Republican Excuses to Stir Up Fear

Back in the 1980s, the Republican Party, under Ronald Reagan, was extremely upset about the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, that put Daniel Ortega in power. Reagan was so upset about Ortega that he committed an illegal action, now known as the Iran-Contra affair. He was behind the sale of arms to Iran, a county that he recognized as a terrorist state! The purpose of the sale, which was treasonous, was to raise money to give to the Contras, which were terrorists who used violence against civilians in an attempt to demolish the Sandinista revolution. Reagan was, in two ways, a supporter of terrorism. A summary is here.

Ortega held onto power through a democratic election. Later, he lost an election to Violetta Chamorro, and Ortega and his party stepped aside, once again a democratic move. Ortega was not a dictator.

However, today, Daniel Ortega really is a dictator, but the Republicans have nothing to say about him.

In the 1980s, Ortega was an excuse for Republicans to illegally grab hold of secret power in America. Today, the Republicans are using immigrants as an excuse to illegally grab power. The Republicans never really cared one way or the other about whether Ortega was a dictator.

In the 1970s, if you did not support the Vietnam War, you were a traitor to America. In the 1980s, if you did not hate Daniel Ortega, you were a traitor to America. In the 2000s, if you questioned the Iraq War, you were a traitor to America. Today, Donald Trump says the Iraq war was stupid, but if you do not denounce immigrants, or even American-born offspring of immigrants, you are a traitor to America.

Republicans define “traitor” as “whoever questions our right to have dictatorial power” and have always done so.