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GOP base-Suffering Stockholm Syndrome? Why are they such ardent supporters

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Roland99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:43 PM
Original message
GOP base-Suffering Stockholm Syndrome? Why are they such ardent supporters
Why do so many people support Bush and, on a more general basis, the entire GOP in the face of so much abject failure?

It's much like Stockholm Syndrome where victims come to empathize with their kidnappers/captors. The Republican Party has undergone various hijackings going back to the McCarthy era. Actually, it appears to have a basis in the period of the formation of the CIA, which was comprised largely of Ivy League types, Yale, in particular (esp. the Skull and Bones crowd). That was followed by Barry Goldwater's rise.

Then the neoconservative/neoliberal faction rose out of the 60s (from the philosophy of Leo Strauss and, more directly, out of the office of Henry "Scoop" Jackson). They helped create the Soviet/Communist boogeyman and continued their stranglehold up to the 1994 overtaking of Congress with Newt Gingrich's Contract for America. Co-conspirators joined in at this time in the form of radical clerics of the far right, a group of people that abused the Christian faith for personal gain (politically and financially).

That brings us up to the current captors of the GOP which is still the neoconservatives but they've managed to move further beyond the creation of a nationalistic ideal and on to one of global dominance of US foreign policy. And, to help ensure that power, they have co-opted control of the mainstream media and have managed to vilify any opponents of their ideology as traitors to the nation.

All during this, the Republican base would eventually come to follow the party line with fervor, vilifying those opposed or not 100% on-board. They felt that level of comfort in belonging to a group and stopped looking at news and events with a critical eye. Veering off the party path led to fear and doubt, discomforting thoughts to those not used to thinking for themselves.

This 'base' has come to believe, as proposed by the party's captors, that nothing presents more of a danger to the success and stability of American than same-sex marriage and abortion. They also cannot comprehend that opinions and trains of thought exist outside of the Republican Party, esp. the desires and wishes of people living in faraway lands of the Arabian desert, SE Asia, or Latin America. For surely if such lands were filled with people they would want to believe in the same things as them. They would want to worship the same God in the same manner and be good citizens. They would allow corporations unfettered access to seek great sums of money and would scoff at the thought of conservation and being stewards of the land. For as their captors demand, they acquiesce as they understand the dangers posed to them by liberal thought. They have assumed the pains and burdens of their captors.

Now, this is all a summary review of past events and a cursory look into the mindset of the victims. There are still unknown knowns that lurk beneath the skulls of these poor, pitiful creatures. What makes some people vulnerable to these effects? Are all people affected but just by varying degrees? Are some people completely immune and even repulsed by such efforts so much as to become militant opponents or conspiracy theorists? Only a long-term scientific study of DNA, brain waves, childhood influences, diet and exercise, and reading habits could begin to give us a fuller understanding of how this Syndrome wends its way into the synapses of its victims.

In the meantime, it is not only in our best interests but that of this great nation, as well, to wrap ourselves in the truth for all to see in the hopes that we can whittle away at the fortifications protecting the weak-minded. For not all are lost.

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BrklynLiberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:45 PM
Response to Original message
1. cult-like thinking + cognitive dissonance rationalization
Edited on Tue Apr-25-06 03:48 PM by BrklynLiberal

Reduction of cognitive dissonance may be good because one feels better, and because one can come closer to consonance by eliminating contradictions. On the other hand some of the ways of reduction of cognitive dissonance involve a distortion of the truth, which may cause wrong decisions. If someone has doubts about the good of a project that she (or he) is involved in, it will relieve tension if those feelings of doubt are repressed and a positive attitude is forcefully internalised.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
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Inland Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:47 PM
Response to Original message
2. An old post of mine.
I have previously said that Bush's core support is mostly religious conservatives who know full well that the man is a craven incompetent, see the war is a failure, can see the human suffering from Katrina, but still support Bush because they hope to see the social agenda pushed through a packed supreme court and republican national hegemony reversing abortion rights and gay rights and establishing a religiously oriented state, and moreover, will lie all day long about approving of Bush's policies in order to protect him.

However, I think there is another element of America that will never, ever admit Bush is anything but right every single time.

The people who would rather have an incompetent, deadly president who rips them off and sends their family and friends to die, than to admit that the peaceniks, gays, democrats, minorities, city folk and liberals have a point.

The people who are so alienated from America that they saw the best thing about Bush is that a) "those people" hated him to distraction and therefore just having Bush as president was huge fun and b) that being "for Bush" meant that you had an ideological and cultural basis for hating all "those people" for a reason other than their money, education, success, etc.

I think it comes out in Katrina responses. The backflipping to find reasons why they don't like the DPs, don't care and shouldn't care, and why Bush is the best-----so much hate. One post I saw said the hurricane refugees were "liberal welfare criminal democrats", and he had the sense to leave out "black", but it was all the same---he isn't going to give up his hate in order to let any of YOU people score a point against Bush.
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ReadTomPaine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:56 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. Well said. n/t
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babylonsister Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:55 PM
Response to Original message
3. Thanks, Roland99 and respondents; good analysis. Rec'd. nt
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sui generis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:56 PM
Response to Original message
4. my theory is that they will not let go of the idea
that the other side is worse.

Somehow the worst thing in the world to them is to be "weak" or "indecisive" or not aligned with ultimate authority, i.e., jesus, the president, the NRA.

They truly believe that liberals and democrats are evil and whacky moonbats and that they themselves are "good" and rational.

