This is what I posted in a thread about cults yesterday --
Yes the bush believers are political cultists
The Us against Them -- is fundamental to the cult psychology.
The bush cult is a political cult.
The cult members are sent out with "talking points".
http://cultfaq.org/cultfaq-sect-definition.htmlPolitical cult examples:
Extremist/Political/Social Movements:
groups cultic in the psychological or social sense which include the Aryan Nation, White Aryan Resistance and the Ku Klux Klan.
Cult Characteristics
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c09a04.html
With this revised definition we should note some of the characteristics of cults. Evangelical sociologist Ron Enroth notes nine common characteristics of cults. <5>
1. Authoritarian: central, authoritarian leadership in one person
or small group of individuals.
2. Oppositional: values, beliefs or practices at variance with the dominant culture or tradition.
3. Exclusivistic: only the group has ''the truth,'' usually based on new insights or revelation.
4. Legalistic: a tightly structured framework which governs spirituality and the smallest details of daily life.
5. Subjective: undue emphasis on experience and emotions often resulting in anti-intellectualism.
6. Persecution-Conscious: the belief that their group is singled out for persecution.
7. Sanction-Oriented: stern sanctions issued for anything less than total obedience.
8. Esoteric: an emphasis on secret, hidden or inner truth.
9. Anti-Sacerdotal: lack of paid clergy and an emphasis on laity in
leadership.
<snip>
Why People Join
Statistics show that doctrinal issues alone have little to do with why most people join cults. The three main reasons are:
(1) healing for emotional hurts,
(2) establishing friendships and relationships, and
(3) spiritual growth.
note: I would add to the list -- learned helplessness -- for example
the way bushie played the terror card -- when he was down in the polls etc.
To this we would add
(4) coercive persuasion or thought reform (popularly called ''brain washing'').
A growing body of research supports the view that many cults effectively utilize subtle forms of psychological persuasion to recruit and retain members.
Contrary to popular myth, virtually anyone can get involved in a cult
under the right circumstances, particularly during periods of vulnerability such as emotional trauma associated with illness, loss of a job, death of a loved one, moving or going away to college. <Think: 9/11> Even those raised in Christian homes are susceptible to the lure of the cults. 
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