Reply #27: It really is all about hate and fear.

[sofa king]

It turns out that fear is a primary motivator for right-wing authoritarians, according to Yost, Glaser, et. al. It's why the Department of Homeland Security's Terror-O-Meter was so important to Karl Rove: he could program his "base" by broadcasting his fear as regularly and as ubiquitously as the weather. Getting busted for another crime? Kick up the fear a couple o' notches, that'll keep 'em busy until next news cycle.

http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~hannahk/conservatism.html


Obama's really got his shit together, and very well may be a two-term President. In eight years, you watch, the number of Americans who believe Obama is a Muslim will grow from whatever it is today. That's because the other half of the conservative feeding trough is hate. Hatred, in particular, of social outgroups. It doesn't matter to them whether or not he really is of a particular religion, they'll believe it because they've already been programmed from birth to know that Obama is black and liberal--both of which are minorities to them. Fox News is going to get even more bizarre in coming years, as they will have to create an even larger fantasy for their viewers: the fantasy that America is still mostly comprised of white male heterosexual Christians. Those people are going to be very, very unhappy.

I think there is a chance that Obama can win some of those authoritarians, by forcing them to redefine the majority of which they are a part to include a bad motherfucker like Obama and themselves. It won't make them responsible voters, but it might make them happier, less fearful, and less hateful.