I don't write here very much. I do lots of writing online, but when it comes to the Daily Kos, I'm content to read what others think. Please don't hold that against me.
It seems to me that there's a lot of talk about the "Republican base" in these Benghazi days we're living in. The party is trying to fire up their base by politicizing the deaths of four Americans on September 11. That's the media narrative, and one that can be countered in relatively simple fashion. Follow me below the orangey thing to find out how.
When we play games as children, we learn about "base." Base is where you are acknowledged to be safe. Nothing bad happens to you when you're on base. From our earliest days, we learn that "base" is a good thing.
That's using "base" as a noun, but when the word becomes an adjective, it takes on a different meaning. Something that is described as "base" is never a good thing. Base motivations or base behaviors are the type of thing that nobody aspires to. While everyone wants the security of being at "base" (used as a noun), nobody wants to be described as being "base" (used as an adjective).
Instead of referring to the "Republican base" as this Benghazi witch hunt unfolds, I suggest referring to "base Republicans" instead. There's no doubt that the motivations of the Republicans are base, in that they want to boost their party's performance in the mid-term elections, and lay the groundwork for another futile attempt at impeaching a Democratic president.
When the climate change report that came out this week, detailing the environmental peril we're all facing, the Republicans decided instead that some pre-impeachment hearings are in order. To hell with the planet, they say, lets stoke the Benghazi issue instead. Nothing could be more base than that.
And if any of the media-listening people out there hear this term and need it explained to them, so much the better. "Republican base" sounds just fine to them, after all. But "base Republicans" is a term they don't hear in the media, and don't expect to hear, either. By explaining the difference to them, we can make a point that what the Republicans are doing is wrong, with so many other issues that are necessarily being ignored as a result of their actions.
Just my two cents. Thanks for reading.
12:14 PM PT: Wow. I'm pretty sure the Rec list is new ground for me. Thanks everyone for your consideration and your comments.