but the idea that these blunders are anything more than good intentions gone awry is still seen as a radical idea (Vietnam being a possible exception) to the majority of the American public.

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