Republicans are great at the fear game. Even recent history shows Republicans have a proven tradition of utilizing the human specter of primeval fear in achieving their objectives. Of course such tactics are coupled with the backlash caused by change and the fear that it engenders.

Take Ronald Reagan about three decades back. Civil rights legislation and equal treatment of southern blacks was a source of spite, alienation and angst for southerners. Affirmative action and welfare were more widespread issues. Accordingly, the unruly and unwashed masses, especially minorities, was an image that an increasingly unregulated mainstream media, growing in influence and in corporate size, was fostering in television news and printed sources.

Reagan gained two terms as president by capitalizing on the southern backlash and a northern resentment fed by union overreach by attacking “welfare queens” (meaning blacks), the drug “crack” culture (meaning blacks), and rampant lawlessness, repeating those themes as media helped to fan flames of disorder. Reagan helped start the so-called “drug war,” marshalling money and resources to spread it throughout the states as well.

Even Bill Clinton capitalized on this same fear by continuing and accelerating the drug war, restricting welfare by greatly changing the rules, and deregulating banks at the end of the 20th century helping to set the stage for Wall Street’s casino capitalism and the great recession.

George W. Bush recognized the opportunity of 9/11 and its potential to scare us into Republican ranks with two wars, one totally irrelevant to 9/11, and a color-coated terror alert system that his administration seemed to turn on and off for effect. His boisterous cowboy “them or us” mentality and his Christian Crusade suggestion wore quite thin by the time his second term ended.

With a large undocumented immigration population, the need for immigration reform has been with us for awhile. To Reagan’s credit and to that of a Republican Senate majority, immigration reform was passed late in 1986 which resulted in some 40% of the 2.7 million getting green cards gaining citizenship by 2009.

George W. Bush too, recognizing the growing Latino population and its voting power, pushed immigration reform in 2007, his hopes dashed in the Senate by little support from Republicans and lukewarm support from the people.

Since the 2012 presidential election and the overwhelming support for President Obama and Democrats by Latino voters, Republicans, obstructionists regarding most issues, have been more friendly to immigration reform, many leaders like Marco Rubio and Rand Paul expressing support, perhaps mindful of needing future votes of Latinos and the problem of almost 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

To support a tough partisan – mostly Republican — rhetoric of border protection, many provisions of heightened enforcement and protection of borders is built into immigration reform legislation.
The Boston bombing by two brothers with ties to a Muslim province in Russia has recently set off further opportunities to stoke fear in Americans while highlighting Republican leadership’s toughness on terrorism. A few days after the bombing, Republican demagogues, Peter King of NY and Ted Cruz of Texas, spoke of terrorists and immigration, suggesting the specter of porous borders and unbridled terror in our streets.

In a usual narrow focus against known avenues of attack, reminiscent of the TSA excluding all liquids and airline passengers taking off shoes in security lines, Chuck Grassley and Marco Rubio spoke of now tying immigration reform to the exclusion of Muslim students from any country. With motives of electability taking precedent over what’s right, the usually loutish and pusillanimous Rush Limbaugh saw immigration reform as the death knell of the Republican Party, as new Latino citizens vote Democrat.

It is sad that Republicans, and Democrats on occasion, seek to use fear to motivate the voting public rather than reasonable discussion of issues important to all of us.

Do we carry any responsibility for this tendency?