Once again, an explanation of why right wingers trip over one another defending the rich

[Sarah Ibarruri]

Conservatives Deconstructed
by Joel Bleifuss
In These Times magazine, October 2003

 
Are they nuts?

Have you ever wondered about those ubiquitous conservatives?
Why do they support tax breaks for the rich when so many of their fellow citizens are in dire straits? Why do they applaud John Ashcroft and his post-9/11 curtailment of civil liberties? Why do they oppose laws that address historic wrongs and enforce constitutionally guaranteed rights? Why do they respond to a societal drug problem with incarceration and expanded prison construction? Why do they gut regulations that are meant to protect the environment? Why do they invest more than half of our tax dollars in the military? Why are they so meanspirited? In other words, why do conservatives do what they do? Are they nuts? (clip)

(clip) The authors acknowledge what has long been assumed by sociologists, economists, and political scientists: people adopt conservative beliefs to serve their own self interests. They agree that this helps explain the conservatism of "upper-class elites." However, the authors hold that the personal need to "reduce fear, anxiety, dissonance, uncertainty or instability" better explains why a vastly greater number of people who are not part of the elite, and particularly those who are disadvantaged or from low-status groups, "might embrace right-wing ideologies." (clip)

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Society/Conservatives_Deconstruct.html

[judgegblue]

1. Thus, the right wing succeeds

by creating fear, uncertainty and instability among the uninformed. Then they portray themseves as the answer by opposing change and promising tough law and order poicies to combat the threat to the status quo. Th OWS movement must scare the hell out of the conservative elite.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. Oh yes! What REALLY scares them, is the OWS has no leader. God, I love the OWS movement!

It's the best thing that has happened to this country in decades.

[applegrove]

4. Yup. And when they ****, like they did with the economy and jobs, they then

exploit people's fear of being unemployed.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. Exactly. And those who live with internal fear and a need of authoritarians vote for them nt

[Turbineguy]

3. Thanks.

Perfect timing, I needed that.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. :) nt

[truedelphi]

5. However both political parties have leadership intent on keeping drugs illegal.

Both support H1 visas, rather than helping Americans get jobs in the high tech sector.

Right now, the only policy difference between the political parties is the abortion issue.

And the fact that the current list of candidates for the Republican primary reads like a Who's Who of dingbats with the most fanatical religious beliefs, several of whom probably could not find Iran on a globe.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Don't even go there. I get livid when I think of H1B visas. We already have few jobs here

And they're handing out H1B visas like candy.