The Power of Words

Growing up, I remember a refrain that we would chant back at someone who was mean -- someone who had called another a name or other such insult. In an attempt to say that the words were ineffective, there was a feeling of power in being able to respond:

Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me.

If only that were true. As we later learned, broken bones may heal, but hurtful words can linger for a long time in our thoughts.

Rick Santorum learned that lesson well. He is engaging in the political version of name calling, as noted by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Santorum ad takes ever so subtle jab at Bob Casey Jr. In political name game, he's 'Bobby':

Pennsylvania's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate calls himself Bob. Not Robert. And definitely not "junior," though he is one. Just Bob.

But Sen. Rick Santorum's proliferating TV and radio campaign ads refer to the challenger as Bobby Casey Jr.

If that makes Casey, 45, sound as if he's running for student council president, well, that may be the point.

"Rick Santorum is trying to engage in name-calling and to belittle Bob," said Larry Smar, campaign manager for Casey, who is named after his father, two-term Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, who died in 2000.

An uninvited diminutive generally has a subtext, said Joseph Tuman, a communications professor at San Francisco University who has written about campaign rhetoric. It's an "attempt to diminish the other person, to marginalize them by suggesting they're young or immature," he said.

Likewise, he is given to histrionics in labelling his opponents as traitors. There used to be a time when that word was almost "sacrosanct," -- it was such a serious charge that it was used only an extreme situation. No more. In Santorum says NSA leakers committed treason, for example, the Inquirer reports that:

Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) said yesterday that officials who leaked information about an electronic surveillance program aimed at terrorists had committed treason and should be aggressively pursued by law enforcement.

Santorum, who made the comments during a news conference called to discuss the arrests in Britain in the airline-terror plot, said the leaks about the National Security Agency eavesdropping program had damaged the nation's ability to combat terrorism.

"Leaking this type of information is traitorous," Santorum said. "The traitors must be pursued aggressively."

Of course, there's a reason for the use of such terminology. Referring to Santorum's tactics, The Pennsylvania Progressive notes:

Republicans have been quite adept at using what they term "moral values" to motivate voters. Democrats seem to concentrate on dealing with issues. The GOP has been successful because what they term as values apeal to voters' emotions and base instincts. Dealing with actual issues takes time, effort, and smarts, something most values voters don't seem to have.

For decades Republicans used Communism and the threats from the Soviet Union to instill enough fear in voters minds to win a few elections. After the Cold War they had to find new targets for their fear mongering. Gays, lesbians, and immigrants have been their newest targets. They've been quite adept at winning with these new whipping boys. Now, however, the issues may be catching up with them.

Economic issues such as the minimum wage, stagnant incomes, inflation, gas prices and the rest may finally trump fear in the minds of Pennsylvanians. Perhaps this year they'll finally vote their economic interests instead of their base fears. Playing the terror card is beginning to wear thin as more and more Americans are seeing through it as a ruse. The truth is, no one wants to see another attack and anyone who says otherwise is simply trying to terrorize the electorate. Frankly, I don't see much difference between what Osama does and what Cheney does. They've both killed about the same number of Americans too.

On the other hand, as blogger J. Miller Rampant! observed, in Think We've Got Santorum Beat? Think Again:

Rick Santorum is, arguably, the most dangerous and deranged member of the Senate, and that takes some doing in a Senate that contains Sam Brownback and Tom Coburn. He is an appalling, fanatical authoritarian who thinks that the government has the right to regulate our private sex lives and that women who work outside of the home are under the spell of "radical feminists". We're happy when we see that Santorum is endangered, and brag that he's through. Don't be so sure.

Santorum's commercials, according to a very recent story, are "proliferating" on Pennsylvania's airwaves. Santorum has taken the offensive, deliberately trying to belittle Democrat Bob Casey.

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It would be tragic if a dangerous, far right lunatic like Santorum were to win another term. He is a passionate enemy of personal privacy, women's rights, and the right of people to live their own lives. He is a Bush-Cheney-Rove robot, as bad as any politician in America. He is also a pathological liar who will say anything to win.

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Please don't be complacent in this race. It ain't over yet, and it's gonna be tough as hell. I urge you to set aside any differences you have with Bob Casey and send him any support you can, financial or otherwise. Santorum has to go, and with our help, we'll have the joy of watching the son of a bitch give a concession speech on November 7.

I have only one word to add to that: Amen.

Tags: PA politics, Rick Santorum