[Josh] thinks that Republicans base their political judgment on issues, ie. gay rights, abortion, national defense, taxes, etc. He makes the same mistake that a lot of Democrats make, assuming that conservatives think the way that we do. They don't. They are authoritarians. Gay marriage, abortion, taxes, national security, none of it really matters to them. What they are looking for is an authoritarian to look like he's taking charge, and the way an authoritarian takes charge is to attack liberals and stomp on people who aren't like them.
Giuliani did this in New York, so he's a rock star in Alabama. It's the same thing with Mitt Romney - he's not even being the least bit subtle about reversing everything he 'believed' in Massachusetts, but it doesn't matter. The right-wing base is entirely unprincipled, subduing any concerns they might have over political issues to a sheer authoritarian impulse.
Don't fall for the nonsensical idea that the right-wing decides their contest based on issues, or has any principles that we would recognize. To them, it's all about demonstrating a tribal authoritarianism. Giuliani does this. Ask anyone in New York who ever had to deal with him.
And please please please stop assuming that they think like we do. They don't. Right-wingers are right-wingers for a reason. If they thought like us they'd be Democrats.
Vehement agreement.
"Radical," "extreme," and "authoritarian" are not synonyms. And of the three, "authoritarian" is not only completely accurate, but the only term that cannot be applied to Democrats.
(Indeed, the Democrats are, er, democratic is the inversion of the meme the SCLM
keeps pushing that we are in disarray, divided, etc. We just don't have a Leader who has a direct line to The God of His Choice, that's all.)
The policies that the Republicans pursue may be radical, or extreme, but in their hearts, they are authoritarians.
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Since when have Democrats been radical and extreme?
Seems that for most of my time, the Democratic Party has doen all it can to stamp out radicalism and extremism (at least on the left).
We just don’t have a Leader who has a direct line to The God of His Choice, that’s all.
Not that the Democrats lack for wannabees...
...for the rest of us
...for the rest of us
Times: US Generals 'will quit' if Bush orders Iran attack
As I've said before (but probably not here): things are pretty fucked up when the CIA agents and Army generals are the good guys. More here. Via Kos.
Wingnut works as well
... as any label for the radical right, for me. Nice point about Romney, it's true he'll pitch out any unpopular stand to get power. That this was true of the present maladministration is coming home to most rational people, and even to the irrational who supported them to begin with.
That we've courted our country into disaster, by allowing propaganda to sway our votes, hopefully is the lesson they're letting sink in.
Ruth
Ruth
Authoritarian gets at the essence, Ruth
Their adherence to fuhrerprinzip. No other word does that, and the other terms, with the exception of "wingnut," have all already been partially co-opted by the VRWC
and applied to Democrats, however inappropriately.
We've got a rare opportunity to propagate a term that is not only abusive, but true, and can't be used against us. That is emphatically not the case for "extreme" or "radical." Both of those terms simply re-inforce the SCLM
ideas that the Moderate
and the Centrist
all all important, becuase the "extreme" needs to be thrown out.
No authoritarians were tortured in the writing of this post.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
That could change pretty quick
..., Joe, if Frank Rich and Michael Scheuer are right.
If Al Qaeda's got its hands on a nuke (from Pakistan but you can bet Bu$hCo will blame Iran) and detonates it in a blue state city, the shock and awe for Iran's oil and on the War on Terra at home will escalate faster than the generals, the CIA, or the Democrats can stop.
Not that Darth Dick's Company would facilitate or take advantage of a false flag operation on American soil. Again.
No Hell below us
Above us, only sky
No Hell below us
Above us, only sky
i'm very happy to see matt reveal his inner radical
he sure is walking the walk of late.
if there is one problem i would see corrected in today's non-republican population, this is it. for a long time i've used the term "pseudofascist" to describe bush republicans. it's not unwarranted. all of the centrists and moderates who are afraid of strong language need to understand that rhetoric is the least of their worries.