Are republicans actually capable of believing things that don't necessarily make them feel good?

[ewagner]

3. I think I know....

Several months back I wrote about the insights I found in reading the book, "The Republican Brain"...followed by reading a somewhat less partisan book called, "The Political Mind".

After seeing what happened on election night, e.g. the total surprise of the Republicans of the Democratic win, the so-called "Rove Meltdown", continuing reports that the Romney staff never saw the defeat coming, that they didn't believe any of the polls, that Mitt himself was "shellshocked" by the defeat (he had not even written a concession speech because he didn't believe it could happen)..well..after all that, I was subtly reminded by the spouse that the books were right....when confronted with facts, or empirical evidence that is contrary to their core beliefs, Conservatives, statistically more commonly than liberals, deny the evidence, invent their own facts, dissemble or attack the source of the evidence in order not to be forced to abandon their own position.

Liberals (being wishy-washy lol) are statistically more likely to re-evaluate their beliefs and change them when confronted with facts. I think all of this is still true....we do think differently and the question of it being environmental or "hard-wired" hereditary is still not clear.

Election night played this theory out on a national stage and plainly enough for all to see. It needs more study if we are going to have good, rational national debates with two parties dealing with real facts on real problems.