Summer of our discontent: Why is America so angry?

McClatchy Newspapers ^ | 29 Aug 2009 | Steven Thomma

[BGHater]

At the dawn of the Barack Obama era, the promise of hope has faded. America's public square is an angry and bitter place.

Finger pointing and yelling at town hall meetings this summer are signs of a country that's been building toward a boiling point for several years, stressed by a fast changing economy, a flood of immigration and threats at home by terrorists.

It's a land at turns frustrated and irate at a government that led them into an unpopular war, proved itself inept at helping its citizens in a disastrous hurricane, presided over an historic economic collapse, then went on a spending spree that could commit their country to decades of crushing debt.

Untold numbers of Americans seethe with anger at Obama and his fellow Democrats, resentment coupled with fear even more intense than the rage other Americans expressed just a year ago at George W. Bush and the Republicans. One telling sign: The comparisons of the president to Hitler remain the same — only the face has changed from Bush to Obama.

"It's ugly," said independent pollster John Zogby. "Ugly and sad because there were many of us who felt the ugliness could be transcended this time."

Americans throughout their history have been prone to periods of anger and suspicion against one another, particularly in times of change and stress. The anti-Catholic Know-Nothings of the 1850s, the rise of the Klan in the 1870s, the Palmer Raids against leftist radicals and immigrants in the 1920s, McCarthyism in the 1950s.

This anger is more focused on the federal government, a resurgence of the hostility toward the government that started with Vietnam in the 1960s and Watergate in the 1970s, faded in the 1980s, resurfaced in the early 1990s and then faded away again.

[BGHater]

'Some of the rising anger predates Obama — built on the natural American DNA of skepticism toward the government, exacerbated by moves to give the government more power in both the Bush and Obama administrations, and magnified and spread by a new era of communications.'

[y6162]

“It’s ugly,” said independent pollster John Zogby. “Ugly and sad because there were many of us who felt the ugliness could be transcended this time.”

Maybe if the Kenyan wasn’t conducting a communist coup?

[MNJohnnie]

then went on a spending spree that could commit their country to decades of crushing debt.

This from the cheerleaders of the 0, who in 1 year has created a large deficit then ALL of the "Bush deficits" combined.

Spare us the hysteric hypocrisy and hyper rabid partisan ignorance McClatchy

[gov_bean_ counter]

Obie Won Nairobi...

The Farce is strong with him...

[repubpub]

The reporter mentions Watergate but nothing on Carter and Iran. Mentions how things faded in the ‘80’s, but doesn’t mention Reagan for making things right.

[MNJohnnie]

Save the rest of you the time of bothering to read it.

Translation from Leftist propagandist speech:

"It's all Bush's fault" Article# 800009021564831164947133

[BGHater]

Of course, no article is perfect.

[Canedawg]

So zogby thought the ugliness would be transcended with the election of this communist, lying usurper who happens to be black?

Many naive people thought so, too. For an excellent column on why that was an unrealistic idea, here is Thomas Sowell’s take on it:

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell072809.php3

[FourPeas]

"It's ugly," said independent pollster John Zogby. "Ugly and sad because there were many of us who felt the ugliness could be transcended this time."

And again, John Zogby proves his "independent pollster" label is in question.

[Clive]

Fear generates anger and the Obama administration with its radical politboro of "Czars" is a scary lot.

I suspect that most people have not yet worked up the gestalt but the gut is telling them that the administration is getting too extreme for their liking.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The reporter has never delt with a bureaucracy like, for example, the Defense Fuel Supply Administration in Alexandria, VA. Populated with people who can't speak clear English, don't care, don't return calls, etc. And they're no different from every other agency in the federal camp.
This is what we have to look forward to with Obamacare. No wonder we're ticked off.

[justkate]

"It's ugly," said independent pollster John Zogby. "Ugly and sad because there were many of us who felt the ugliness could be transcended this time."

What's ugly & sad is that millions of fools voted this POS into office b/c they were TOLD he would usher in a glorious New Day. The fact that is was an out & out lie isn't sad OR ugly... simply historical fact.

[Dustoff45]

Obie Wan Nairobi

That has a nice ring to it. Permission to use in lieu of BHO.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Go for it...

[kindred]

And let us not forget what Obama adviser Dr.Ezikeiel Emanual(Rahm Emanual's brother) has said in the past, this is just plain evil. To think that an American Jewish doctor who knows of Hitler and the 6,000,000 Jews that were exterminated by the Nazis before American soldiers destroyed the murder machine should even support eugenics is such a hypocrisy. A jewish health care advisor of Obama care for Americans supporting the deaths of older people whom he considers expendable is just plain unacceptable.

[The reason people were wary of Dr. Emanuel in the first place is because of his writings from the 1990s in which (to quote one of them), he advocated giving younger people first dibs on medical care: “Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination; every person lives through different life stages rather than being a single age. Even if 25-year-olds receive priority over 65-year-olds, everyone who is 65 years now was previously 25 years.” In late 1996, he wrote that “services provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed.]”

[IronJack]

"Ugly and sad because there were many of us who felt the ugliness could be transcended this time."

Just as it was "transcended" when George Bush asked for unity in the face of the 9/11 horror?

Why is it that non-partisanship is only supposed to be shown by conservatives, but never by libs?

[KarlInOhio]

Obama lost control of the message. So many government programs have been sold as "Ooooo, free stuff for everyone (well, with some taxes)" which people will gobble up. It looked like this was going to get by on the same plan, but two things happened. First the message became "Ooooo, free stuff for everyone (with lots of taxes)" and then people realized that this was handing direct decisions of life and death to the government which no one liked.

[DennisR]

I am mad because this President and Congress are destroying the fiscal viability of my country. Is that a good enough reason? Methinks so.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

This anger is more focused on the federal government, a resurgence of the hostility toward the government that started with Vietnam in the 1960s and Watergate in the 1970s, faded in the 1980s, resurfaced in the early 1990s and then faded away again.

Who is this employee of the newspaper?

The anger against the Establishment in the 1960s and 70s was the doings of the 1960s Marxist-Alinsky hippie street rabble.

Now they and their ideological issue (children) are Rat Party (formerly the traditional, patriotic Democratic Party) leaders and stalwarts. Arguably they are "the Establishment."

(That ain't name calling. The Sixties Marxist-Alinsky hippie street rabble really have taken over the traditional, patriotic Democratic Party. Under the hail of "neo-con" taunts many Democrats fled the Party.)

Today it's not anger it's RESCUE.

I guess the newspaper employee is one of the Marxist-Alinsky hippie street rabble or one of their ideological children.

[M Kehoe]

...said independent pollster John Zogby.

Sure, and I'm Martha Stuart.

5.56mm