Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General How the GOP gets it's freak on?

So after surviving the trauma of gathering with in-laws and relations for Thanksgiving and a searing political debate as a follow on course with my slightly left of Attila the Hun Aunt and Uncle in-laws, I had an thought today that might explain better their thought process and where it is coming from.

Retiring to the couch to cope with the ensuing food coma, My tea party Uncle in-law thought it might be good aid to his digestion to level the question "so what do you think of Obama and the job he's doing?"

Followed by a lengthy litany of conspiracy theories and worn out arguments that covered topics as varied as HCR to George Soro's. Organized labor to welfare dependance. Pretty much an echo of the same cheap drum that has been beat to death since Limbaugh got off his ass and got hisself a radio personality contract.

I want to say that the adage " I never lost an argument nor won one either' was evidenced by the mindset of everyone after the fraccas died down. What struck me was that I was arguing with college educated white collard professionals who seemed to lack the capacity of abstract thought or rationalism. Veering away from evidence of history and returning time after timer, to mental iconagraphy promoted and campaigned on all the various rant radio/TV outlets.

So today I'm driving around running errands when a great Led Zep cover of an old Chicago blues song comes on and it's got this huge sex grove hook in it. that started me thinking about how the sex drive in our species is such an effective button to push when it comes to advertising and the arts. Hell, even politics and religion for that matter.

The sex drive is perhaps the most powerful motivator in most species. We are no different as evidenced by the 'sex sells' cliche that has come to be regarded as a universal truth. Look at all the music who's structure closely mimiks that of the sex act itself. I doubt I need to give a reference wether you like pop, jazz, blues, etc...
Same holds for narrative structure. There's the pre-amble and introduction of the characters (foreplay) the plot, the climax (self explanatory) and the resolution (smoking cigarettes in bed).
Carnie preachers do it on the TV with their pacing and tempo. They start out slow. Introduce the characters, Build the temp and pitch, reveal the message and then reenforce the message in a more relaxed and subdued tone. Always felt like a sex act with the congregation to me.
It's a powerful hook we all fall prey to. They're pushing buttons deep down in our bios. We identify and resonate in sympathy to this technique.
I've always felt that the radio ranters like Hannity and Limbaugh as well as Glenn Beck have the same shtich as a low rent preacher on early Sunday morning. Same delivery, pattern, pitch, tempo, etc...
Then it occurred to me. Do conservatives find a kind of sexual release (or very approximating the sex act) with the ranters schtick? Is this the Genius of Rupert Murdoch? Let's face it, repressing a powerful motive like the sex drive will come out in some other form. A species cannot deny it's imperative of passing on it's genetic material. Is this why even educated, professional people that identify with conservatism abandon rational thought and give over to the ranter rhetoric? Is my Uncle in-law having sex with Glenn Beck?

Your thanksgiving experience reminds me of a similar sort of experience I had long ago...

I was visiting my farmer relatives in the midwest....
we were sitting out in the cool evening air when my cousin started spilling out with similar sorts of conspiracy theories.... ultimately the discussion worked it's way around to the bombing of th Oklahoma federal building.... my cousin felt that this was not what it seemed.... as he put it "Some people think that the bombing in Oklahoma was arranged by the federal government itself...." The suggestion was so vague I was not sure what I could say. Finally I retorted that.... "Yeah well "SOME PEOPLE" say that OJ Simpson has committed no wrong, he was framed, OJ is pure as the driven snow... that is what "SOME PEOPLE" say. Myself, I see that it is possible that the Feds bombed their own building in Oklahoma City, and it is also possible that OJ is completely innocent. Both scenarios are possible, and IMO about equally likely to be true based upon the evidence."

The subsequent discussion moved to more innocuous subjects.

'
I think there is an important similarity between Nazi Germany and the present United States, and it is what makes me think that there is no hope for the USA until after the catastrophe occurs.

When the brainwashing of the regime passes a certain point, it is no longer something external, but becomes internalized. People feel it as an essential part of their being, part of who they are. Therefore, any criticism of the Official Line (even such modest pin-pricks as I opine) is no longer felt as a mere point of view which is open to rational debate, but rather is felt as an attack on a person's essential being, a personal attack, which is not to be endured or thought about---and certainly not accepted!

Totalitarian regimes like Nazi Germany and the United States cleverly build up a stereotype of what it is to be a Good German or a Good American, and unless one has one's wits about one, this stereotype invades one's thinking and one's feelings. When the brainwashing has done its work, nothing will remove it from the victim's sense of self---nothing, except soul-searing tragedy.

bullshit

any serious student would recognise that the differenes outweigh any similarities.

but if ones point is propagandistic rhetoric.....

And then there's the attention paid to the tea party darling Sarah Palin. Ex beauty queen contestant riding this wave of engorged conservative passion. Or the newer youger model Christine ODonnel. Rilly, for president? What else is going on here besides just giving the expected lines for their choir? I submit that a lot of this conservative thinking is driven by repressed sexual energy finding an outlet like a porn addict with the internet.
Would Sarah Palin be gettin such media attention and be the apple of the Tea Party's eye if she looked like Golda Meir?

Ardy- The conversation I had drifted to the wonders of Netflix. Quit similar to your experience.
Numan- Didn't those Nazis include a strong sexual component to their imagery? Hitler awarding brood mare mothers with medals? I remember a documantary that explained how the Nazi youth summer camps indulged the kids to explore their bodies and sexuality. Really took me back, watching the old B&W footage of nude blonde German kids frolicking in their alpine parks, chasing one another around old growth trees. Them Nazis were the golden age masters of propaganda. Glenn Beck's 'restore honor' rally couldn't hold a candle to the Nazi's mass demonstration torch light vigils. Storm troopers marching thru medieval towns at midnight carrying torches. Egads, now that's the stuff of nightmares. Not there yet......

Hmmmm....taken in that context this salute resembles in some ways an engorged penile member. Surely he's thinking of those frolicking youthful blond nudes.

Oh heck, Chunkstyle, all the hatred that has been directed at Sarah Palin and her family -- from the very first days of her selection as McCain's running mate -- can be neutered by her within seconds as seen here .
Yours,
Issodhos

Hatred? Really? I've seen considerable derision, tons of disbelief that anyone in her line of work could be as ignorant as she seems, mounds of astonishment that she attracts the level of attention that she attracts, and downright consternation that there are so many people in this country who will over look her many shortcomings to be enthralled by her. But hatred? Nope. Your inner feelings are showing, Iss. It has indeed been fun to watch you bear bare [guess Mama Grizzly got to my subliminal mind] your soul to us by imputing to others the feelings you carry inside you. Keep sharing. You divulge very great potential to reach Palinesque levels. But don't confuse our pity for hate.

I'm with logan. Bemused and amused, yes. Hatred? No.

For her erstwhile supporters, confused and used, most likely. Maybe they are the ones from whom you see the hatred.

I think we've been through this before. Do I hate the woman? I really don't know her well enough to muster that much emotion. Have I, and others, said hateful things about her? Yep. I know it's really mincing words to claim that the two are not the same, but I think that one implies an emotional investment and the other just plain meanness.