To the editor: The headline (“Polygamy comes next,” Opinion, June 30) implies that polygamy will soon be legalized as liberals take over the country. While complete nonsense, such statements are very effective politically.Fear-mongering like this has been the mainstay of conservative discourse ever since Rush Limbaugh showed the GOP how well it works. The Affordable Care Act would shut off Grandma's healthcare, Obama's stimulus would send inflation through the roof, bailing out GM would be a failure, etc.
When conservatives' dire predictions do not come to pass, new prophecies of doom are concocted to keep the public in constant fear and distracted from noticing the poor batting average of conservative predictions.