plus ça change

one of the more amusing aspects surrounding the change in tenancy at the oval office is the persistence of particular partisan boogeymen:

[rep. paul broun (r-ga)] also spoke of a "socialistic elite" — obama, house speaker nancy pelosi and senate majority leader harry reid — who might use a pandemic disease or natural disaster as an excuse to declare martial law. "they're trying to develop an environment where they can take over," he said. "we've seen that historically."

the triple spectres of staged calamities, military coups and detention camps are alive and well as right-wing talking points, after being so effortlessly handed off to them, like a baton, from george bush's more breathless detractors on the left:

"the directive that was signed may 14/15 is the most troubling ... it is his way of having total power in the event of a natural or man made disaster ..." "i scare myself just thinking that an administration could/would perpetrate a catastrophy on it's [sic] own people just to retain political power ..." "even if this power is nothing new, what is new is a president so untrustworthy that i'll not be surprised if a false flag attack occurs next year in october, bush declares martial law, and he suspends the national election. i expect this supreme court would support him and gonzales (should he survive his term in the doj) would bring all the police power of the federal government to maintain bush." "of course, a blatant "coup" by bush, turning the federal government into the bushchaneyrove junta has been slowly in the making for some time, or haven't you noticed? the directive 51 is just the vaseline to make slide in more easily when they decide to not just ignore, but do away with the congress ..." "can homeland security remove you from your home, or place you in one of the haliburton camps? direct which corporations or other businesses get priority on the highways? on rail transit? will the internet be coopted, in the naqme [sic] of national security to keep us from commmunicating?" [sic] "remember that halliburton contract a yr ago to build new u.s. detention camps" "he is probably preparing to take over the country after the next presidential elections. he will have one of his goons call in an attack on us and then say 'look we just got attacked and i think i am the best person to take over, new president elect and the constitution be damned.'" "george has nothing to look forward too once he leaves office, he's served his purpose and will be of no concern. but, if he can make sure that the us military is effectively stuck in iraq, and not able to offer any resistance, his private army made up of mercs from blackwater and dyncorp to name just two can establish martial law and he can keep remain the president for as long as he pleases."

it was after hurricane katrina that fema fearmongering became particularly virulent on the left, and i've spent some electrons batting down those demons both on this blog and on other venues (and believe me, bush's nonstop cocky belligerence didn't help).

yet nonetheless ... i don't quite remember any sitting democrats helping ramp up the fear and loathing. do you?