As bush's base discovers the awful truth, will there be a backlash?

[Philosoraptor]

No one likes to be punked, and more and more republicans are coming to the painful conclusion that they've been bamboozled and betrayed, and its bound to have a negative effect.

I've met many republicans lately who feel this betrayal bitterly, my own brother included, and let's face it, many republicans are well meaning, passionate, but misguided folks, they're not all morons and monsters, and I hear their sense of betrayal plainly.

Its hard for some of them to come around and admit it, but its happening on a large scale, and I wonder how this will affect the psyches of the stalwart bush supporters.

It might get ugly, because some of these folks are unable to control their rage sometimes. Maybe I'm being unfair but it seems as though the right is always more ready to rumble than the left, more reactionary and volatile, and it is something I think about, a pissed off at bush republican right and how it might manifest itself.

[leftchick]

1. there will always be 25% or so that will still drink the koolaide

They will absolutely refuse to believe they have been duped. Count on it.

[Bucky]

2. You, m'dear, are an optimist. Considering the constant poison, 25% is low

You really can fool some of the people all of the time.

[RangerSmith]

4. They won't care that much

I don't think it's 25%, it's closer to about 10% of the population who make up about 20% of the right wing vote.

They have no other dog in the fight. For them it's about theocracy.

[Jawja]

22. Exactly.

They are not capable of discovering the awful truth. If they were, they would have already done it.

[RangerSmith]

3. Well, I don't think you know

Bush's base. They will never bail on the evangelical candidate.

A lot of Republicans will and are, though. It's the only reason the Dems will most likley take back the House. It isn't about ideals, it's ABSCAM all over again x's 10 and people are sick of it.

[CoffeeCat]

5. I was thinking about this too...

The writing on the wall is clear to most of us. Bush totally duped the Fundies
into voting for him. Like you said, Philosoraptor, "they've been bamboozled."

Bush needed their votes. So, he quoted a few Bible verses, courted the pro-lifers,
and convinced them that he'd do something about the 'evil gays'.

Bush has done NOTHING to further their pro-life cause--other than to lob out
a few one liners. He's dragged his feet on the marriage amendment.

Furthermore, at the forefront of Junior's agenda--is his warmongering. This has
to be a smack in the face to some of them. If they really come out of denial,
they can see what the pResident's primary interests are--killing and war. Junior
can wrap killing and war in the flag or other religious platitudes. At the end
of the day--it's still killing and war.

EVen if the Fundies remain in denial and try hard to ignore the reality--the truth
still seeps into their consciousness. They know. On some level, they understand
that they've been duped into leveraging a war--and Bush has yet to return the favor--by
furthering their social-conservative agenda.

I don't think this will result in anger. I think it will result in disillusionment--which
will translate into apathy and lower voter turnout. Many Fundies are decent, religious people.
However, I'd guess that half of them are insecure wackjobs who glom onto religion due to
severe personality disorders and dysfunction. Bush made these people feel important
and validated. He capitalized on their need to belong. They gave him their votes.

In the end, these people made a deal with the devil--when they voted for Bush--twice.
Now, they're finding out that the devil isn't loyal to the details of their
religious-social agenda. He never was.

One only needs to look at the transcripts of the Frontline special, "Road to the White House"
to see that Bush's courting of the religious right is a farce. After seeing how easy
it was to sway religious conservatives--during the '88 primary when his father
was running for pResident--Junior turns to his best friend and says, "I could do this in
Texas!". ...And so, a candidate for governor of Texas was born.

[Philosoraptor]

9. My bro voted for w twice, now his daughter is going to Iraq

She joined the army, partly on religious principle oddly enough, he raised his two kids home schooled in the bible, but bush's war and killing fetish made him angry and bitter, based on religious principles, oddly enough.

Now my niece joined the army and is going to the central front in the war on terror in the spring. He doesn't want to talk about it much now.

