Newt Gingrich has always had a problem with context.
He didn’t get that impeaching a President for lying about an affair while he was having an affair wasn’t a brilliant move.
And he doesn’t quite get that the terrorist threat, while grave and serious, isn’t the same existential threat that marked the Cold War.
And he especially doesn’t get that selling the fear of boogiemen to people who are worried about keeping their job, their health care, their 401k isn’t going to work—even a world where an act of nuclear terrorism is likely if not inevitable.
But on Sunday, the thrice-married, recent Catholic convert, former Speaker of the House said these words: Let me just say, I think people should be afraid. He then listed a series of Al Qaeda attacks (all of which resulted in less loss of American lives than the Iraq War) from the 90s, ignoring that the Bush Administration ignored intelligence that predicted the 911 attacks.
Fear doesn’t keep anyone safe. Either does blind aggression. What keeps people safe is realistic threat assessment, constant engagement and willingness to learn from mistakes.
What keeps us safe is context, and Newt’s fear mongering is just a non sequitur.
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