In the last two weeks, we have had two terrorist attacks in this country -- one by a christian extremist in Colorado Springs, and the other by a muslim extremist couple in San Bernardino. But if you listen only to the GOP officials and presidential candidates, you would never know that. They only see, and want to talk about, one of those attacks -- the one they describe as being by "islamic terrorists".
And they have spent the last few days decrying the wish by most Americans for sensible gun control -- not only to stop terrorists from buying guns legally, but also to reduce the exorbitant number of mass shootings in this country. They only have one solution -- to expand the war against ISIS in the Iraq/Syria. They are trying to convince Americans that defeating ISIS in Iraq/Syria would end terrorism. That is a lie, and ignores the real problem here in the United States.
Terrorists (of any kind) have never needed a country of their own to carry out their horrific attacks, and taking back the little land they control in Iraq/Syria won't stop ISIS terrorists. It will probably increase it -- especially if we follow the GOP's desire to put a significant amount of ground troops in that area (something ISIS would love, since they could call it an invasion by the christian West on poor muslims and use to to recruit new terrorists).
But even if winning in Iraq/Syria could stop ISIS terrorism (a dubious proposition), that would not solve the problem of terrorism in the United States -- and it would do nothing to slow down the mass shootings and killings in this country. Focusing only on ISIS ignores both of these problems. And they are mush larger problems than ISIS terrorism. Most terrorism in the United States is done by right-wing extremists (most of them white christians) -- a problem the GOP doesn't want to discuss (because they would have to admit their rhetoric is to blame for much of it).
And they don't want to discuss the huge number of mass shootings here (more than one for every day), because they are afraid the citizens might demand their politicians do something about it by passing some sensible (and constitutional) gun laws. And that might cut off their precious campaign funds flowing from the NRA and the gun manufacturers. They value that funding far more than the lives of the more than 30,000 citizens killed by gun violence every year.
The Republicans have been pretty successful in getting Americans to fear muslims. But that doesn't address the real problems. Of course they don't really care about those real problems. They only care about getting elected, so they can finish handing this country over to their corporate buddies.
