Yes! Too many conservatives are taking Dean as some kind of joke. But it's not a joke. Many people on the left and in the center are not laughing. They are believing what Dean is saying.
You're right, of course - Dean and the left are fomenting fear and hatred in a bid for even more political power.
Its a disgusting, vile strategy employed by really evil people down through history and WILL most certainly result in much bloodshed & suffering.
I pray the American public somehow has an epiphany and rejects whats going on but if history gives any indication we're gonna hafta ride this process all the way through.