Is telling people they hate things, are afraid of things or are unpatriotic really a valid political maneuver?

Question

Has political bullying ever won an American election? Has it ever accomplished anything that is to the benefit of the American people?

I'm genuinely curious.

Answer 1

It worked in 2002 & 2004 to win the elections. It has NOT accomplished anything that has been to the benefit of the American people.
The Patriot Act has not made us safer,it has impinged on your civil rights. It has allowed people to give up their civil liberties for supposed security. This is utter garbage. We have not secured our borders. We are not inspecting cargo containers, less than 5% is inspected. The pre-emptive war we waged against Iraq, which is a violation of the UN charter we signed has not made us safer.
You were told if you contradicted the President or anyone in his cabal, you are a terrorist supporter- one of Cheney's favorite phrases. Our President has forgotten, thanks to the previous lap dog Congress that he IS accountable to the US populace. The problem is that the population has forgotten that this is about " we, the people" and have for the most part abdicated responsibility to our nation as a whole by NOT asking the tough questions of this administration and taking their word as gospel, by not getting up off their lazy behinds and going out to vote; by actually not reading and researching for themselves as to what our government is doing in our name but instead relying on punditry instead of facts.

~We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.
Edward R Murrow
~To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.
Theodore Roosevelt(1918)

~Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin

Answer 2

Aparently so, since both sides do it. The anti-war crowd tells the war-supporters that they're just blind with fear of terrorists, and the war-supporters tell the anti-war crowd that they hate America, just for one example.

Political bullying - in the from of negative campaigning - has won virtually every American election for over 30 years now. Political Correctness is also certainly a form of 'bullying,' and it has dominated intellectual discourse in this country for going on 30 years.

And, no, none of that has been beneficial to the American People.

Answer 3

Only if its true!