"Powers that will make martial law seem like anarchy." PNAC"s blueprint

[Swede]

Seen today, "The Manchurian Candidate" feels astonishingly contemporary; its astringent political satire still bites, and its story has uncanny contemporary echoes. The villains plan to exploit a terrorist act, "rallying a nation of viewers to hysteria, to sweep us up into the White House with powers that will make martial law seem like anarchy." The plot cheerfully divides blame between right and left; it provides a right-wing demagogue named Sen. John Iselin, who is clearly modeled on Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and makes him the puppet of his draconian wife, who is in league with foreign communists. The plan: Use anti-communist hysteria as a cover for a communist takeover.

http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/greatmovies/manchuriancandidate.html

I just watched the original,I wonder when Mr. Rove watched it last?

[RainDog]

1. I rewatched the original last week, too

It's one I've watched often, actually, because I love the way Frankenheimer cut between the garden club and the communist meeting.

...but for quite a while now, I've thought that the plot (I never read the book, but I assume it was the same) was too tied to the superficial issues of its time.

Obviously the cold war was the big issue put forth for Americans, and there were threats, as the Cuban Missile Crisis showed.

But it seems that the prescient plot twist would have to have taken a clue from The Boys From Brazil to be really spot on.

Because the real power struggle has been played out between fascism (lite or overt) and democracy in the United States.

[Swede]

3. The new movie with Denzel Washington has troops captured in Iraq

in Desert Storm. They come back and whip up anti-arab hysteria to get the reins of power. Sound familiar?

[Octafish]

2. What was Raymond doing with his hands?

How did the old ladies turn into
Russians?! What was Raymond doing
with his hands?! What were you
doing there?! What was Raymond
doing with his hands?! What were
you doing there?!