Or as my SO says in an oft repeated story about a zaftig coworker trying to fit into a size 6 little black cocktail dress when her ass busted out and had a double boobie wardrobe malfunction,

"harrumph! musta been a small Size 6!"

Honey, that's your ass on the floor back there behind you.
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Roland99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:59 PM
Response to Reply #4
8. And in that fear of being seen as 'weak' or 'indecisive' I think is the...
root of the problem. Is it nature or nurture? What damaged their self so badly that a false self must be created as a form of protection?

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ShortnFiery Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:58 PM
Response to Original message
6. The vast majority of Republicans will "jump ship"
as soon as the handwriting is on the wall that the BushBotBorg is toast.

I've found one centralized feature of most members of the Republican Party: They seemingly enjoy a lifelong admiration of powerful authority figures.

Once this Administration starts to fall, the rats will jump ship (save for hard corps 10% or so) in a New York Minute.
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CoffeeCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 03:58 PM
Response to Original message
7. I think it's because they've been trained to HATE the opposition...
Edited on Tue Apr-25-06 03:59 PM by TwoSparkles
If you listen to right-wing radio and Fox News--they've trained these hard-line right wingers to HATE and LOATHE liberals and most Dems.

There's a faction of Republicans that will hang on by their fingernails to the Republican party, because they would rather die than go Dem.

These are the people who would allow Fascism to creep in, and they don't mind if Junior wipes his hiney with the Constitution daily. They don't care. Any thing's better then those gun-hatin, gay-lovin, amoral libs!

Plus--there is a contingent of really stupid, selfish people. They want all of America to be oppressed underneath their moral and religious dogma. Never mind the separation of church and state--or that our country was founded by people fleeing a rabid, religiously oppressive government. These people want their radical views validated and incorporated into our government, NOW!

These are the only people left--who approve of Junior. They clearly do not have the best interests of America in their agendas.

They're driven by HATE or their own selfish need to have everyone around them following their own personal and religious beliefs.

That's my 2 cents, anyway.
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JuniperLea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 04:01 PM
Response to Original message
9. I just took a peek at conservativeunderground...
My. Brain. Hurts. I was checking out some threads about Ava and her vids...


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1022624&mesg_id=1022633


And my curiosity got the best of me... oh, the pain. Seriously! I just took two headache tablets! Oh my freaking god! Those people are nuts!


I was just saying earlier today that the RWNuts are so much like "their" president... when they speak about others it really seams they are speaking about themselves.


I'm sure "we" will get all the blame when it is shown beyond a shadow of a doubt, in a court of law, that "their" president is every bit the treasonous, lying, evil monster that we already know he is.
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Roland99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 04:02 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. The incredible amount of projection done by the far-right is astounding!
Edited on Tue Apr-25-06 04:08 PM by Roland99
Every 'speech' by the Propagandist is one giant example of projection.

An independent psychiatric panel could write volumes of textbooks based upon his way of (not) thinking.



Did you see 60 Minutes Sun. night? How that CIA guy, Tyler, had his words that Saddam had no WMDs rejected by his own family as they couldn't believe the President wasn't telling the truth?

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JuniperLea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 04:21 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. No! I'm sorry I missed that!
I understand though. It is way too frightening for some to allow themselves to actually think about it. It is frightening KNOWING that this man is a dangerous, arrogant, treasonous scumbag! It's scary as all hell knowing this punk bastard could easily end the world as we know it and not bat an eye... but he'd smirk, no doubt.


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Roland99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 05:34 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. Here's the video >>>>>>>>>
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IthinkThereforeIAM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 04:08 PM
Response to Original message
11. Don't forget the Nazi war criminals...

... such as Carl Schmidt that were jerked out of the Nurmeburg proceedings by the Dulles brothers and sent to the Univ of Chicago and the Straussian movement (trotskyite).
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librechik Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 05:54 PM
Response to Original message
14. found this gem over at the Daou Report: Our Hero Dissident, Bush
snip

" ' Political leaders make the rarest of dissidents. In a democracy, a leader's lifeline is the electorate's pulse. Failure to be in tune with public sentiment can cripple any administration and undermine any political agenda. Moreover, democratic leaders, for whom compromise is critical to effective governance, hardly ever see any issue in Manichaean terms. In their world, nearly everything is colored in shades of gray.

That is why President George W. Bush is such an exception. He is a man fired by a deep belief in the universal appeal of freedom, its transformative power, and its critical connection to international peace and stability. Even the fiercest critics of these ideas would surely admit that Mr. Bush has championed them both before and after his re-election, both when he was riding high in the polls and now that his popularity has plummeted, when criticism has come from longstanding opponents and from erstwhile supporters.

With a dogged determination that any dissident can appreciate, Mr. Bush, faced with overwhelming opposition, stands his ideological ground, motivated in large measure by what appears to be a refusal to countenance moral failure.'

That is it - and it should explain to our leftwing friends why we supporters of President Bush never lose heart; we see him courageously standing his ground, and we're not about to let him stand there alone. "

(from Blogs for Bush)

:puke:
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Roland99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 07:20 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. ooof...blogs for *
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kineneb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 11:10 PM
Response to Original message
16. they all share an inability to admit failure
or to learn from their errors. They live in a world of self-righteous certainty and are completely incapable of empathy with "the other guy".
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opihimoimoi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 11:17 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. Fanatics, Brainwashed Fools, following a deluded man....Oh My..
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leftofthedial Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-25-06 11:34 PM
Response to Original message
18. they are mentally ill
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