I'm beginning to think conservatism is a mental disorder.

The blind unwavering support that many people give to GWBush makes absolutely no sense to me. And the visceral inexplicable hatred these people attach to John Kerry, or whoever the Democratic nominee happens to be at the time, defies all logic.

They are very emotional about this, and are often unable to present any facts or reasoning to support their positions. It makes me think that many of these people have had feelings of powerlessness in their lives and they perceive the Republicans as being a strong macho party that they need to identify with - wrong or right.

But even so, no US president in my lifetime has made us look as weak and ineffective as Bush. From the very beginning of his presidency, making us look foolish and weak with the way he dealt with the spyplane knocked down by the Chinese, up until now - allowing ourselves to be played by the Iranians and (in the eyes of the rest of the world) losing the battle of Falluja.

Our fiscal policy under Bush is a train wreck. Our doctrine of pre-emptive warfare is the antithesis of Christian thought and teaching. Our economy is limping towards recovery when it should be roaring based on the boatloads of monetary and fiscal stimulus that have been applied. Our middle-class is shrinking, manufacturing continues to move offshore. We are rapidly becoming a country that doesn't "make" anything.

This administration has lied to the American public repeatedly and without consequence. They lied about the distribution of the tax cuts. They lied about their willingness to dip into the Social Security trust fund. They lied about their support for environmental standards. They lied about the true cost of the prescription drug plan. They lied about the weapons of mass destruction. They publicly tout government programs they intend to quietly cut or eliminate shortly thereafter. They lied about the warnings they had received prior to 9/11. They even lied about meaningless things such as whether or not that bored kid was really there listening to Bush speak as shown on the Letterman clip. I think it's also safe to say they lied about bringing honor and dignity back to the Whitehouse.

So why do people still support this crowd? I think it's more a question of psychology than anything else.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics.shtml

Researchers help define what makes a political conservative

By Kathleen Maclay, Media Relations | 22 July 2003 (revised 7/25/03)

BERKELEY – Politically conservative agendas may range from supporting the Vietnam War to upholding traditional moral and religious values to opposing welfare. But are there consistent underlying motivations?

Four researchers who culled through 50 years of research literature about the psychology of conservatism report that at the core of political conservatism is the resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:

Fear and aggression

Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity

Uncertainty avoidance

Need for cognitive closure

Terror management

I heard a discussion about conservatism and the area they focused on was resistance to change. They pointed out that the world is rapidly changing and that in turn has led many people to be even more resistive.

Thanks for the article.....

I argue politics with my Dad all the time. He's a right-winger, and (at least as compared to him) I'm a leftie.

The other night, he comes up with an ad-hominem against Kerry based on his war record. Apparently Kerry's war record isn't very impressive afterall. I came back pretty hard with, "compared to what? Using family connections to get into the guard, not showing up for duty, sniffing coke and getting laid. For heavens sake, lets put this thing into perspective.

Next, he trots out that Kerry betrayed vets by testifying before Congress.

Well, I ask, do you think Vietnam was a good idea? No
Do you think we should've stayed there longer? No
Do you think Kerry lied about atrocities he saw or heard about? No
Should he have lied when asked about them? No

THEN WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!

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"I just don't like him."

I can't think of many people who have issues with fiscal conservatives - while many have issues regarding conservatives' social policies...one of the problems we run into here is that none of Shrub's fiscal policies are conservative, and his domestic policies are so over the top!

It's frustrating to try to argue with a neocon by using facts, when they dig their heels in and say that they just don't like the other guy. I found out only recently that a good friend of mine had voted for Smirk in 2000, and when I asked her why, her response was "I don't know, I just didn't care for Gore all that much." I tried to pin her down, and get her to tell me what it was she didn't like, and she couldn't.

This time, though, she will vote for Kerry. She is so upset by what's been happening under Smirk, that she says she sees now why it's so important to learn something about the candidates before casting a vote.

That's an excellent article. Thanks for posting it.

One of the things mentioned in the article is "tolerance for inequality." Among the conservatives I know, that factor plays a major role. But it is more than that, IMO. It is a tolerance for inequality and a tolerance for "whatever keeps the rabble at bay."

That attitude is only sane for a minority of people. For the majority of American conservatives, the "liberal" positions of government support for education, progressive taxation to maintain infrastructure, health care security and so forth are truly advantageous. Why do they vote against themselves?

