Pathology as ideology: A unified theory of GOP behavior

[Joanne98]

Narcissism. Xenophobia. Superstition. Bigotry. Sadism. Cultism. Denial. Sexual predation. Arrested development. Delusion. Bullying. Dissociation. Paranoia. Repression. Obsession. Avarice. Egotism. Insecurity. Pathological lying. God complex. Megalomania. Misogyny. Sociopathy.



Do any of these words describe Republicans you know, either personally or as elected or appointed officials? Perhaps more than one term applies in any number of cases. I am not a psychiatrist, psychologist or sociologist. But I do have common sense and a long memory. I saw the seeds of many of these behaviors among Republican voters, commentators, candidates and office holders about the time Ronald Reagan came to power. Now, these behaviors dominate Republican discourse. They are mainstream.



Reasonable voices like Colin Powell and Charlie Crist are ostracized and subjected to ad hominem attacks from the "true" GOP, like Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney. Others, like Richard Lugar and Lawrence Wilkerson, openly disagree with their more radicalized fellows to such an extent that Reagan's 11th Commandment is officially dead. Still others that were arguably reasonable, like John McCain, have become increasingly shrill and strident. Arlen "RINO" Specter changed sides. The venerable Tom Davis just gave up.



Every month, lately every week, features the GOP in a new public relations disaster. Jindal. Cheney. Specter. Ensign. Sanford. Palin. Each new incident brings out the gymnast in the GOP apologists and spin-doctors. The latest and strangest occurrence was Sarah Palin's pouty and abrupt resignation as Alaska's governor. Her ill-considered public ramblings equated continuing with quitting, quitting with winning, and leading with being driven from office - up-is-down, wrong-is-right Bizarro politics at its finest.



A child would typically reject these absurd notions, but a swath of educated, credentialed and popular GOP role players have the temerity to call this move "shrewd." Partially, this is institutional damage control, but a survey of various conservative blogs indicates an amazing degree of support and acceptance among some members of the rank and file who still love their Sarah. Republican strategist Ed Rollins had the honesty to call it political suicide, but when Ed Rollins is the voice of sweet reason, something is seriously wrong in the clubhouse.



I have therefore been forced by events to come to a reluctant conclusion. I say "reluctant" because it's so improbable, but, as A. Conan Doyle wrote for Sherlock Holmes, "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" My conclusion is that the socio-pathologies listed above are not characteristics of Republicans, they are Republicans' characteristics. To avoid being accused of sweeping generalizations, let me reel it in a bit and say that these are the characteristics of too many Republicans for the party's own good.

Continued>>>
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/doc_magnus/2009/07/pathology-as-ideology-a-unifie.php?ref=reccafe

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I agree with you

Anyone I knew who was a Republican was so appalled at Palin being on the ticket they voted Obama. Now they call themselves independents. Many others left long ago to join the Libertarians because they didn't like what Bush was doing and felt that Ron Paul best vocalized their feelings about it. What does that leave for the GOP? The bigots and sociopaths.

[polichick]

2. Fascinating read and dead on. nt

[BrklynLiberal]

3. I have very often felt that it took a very disturbed mind to become a really "good"

repuke.

And can anyone tell me which of the above words do not describe those that also partake of white supremacy, nazism, or almost any fanatical group in the world? Repukes fit right in with them.

[Lorien]

7. That list describes every hardcore dittohead repuke I've ever known

the question I have is; were they predisposed to mental illness, or has a form of brainwashing taken place through the MSM afflicting the weak minded?

[elleng]

9. Hey, Brklyn! I've got a bridge for YOU!!!

John Dean and Dr. (????) have written about these 'words,' 'characteristics' as fitting repugs.

:fistbump:

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Is it Dr. Frank??

http://www.amazon.com/Bush-Couch-Rev-Ed-President/dp/006143065X

[Cobalt-60]

4. Republicans are employees of the Rich.

I think what we hear out of them are the voices of a handful of rich traitors, amplified and multiplied through the mouths of their hired help: Republican Politicians.
They don't care how ignorant the statement is , so long as the check is good.

[LongTomH]

5. Yeah, but..............

Please remember: During the 1930's a group that was clearly pathological took over a formerly democratic state: Germany. And they attracted followers in other countries affected by the depression, most notably Great Britain and the United States.

Just because they're crazy doesn't mean they're headed for the trash heap! Republicans may make a comeback in the US in 2010 / 2012 if the current depression deepens and Democrats don't offer alternatives.

[elleng]

10. You're quite right to be cautious.

Keep our eyes open, watch our backs. It CAN happen here.

[demigoddess]

6. sometimes I think that politics is the career choice for people who are

too stupid or self-centered to handle a regular job. A local guy running for office years ago came around in an old crate of a car blowing black smoke and apparently was afraid to turn it off so he left it running.He was running as an R. I was not impressed. He was elected and has really come up in the world since then.

[elleng]

11. And his name is - - - -

.

[applegrove]

8. It is bad enough when people with these characteristics get power. But even scarier when

a group like the neocons get together and try and imitate asociopath in how they govern and use power.

[troubledamerican]

12. Endgame is Chile 1973, Argentina 1976. Always has been.

The pathology is: Nazism. Cheap labor, slave labor, permanent underclass, permanent neofeudal overlords, a culture of secrecy, eradication of egalitarian democracy, entrenched authoritarianism.

Orwell said it best: "The future of mankind is a boot stomping on a human face, forever and ever."

[Locrian]

13. authoritarians -

go here: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/


"The studies explain so much about these people. Yes, the research shows they are very aggressive, but why are they so hostile? Yes, experiments show they are almost totally uninfluenced by reasoning and evidence, but why are they so dogmatic? Yes, studies show the Religious Right has more than its fair share of hypocrites, from top to bottom; but why are they two-faced, and how come one face never notices the other? Yes, their leaders can give the flimsiest of excuses and even outright lies about things they’ve done wrong, but why do the rank-and-file believe them? What happens when authoritarian followers find the authoritarian leaders they crave and start marching together?"

[TrogL]

15. You forgot authoritarian

[JohnWxy]

16. Good article. A sad conclusion many of us arrived at long ago. There will always be 'republicans'

with us. The fearful, the psychopathological. Some end up in jail or in asylums. Some end up in the GOP, representing corporations (and whoever else has the money to buy their services).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=197263

The author is correct too, that the reasonable people (those who are csetainly not into the psychopathological realm) are being driven to the sidelines of that party. This is why it's so difficult to get anything accomplished in government. They don't really care if it all goes to hell. This is obviously not a sensible, rationale approach to dealing with societies challenges.