Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult

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dcnovice -> Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 6:45:25 PM)
Leftish columnist Richard Cohen argues that the Republian Party has become a cult, bound and defined more by zealotry than reason. Thoughts? Rebuttals? http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-grand-old-cult/2011/07/02/gHQAOnlByH_story.html

imperatrixx -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:01:57 PM)
My nose itches.

Owner59 -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:10:17 PM)
Has all the markings. Devotion to dogma over reality,belief equals fact,fanaticism, zero conscience/shame and ability to BS one`s self.

imperatrixx -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:12:17 PM)
Boring, inflammatory article designed solely to inflame tensions. Would be cute in The Onion. Disgraceful in a real newspaper.

Owner59 -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:14:32 PM)
"Norquist’s pledge refers not only to tax increases but also to closing any loopholes, no matter how egregious, that would bring the government more money “unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.” Almost all the GOP’s presidential candidates have taken this oath, swearing before God and Grover Norquist to cease thinking on their own, never to exercise independent judgment and, if necessary, to destroy the credit of the United States, raise the cost of borrowing and put the government deeper into the hole". Pretty reasonable to me. Grover is a high priest in this cult.

dcnovice -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:24:54 PM)
Fareed Zakaria recently made a similar point in Time: How Today's Conservatism Lost Touch With Reality

imperatrixx -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:28:50 PM)
I like Zakaria's analysis.

ThatDaveGuy69 -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:32:37 PM)
It's the real GOP plan for Amrica: Reduce the size of government by starving it of funds to the point of immobility, then outsource all the work that needs to be done. And who's going to get all those fat contracts? Why, the largest GOP contributors, of course! And they will do absolutely anything to achieve this goal including cop-opt religion, shred the constitution, crash the economy, and destroy every last member of the middle class.

Owner59 -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:43:12 PM)
Grover Norquist: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." That`s the guy who`s "pledge" EVERY GOP candidate signed. It`s him they are serving and catering to.

FirmhandKY -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:54:47 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: dcnovice Leftish columnist Richard Cohen argues that the Republian Party has become a cult, bound and defined more by zealotry than reason. Thoughts? Rebuttals? http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-grand-old-cult/2011/07/02/gHQAOnlByH_story.html I've heard the same thing about the Democratic Party. Where you stand, depends on where you sit, and all that. Firm

Owner59 -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 7:57:36 PM)
Nah Firm. We said it 1st.......[:D]

dcnovice -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:00:18 PM)
quote: I've heard the same thing about the Democratic Party. Yet the Democrats have their pro-lifers, their Blue Dogs, their members who vote against the party line. What are the equivalents on the Republican side?

FirmhandKY -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:07:41 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Owner59 Nah Firm. We said it 1st.......[:D] I dunno ... a forensic psychiatrist diagnosed "liberalism" as a mental disorder several years ago (2006?) ... The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness Lyle H. Rossiter; Jr.; M.D. (Author) And, of course, there is Michael Savage's book, from 2005: Liberalism is a Mental Disorder So, maybe not a "cult" in the classical sense, after all ... [:D] Firm

Owner59 -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:08:15 PM)
Yup,which GOP candidates did NOT sign Grover`s pledge of allegiance? Firm?

FirmhandKY -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:17:52 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: dcnovice quote: I've heard the same thing about the Democratic Party. Yet the Democrats have their pro-lifers, their Blue Dogs, their members who vote against the party line. What are the equivalents on the Republican side? Log Cabin Republicans and TEA party members come to mind. But I'd say it's really more of a spectrum of beliefs, from libertarians to middle-of-the-road independents, to the "classic" religious based Republican. Despite what many on the more left like to spin, there is a broad range of "Republicans". The Republican Party is known as the "Big Tent Party" for a reason. I saw a pretty good analysis of the cohesiveness of the two parties, based on age, life situation, and political desires. Basically the Republicans are based on the middle aged population, consisting of people who have achieved some success and wish to enjoy the fruits of their labor, while the Democrats have more representation in the younger population (people who want to "get theirs", and don't have a lot invested yet), and older members of the population who are looking for more safety and outside assistance. Because this Republican middle is more focused on a single thing, they tend to be more cohesive, while at the ends of the population curves, there is a splintering of interest, and therefore focus. This makes the Republican Party generally more effective, in obtaining their goals, compared to the larger, but weaker Democratic Party. So ... Democrats may call it a "cult", but Republicans call it effectiveness. I'll see if I can find the analysis, and post a link. Firm

dcnovice -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:26:35 PM)
I agree that Republicans can be strikingly effective at getting what they want. To me, that lends import to Fareed Zakaria's assertion that Republican goals have stopped being reality-based.

willbeurdaddy -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:27:50 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: dcnovice quote: I've heard the same thing about the Democratic Party. Yet the Democrats have their pro-lifers, their Blue Dogs, their members who vote against the party line. What are the equivalents on the Republican side? You can start in Maine, and also take a look in Rhode Island.

FirmhandKY -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:31:21 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: dcnovice I agree that Republicans can be strikingly effective at getting what they want. To me, that lends import to Fareed Zakaria's assertion that Republican goals have stopped being reality-based. Ok, explain to me how being effective (a measure of understanding reality and the levers of a political and societal system) equals "lost touch with reality"? Firm

dcnovice -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:35:24 PM)
I wrote too fast. What I mean was that Republicans' effectiveness in implementing their goals makes it all the more important to weigh the merits of those goals. One example of such weighing is Zakaria's analysis, which concludes that Republican goals are not rooted in reality.

willbeurdaddy -> RE: Interesting Take on the GOP: It's a Cult (7/5/2011 8:43:57 PM)
FR Weak article with a sensational headline that isnt the least bit substantiated in the body. And just because the realities and goals arent those that Cohen may like, they are certainly obtainable objectives with a firm foundation in rational beliefs, not cultism. He could have been far more effective in challenging the idea of "pledges" themselves, and not their content.

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