I think it is simple. They don't know they are doing it. They think they are simply refusing to help undeserving people achieve equality. That isn't the net affect of modern conservatism, but I believe a majority of conservative Americans think it is. For the majority, "conservative insanity" is an unenlightened, self-defeating selfishness.

Paul Simon said it well in "Have a Good Time."

Maybe I'm laughing my way to disaster
Maybe my race has been run
Maybe I'm blind to the fate of mankind
But what can be done?
So God bless the goods we was given
And God bless the U. S. of A.
And God bless our standard of livin'
Let's keep it that way
And we'll all have a good time

:(

as is modern conservatism...then a sort of age related dementia sets in.
But mostly what American Conservatives suffer from is what Orwell called "power worship" i.e. "do anything to win".

I go on and on about this at:
www.chimesatmidnight.blogspot.com

and has all the earmarks of a cult.

Definition of a Cult

Every cult can be defined as a group having all of the following 5 characteristics:

1. It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate and retain its members

2. It forms an elitist totalitarian society

3. Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable and has charisma

4. It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds
recruit people

5. Its wealth does not benefit its members or society




http://www.xenu.net/cic/definit.html

is not doing it for any reasons that are remotely rational. This isn't
anything new. A significant portion of people always vote based
on just kinda liking the guy--or not. Emotional attachments are stong.
If you attach yourself emotionally to someone, and then people start
telling you all this bad stuff about them, it feels like a personal attack
and you react accordingly.

"many of these people have feelings of powerlessnes in their lives"

I know a 10 year old boy whose father is a Freeper. Listening to this
kid repeat stuff he gets from his father is very educational. What strikes
me is how powerless his father feels. He seems to feel constantly
under attack or about to be attacked, and the Hannitys/Limbaughs etc.
and the whole War on Terror have given him enemies on which to
project that feeling.

That's "conservatives".

I disagree with it, but I can understand it. But, at least here in Georgia, most Bush supporters don't support him because they are idealogically conservative. Heck, most of them could not even articulate what that means.

It's an irrational, emotional type of support. Sometimes they'll say, "I vote for the man, not the party." But the "man" always seems to be a republican.

They seem to have the attitude that liberal men are a bunch of wimps and weaklings, but my theory is that it is actually the reverse. They are the ones who are shitting their pants over terrorism and think they need big bad GWBush to protect them.

According to Ben: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Continuing to vote Republican over and over, even though they've all but cut your throat does indeed strike me a mental disorder far worse than anything I've got....

The Red Sox haven't won the World S
eries in a million years, but they're MY team and I still support them. Well, it's really not that simple, of course. But who else am I gonna cheer for?If the Republicans don't support George Bush, who are they gonna vote for?

That's what I did.

it has taken on a visceral face that intentionally means to threaten -- much like reagan himself.
the crew that likes to compare itself to fiscally conservative republicans of bygone days are held in thrall to the corporate agenda --after all we no longer seperate american democracy from free market capitalism. but that free market calitalism is diseased in itself.
so yes -- i agree, it's a disorder.

The world frightens them, they are convinced of their own importance,and they need a "father figure" to believe in. Their world needs to be seen in simple, black and white terms for their level of comprehension. Conservatives see themselves as the center of the universe; therefore "bad people"; poor people, dark skinned people, people of other religions, are all envious and out to get them. They need their guns and a tough talkin' daddy figure to protect them and theirs. They also want this daddy figure to reassure them that they ARE more significant than the rest of the world's population, and that their own greed and materialism is well deserved and justified. They MUST "feel good and not guilty" at all times, though deep down they are indeed insecure and have a nagging suspicion that their greed and "me first" attitude isn't all that Christian. Anything that reminds them of this is immediately responded to with visceral hate and rage. It's a cult without intellect, based entirely on emotions.

Wanting to associate with the powerful in this country?

It seems that Republicans have this "holier than thou" attitude...especially some of those who come from so-called nothing and "worked their way up" economically and socially. They end up believing if they can do it, what stops other from doing it and voting Republican is to maintain the money and power they believe they have earned, disregarding the fact that there are multiple factors that play into their success and the "failures" of others.

Again, it's the same black and white thinking that always is associated with them with no recognition of the complexities of the world. It's easier and convenient to think of things in black and white because when you start thinking in the gray area, you may realize you haven't quite earned all that you think you have.

I don't know if that makes any sense....