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I don't disagree with your premise of how the fringe infiltrated the mainstream but I would add to the "escape reality" portion that they do it for easily defined enemies. I would wager that most of the people following Beck couldn't tell you the difference between communism, socialism and totalitarianism.... they just know they are all "evil" and are the "enemy".

It's hard for people to live in a world where no one is to blame for their lot in life. -I'm not saying that policy makers don't effect the lives of their constituents, I'm just saying it's a whole lot easier to call Obama a socialist muslim that wasn't born in the US than it is to recognize that you are unemployed because you are uneducated or not skilled.

Wow! $455 bond vs. $50. -That's a sizable variance. Is your point that when contemplating the death of your ideology one is likely to go to extreme lengths in response? A knee jerk reaction to the "lunatic fringe"?