How the GOP Slowly Went Insane

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It happened slowly, didn’t it? The change in the Republican Party? I don’t know. Maybe it’s nostalgia. There have always been the wild, vicious voices of the right. The devil on the shoulder of the conservative movement that whispers in its ear, “burn it down, burn it down.” But those voices were to be ignored, humored, tolerated, placated, or just deceived. That was the way of things, and we were protected by the obvious: people who believe foolish things tend to be easy to fool.

Then it all changed. The Republican elite caught a ride on the tiger. But the tiger got sick of waiting for the gazelles it was promised, the gazelles that were always one election away. The tiger was hungry and angry and tired of being used and the longer it waited the more appetizing the elite on its back became. So the tiger got a radio station and a news channel. The tiger got organized and mobilized. And finally the tiger realized it didn’t need someone kicking its sides telling it which way to run and who to eat and when to eat and why it wasn’t time to eat and the time to eat would come, don’t worry, you’ll eat soon enough.

So the tiger ate its master and now here we are.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/10/how-the-gop-slowly-went-insane/280614/

[Laelth]

1. Illuminating conceit. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[joeybee12]

2. I don't know if I'd called it "slowly" since they've always been half way there...knr

[Bandit]

3. I think one could go back to the day Rush Limbaugh went National

That is pretty much when it all started, IMO. Newt took his cue from Rush and began the beligerance and nastiness we see and feel today. Rush is a KEY cog in the whole mess.

[n2doc]

4. I think the republican 'elite caught the crazy disease too

People like Trump, Adelson, The Koch Bros, all have made statements that indicate that they are insane. Maybe it is all an act. But I think it is just as likely that the super rich have drunk the kool-aid and now believe what Rush et al are selling.

[cheyanne]

5. The life cycle of extremist movements is what we are watching

up close and personal.

Conspiracy theories, like racism and fear of those different from us, is always around lurking in the shadowy corners of society, like a political party. They bloom when the economy goes bad. Suddenly, people are looking for answers about why the leaders they followed have led them down the garden path. Only a conspiracy can explain why their world view is not providing answers.

Then a political party fosters this group, tells them whose to blame and creates an environment of fear and hatred.

However, the political party will never be able to satisfy the demands of the group. The continued defeats can then be explained by the ideology impure. Thus they begin to eat their own, making their group smaller and more extreme.

Notice that the freepers are not saying "not everybody dislikes Obamacare, maybe the President is well-meaning, but wrong".
Their basic ideology is unfazed by defeat.

What happens next?

People will leave the group because they can't deliver, leaving a hard core that will have little relevance to society. These people will opt out of the system for a while, but NOT ONE WILL CHANGE THEIR MIND.

Some hard core will continue uselessly to flog their conspiracy theory. Some others will turn to violence.

The political party will pick up business as usual.