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Republicans want you scared of ISIS. Democrats want you scared of the GOP.
But in truth, we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Fear is a powerful emotion. It's not a great guide when you're making a decision, but in an election year like 2014 — in which the main voter sentiments seem to be disenchantment and disgust — politicians apparently think it's their best bet. Republican campaign ads and debate talking points aren't all that subtle on this point. Democrats are only a little more indirect.
"Republicans believe they have found the sentiment that will tie congressional races together with a single national theme," says Jeremy W. Peters at The New York Times. The theme is that things are really bad right now — Ebola, ISIS, even years worth of mishaps at the Secret Service — and that it's mostly President Obama's fault. And since Obama isn't on the ballot, all Democrats running for Congress are Obama's "lieutenants," as Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus explained to The New York Times.
The Democrats' big perceived soft spot is ISIS. Congress — after quickly and bipartisanly agreeing to Obama's request for money to train anti-ISIS Syrian fighters — opted to go home and campaign rather than to debate what, if anything, Obama should be doing differently in Iraq and Syria. But the long-term plan Obama laid out to "degrade and ultimately destroy" ISIS without U.S. ground troops hasn't stopped ISIS from gaining some new territory, so Republicans are calling it a dangerous failure.
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"ISIS is just one of the things leading to a crisis mentality among voters," Joe Pounder, president of the GOP opposition-research company America Rising LLC, tells The Daily Beast's Josh Rogin. "And when you don't have much new in the way of the economy going on, this is the new issue."
This isn't a dumb strategy on the GOP's part. The American electorate cares about ISIS. "The situation with Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria" was voters' No. 4 concern in a Gallup analysis released Monday, with 78 percent saying it is extremely or very important to their vote — and voters trust Republicans more than Democrats to deal with the situation. Tellingly, ISIS was the No. 2 issue for Republican respondents, with 85 percent calling it really important to their vote.
In an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday, Obama's approval rating on ISIS had plunged 15 percentage points in two weeks, to 35 percent; 51 percent disapproved.
The Republicans don't have to have a better plan, or really any plan, to dispatch ISIS — if they disagree with Obama about anything, it's mostly to plug sending in U.S. ground troops, hardly a popular suggestion. They just need to not control the White House.
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Presidents normally want to exude sunny optimism on their watch, with varying degrees of success. But in a pinch, the party in power will be happy to paint the other side as dangerous and slightly unhinged.
Democrats can read polls, too, of course. They want you to be afraid of Republicans — or at least they want dispirited and unenthusiastic Democrats to be afraid enough that they'll vote. In the ABC News/Washington Post poll, for example, Democrats actually lead Republicans in voter preference for House races, 46 percent to 44 percent — but Republicans take a 50 percent to 43 percent lead when it comes to likely voters.
Republicans are less popular nationally than Democrats — 33 percent favorability to 39 percent, per ABC News/Washington Post — and Democrats would like this to be an election about the minority party. It usually doesn't work that way.
To get Democrats worried or angry enough to vote, Democrats are focusing on the points where voters in general, and Democrats in particular, rate the GOP poorly. In the latest Gallup poll, the Democrats' No. 2 issue is equal pay for women, which 87 percent of Democrats say is extremely or very important to their vote. Abortion and contraception access is the No. 12 concern for Democrats, but 60 percent of them still call the issue very important (versus 43 percent of Republicans). Democratic ads and talking points reflect those priorities.
But in the favorite words of a man many American politicians cite as their hero: Don't be afraid. It's a lousy way to live, and a terrible basis for voting. If you're afraid, there's a good chance somebody is trying to pull your strings.
You're almost certainly not going to get Ebola or even personally know anyone who does. ISIS isn't going to invade across America's southern border (which is much more guarded that it was in 2001). Republicans won't win enough seats to get anything done — at least not for two years. If they win the Senate, we'll probably get deeper gridlock, which should feel pretty familiar about now.
Fear is also pretty good for the news media. But on Wednesday, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith went a little off-script. "Do not listen to the hysterical voices on the radio and the television, or read the fear-provoking words online," he said of Ebola. "You have to remember," he adds — going "big picture" — "that there is politics in the mix."
With midterm elections coming, the party in charge needs to appear to be effectively leading. The party out of power needs to show that there is a lack of leadership. So the president has canceled a fundraising trip and is holding meetings, and his political opponents are accusing his administration of poor leadership. For the purpose of this fact-dissemination exercise, those matters are immaterial. [Fox News]
He could be discussing just about any big issue of this election.
By all means, vote on Nov. 4 (or earlier, if applicable). There are big policy issues at stake, as well as judicial appointments and other things that may very well have a real impact on your life. But vote for the party or candidate whose ideas you think are better, not the one that scares you the least.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
