Why do Republicans delight in suffering?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. It's a way of separating themselves from those "other" people.

Most of their leaders are in it just for the money, but they achieve and retain power by deliberately stirring up the fears and prejudices of conservative voters. Conservatism is at its core a fear-based ideology - GOPers are afraid of damn near everything. By demeaning and belittling the disadvantaged and approving policies that hurt them, they are separating themselves psychologically from the things that happened to those "other" people: "I'm not like those people so those bad things I'm afraid of can't possibly happen to me." They cheer the idea of someone dying because he was "irresponsible" and didn't buy insurance - "I'm a responsible person; I bought insurance; that can't happen to me." Union jobs? "I don't belong to a union and it's unfair that union people get paid more than me, so they should lose their jobs. But that won't happen to me." Welfare for the poor? "I'm not like those undeserving, lazy people; I won't ever need food stamps. There shouldn't be welfare for people like them."

And for many, "people like them" means black or Latino people. The racist element just doesn't want any tax money to go to help "those people."