Stephan Lesher wrote a biography about George Wallace.  It was little known that Wallace started out as a liberal Democrat.  He was devastated whenever he lost his first election for Governor of his beloved state, Alabama.  He was defeated by an opponent who had the backing of the Klan.  Wallace learned his lesson well and found that practicing race baiting held a host of benefits.  Governor Faubus of Arkansas refused to follow Eisenhower's decree and allow Blacks into Central High School in Little Rock.  He became the Scrooge for trying to ruin Christmas for some Arkansas students. His stand made him an embarrassment to many, but his electability was guaranteed in the state.  Fear of a Black uprising has always been a part of Southern culture.
     Randall Balmer is Jimmy Carter's biographer.  Balmer noted Carter was crushed by his defeat from the hands of Lester Maddox.  The hands Maddox used to sign ax handles as souvenirs for his use of the object to drive blacks away from his restaurant.  Carter gave in himself and used some fear mongering about blacks in Georgia to get elected and regretted having done so.  It is a viable temptation for politicians to succumb to.
     The RNC recently featured a NRA leader who warned that Hilary Clinton was going to take away guns from Americans.  It was a reminder of how H.L. Hunt stoked the fires of hysteria when JFK came to Dallas with a claim that Kennedy was going to do the same.  A fear that still makes its presence known in Texas politics today regarding Democrats.
    Author Michelle Goldberg noted that Religious Right leaders spread the rumor that John Kerry would make it illegal for preachers to oppose gay marriage and could be fined as much as $25,000 for refusing to preform the ceremony.  The money would then go to lesbians.  Many will recall the grizzly pictures of Willie Horton that helped sway the nation away from Michael Dukakis.  Just how effective such images of fear impact an electorate is hard to gauge.
     Yesterday Sean Hannity told his radio audience the Democratic Party does not back police.  Hannity likes to call attention to the militancy of Black Lives Matter and notes that President Obama does not like White people.  Hannity and cohorts have ridden the crest of the wave of fear of Islamic terrorism and found a receptive audience.  Fear of high places is a good thing.  It can keep us cautious on top of a ladder.  It can also prevent us from traveling in a Jet airliner which is much more safe than an automobile.          
      McWilliams, like Carter and Wallace, knew his fear mongering was not founded on factual evidence.  The desire to move an audience to respond was too overwhelming.  There is a story about legendary football coach Knute Rockne.  Once his team trailed an opponent at halftime.  Knute fabricated a story to fire up the team.  He told them the alumni were after him and if they lost this game he would lose his job.  After the comeback and victory, Knute, in a state of euphoria,  turned to some of the team members and told them he hoped the alumni got the message.   Knute had gotten so caught up in his speech, he even believed it.