I just stumbled on Politifact...

[MrScorpio]

And I noticed how many of The Donald's statements were outright lies, including a great many Pants On Fire. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/

And to my amazement, this truth deficient carnival barker is way ahead in the GOPer primary.

I can only take from this that right wing Republican voters are people who crave being lied to. Just tell them one RWNJ falsehood after another and they'll eat them right up. It's pure madness.

Ahhh, such is the echo chamber in the Conservative Bubble... Facts are not allowed.

[Roland99]

1. Mob mentality

[AxionExcel]

2. Republicans disdain truth

Witness Rush, O'Reilly, Hannity, etc. ad nauseum

[nxylas]

5. Truth is Soros-funded

That seems to be the magic word that allows Trump's redcaps to dismiss any facts that don't fit their preferred narratives.

[Duppers]

3. Republican voters

My mother is a very old, long-term R voter. When her little mind is made up on any subject, facts matter squat. I told her that decades ago.

I truly think that most R voters have a personality disorder. It keeps them from seeking truth.

The only other explanation is a low IQ.

[elljay]

14. Read Conservatives Without Conscience

By John Dean (yes, the Nixon John Dean). He left the Republican Party years ago and wrote this book to explain their current thinking. It is an analysis of psychological and medical studies that show that about 25% of people have brain structures that predispose them to authoritarianism. The particular authoritarian system doesn't matter; the black-and-white structure does. They cannot accept contradictory facts because it endangers their entire belief system. This is why it is useless to argue with RWNJs- they are just not capable of reasoning.

[Duppers]

21. Very good book! And Bob Altemeyer's...

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/



Both of my parents were such horrible authoritarians that it took years of therapy for me to recover from the damage. More than half my family are R voters whom I avoid as much as possible -- 14 years without speaking to siblings. Their brain structure elicits no compassion from me since they are so toxic, illogical, and hell to be around.

[elljay]

23. So sorry to hear that!

I'm lucky having liberal parents but do have authoritarian relatives so can only imagine what you went through. I think the big takeaway is that you just cannot talk reason with these people. This was Obama's biggest mistake as President- he assumed that he could bring Republicans around using reason, intelligence and compromise. No, the only thing you can do is to fight them with everything you have.

[Duppers]

24. True. Thank you.

[awoke_in_2003]

27. I wonder if the brain can be re-wired?

I used to be republican. I liked black and white, and maybe had an authoritarian streak. The run up to the Iraq war shook my mind up, and I started questioning everything I thought I believe. I don't know, maybe I just grew the hell up and started actually using my brain.

[elljay]

30. Dunno

The brain is a pretty amazing organ and we know so little about it. If someone can figure out a way to numb the amygdala just enough that certain people don't go straight into fight-or-flight mode when confronted with new situations, there might be some hope!

[lonestarnot]

4. He's a real bullshit shit storm.

[mn9driver]

6. Historical precedent.

In the time between WWI and WWII, the economic and political situation in Europe was truly a disaster. In Italy and Germany the result was leaders who told the people what they wanted to hear.

In the last several decades in the US, people have been able to selectively choose the reality they prefer, via what media they watch, read or listen to. For Trump supporters, the US has been taken over by economic disaster and political evil. This isn't an exaggeration; it is truly what they believe.

It's interesting that in the past, despots rose to power due to actual conditions; today they can rise due to mass fantasies supported by our extensive right wing propaganda network.

[klook]

9. Ignorance is strength.

[pampango]

13. Well said, mn9driver. RW demagogues always have and still do play fast and loose

with the facts in order to create a "reality", if one does not already exist which is Trump's case, that their supporters accept unquestioningly.

And, of course, the "reality" that RW demagogues peddle includes the need for an authoritarian, 'strong father' to solve all problems.

[Ford_Prefect]

7. The MSM seem to love him too. They seem to be more interested in carnival than information.

Cheap thrills are lest costly to produce than discovering and presenting truths that embarrass the advertiser, local slum lord, or Oligarch.

[gordianot]

8. Take seriously Donald Trump could shoot you on the street and get by with it.

Trump is not alone the Republican bubble is toxic waste.

[Mc Mike]

10. When you translate 'telling it like it is' from GOPspeak to normal English,

you find the phrase means 'lying loudly, belligerently, and transparently.' And the goper rank and file laps it up.

[The Blue Flower]

11. Read the interview with the WA Post editorial board

Then read the comments from his supporters. The scary thing is that they'll be organized after he loses.

[mreilly]

12. I've shown many of these to loyal Trump supporters...

... of course they immediately dismiss it as "liberal BS" per their programming. Every once in a while I have some fun arguing with these creeps online - not because I think they would ever be capable of changing their minds, but to see the knots they will tie themselves in.

For instance, Trumpbot starts screaming that Hillary is a liar, Hillary always lies, nothing Hillary says is ever true, how can you people support someone so dishonest, and so forth. I show the facts provided by Politifact and without even reading or researching them the Trumbot just starts sputtering "Nope, nope, not true, all a big liberal fantasy. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. You're a sheep. Think for yourself," etc. etc. Same old playbook these complete and utter turds use every time.

Then they post easily-debunked nonsense and run from the debate, sneering: "Well, you're too STUPID for me to bother with anymore." And of course the next day they're right out there spouting the same garbage about how everyone else lies, everyone else is dishonest, Trump tells the truth 1000% of the time and if you can't handle that you need to wake up and blah blah blah...

[zalinda]

15. They are angry

and they turn a blind eye to anything that he says or does. There are other politician supporters who do the same thing for different reasons.

Z

[Orsino]

16. Not as much as Politifact has stumbled, I'll bet...

...or the rest of our idiot media.

Trump lies an awful lot, but the MSM don't seem able to fact-check him well.

[JBoy]

17. Their constant vilification of the media is to provide cover to their lying

If/when the media calls them out on the lies, their supporters won't believe it because, "lamestream media".

[MadDAsHell]

18. Unfortunately it's a party-loyalty thing, not just in the GOP. Hillary Clinton's stats...

from the same website show 49% of her statements as half true or worse, with 28% coming in as Mostly False, False, or Pants on Fire.

Yes, our preferred candidate is misleading voters with nearly 30% of her statements or, to be generous, giving us only half the story in up to 50% of our statements. We should be so proud.

But this is the best candidate we can get in a country of 300 million people...

[Yallow]

19. Republicans Need Their Own Country - Dumfukistan

They can frack, drill, de-regulate, and pollute all they want.

They can all stand their ground with their 500 guns, and have Ok Corral shootouts every day for pleasure.

Rush, and Fox News only Tee Vee and radio allowed.

Panacea.....

Utopia......

[bullwinkle428]

20. Republicans are completely beholden to the "cult of personality" mindset.

[Agnosticsherbet]

22. He makes them feel safe. The truth of his statements is irrelevant since...

those who support him will never check them out and accuse anyone that calls them into question of telling lies.

[Scalded Nun]

25. Their willingness to believe the crap their candidates spew is ming-boggling, but

let's be fair. There are many D's who love being lied to as well, just as happy to look past the glaring faults and more than accepting of the hypocrisy.

[Gothmog]

26. Trump does not live in the real world

Trump does not care about the truth or facts

[Hekate]

28. KnR. smh

[tabasco]

29. Lying is what republicans do.

The plutocracy propaganda networks only support their lies.

[liberalfromaustin21]

31. America voted for Bush twice

So it doesn't surprise me at all that Trump is so popular. What a sad state of affairs.

[lpbk2713]

32. Trump is a pathological liar.

And that's what endears him to his supporters.