[Skittles]

6. there's a certain sement - like freepers, who CANNT be punked

they don't have the intelligence to come to the realization they've been royally had

[Swamp Rat]

7. My guess is they will be quite unforgiving.

:yoiks:

[tom_paine]

10. No, they will be given a place to direct their anger

[Mist]

13. That would be my guess, Tom, unfortunately. RWers and media have been

priming the base with hate speech for a while now.

[Danger Mouse]

8. The Fundies...

Make a mockery of Christianity. Their views, and Bush's...pervert what Jesus taught. Their twisted view of God suits their twisted minds.

[newyawker99]

19. Hi Elrond Hubbard!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[B Calm]

11. Some are waking up... I heard two at work yesterday complaining

about Bush's guest worker program.

[acmejack]

12. I know too many who are blindly supportive.

People who are constantly surprised that I don't agree with them. I had a conversation with one just last night who said to me, "You know, you and I used to read from pretty much the same book (true), I just don't understand what happened to you." They just don't grasp what has happened to the Country. They have their money, their cars, homes and (still) comfortable existences. These people are all retired or close to it, at the tops of their professions- they no longer remember adversity.

As they gained they success, they forgot many things and abandoned a lot of their once closely held principles. That is what amazes me the most, the way their beliefs have been conveniently shelved to support their new found affluence. "I pay too much in taxes, those lazy welfare bums!" That said, this State needs an income tax, the internet has really hurt this Sales Tax based system here.

[JHB]

14. Don't count on it

Once upon a time, I thought the backlash from Reagan's BS would be spectacular. The only thing "spectacular" was the RWers' ability to excuse, rationalize, or even applaud it.

Chim-Chim has been more brazen, and has less general charisma, but you see the pattern even now: they'll disown him and claim he "betrayed the Reagan legacy", even though all he's done is bring that "legacy" to its full maturity.

[Ganja Ninja]

15. I expect a lot of them will just make the same mistake all over ...

again with some other GOP scam artist that claims to be a morally superior, god fearing christian conservative with family values up the whazoo.

[C_U_L8R]

16. you mean that tipping point thingee

well here's our chance to see if it is theory or fact.

if that doesn't work.. there's always evolution

[tom_paine]

25. May the next species that evolves intelligence be wiser than we

(actually, they'll probably be so alien to us, even having evolved on Earth for tens of millions of years, that we couldn't even begin to fathom what they will be)

But yes, I think there is a damned good chance that homo sapiens will go extinct in 5000 years or less and the earth will heal and start refilling all those empty mammal niches, as it always does with all niches.

Millions of years later...maybe...intelligence will rise again as the universe tries to contemplate itself.

[zbdent]

17. Gee, I guess that they won't vote for him again for President ...

otherwise, they'll vote for the Repukes ...

[woodsprite]

18. Wish my babysitter would wake up. She actually

wrote a letter to the editor the other day saying that we certainly wrote enough letters to * complaining about rising gas prices, maybe now that they're dropping lower we should write some letters thanking him. Of course, she has a draft-able brother who is not planning on signing up.

I thought about asking her WHY she is so enamoured of the current administration, but then we try not to talk politics. She's a great babysitter and very reliable.

It just boggles my mind how ANYONE, regardless of party affiliation, can be blindly led by these people. If I see any politician to the runnup to election, I'm going to tell them exactly how I feel - that the Dems MUST take back the House and Senate or risk losing our country. I've already told Castle that a moderate Republican does me no more good than Neo-conservative republican right now. For that reason, this will be the first time EVER that I will be voting against him.

[Beelzebud]

20. Bush's base are knuckle dragging morons.

[Philosoraptor]

21. kik

[sandnsea]

23. Did you miss Seattle?

I wouldn't say the right is more ready to rumble or more volatile than the left at all. I've seen the aftermath of too many WTO protests to say that.

I only worry that they all become cynical and decide revolution is the only recourse. If both extremes get together on that front, yikes!!

[BlooInBloo]

24. They've been punking themselves for 50-ish years...

... It's hard to see why they'd care NOW, as opposed to any other time in the past...

As long as gays, negroes, and wimins get treated worse than themselves, they could give a rat's ass.