Figured out trump's hold on loyalists

[cilla4progress]

It's the consummate cult dynamic!

Who here knows how cults work?

I know they have a "charismatic" (to the cult) leader, of course. Desperate followers? Use of brainnwashing techniques?

What else?

[cilla4progress]

1. Also explains why evangelicals

are attracted...their brains are already conditioned to brainwashing

[RKP5637]

3. Yep, same mechanism/mentality! n/t

[wellst0nev0ter]

2. No, all he does

is stick it to liberals and minorities.

Everything else is negotiable and can be explained away.

[sharedvalues]

4. Hold is $$$$$. And it comes from Koch and Mercer

President has no hold on loyalists. GOP is just hanging on as long as possible to advance their agenda. As soon as he no longer helps their agenda, the GOP will toss him overboard.


The key controllers of the GOP are the big money donors: Koch, Mercer, Adelson, Walton*. Those are the real decision makers.




* And potentially the Russian government too - just rumors for now that Russian money went into the GOP. But we will see.

[cilla4progress]

6. I'm referring to

The 40% of Americans who supposedly still support him and would, I believe regardless of party affiliaton, ie, Nazi party, if that's how he registered!

[sharedvalues]

15. That's $$$$ too - it's the media control which comes with that $$$$

Propaganda outlets that GOP invests in:

NY Post: Murdoch
Fox News: Murdoch (sadly, now profitable itself)
Breitbart: Mercer
Conservative hate radio
Limbaugh
Sinclair
Reason (Mercer/Koch)
Federalist
Newsmax

The right-wing has a propaganda media because they spend big money on it.
The right-wing propaganda media lies to Americans.
Americans believe that propaganda and hate liberals and support GOP.

[dalton99a]

5. See:

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/05/11/1661222/-It-s-Time-to-Call-Trump-s-GOP-What-it-Is-A-Cult

It's Time to Call Trump's GOP What it Is: A Cult
By ZawnVillines
Thursday May 11, 2017 · 11:45 AM CST

In the midst of the 2016 election, Donald Trump quipped that he could “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and [not] lose voters.” It was a remarkably prescient remark from the candidate who has been accused of numerous crimes without losing support from the GOP leadership or his voter base.

In the wake of Comey’s firing, most Republicans flocked to Trump’s defense. Many seemed incapable of comprehending why firing multiple people charged with investigating him is a problem. It’s a situation that prompted Slate to ask whether anything could cause Trump to lose support.

It’s time to call the rabid, unquestioning support for Trump what is really is: the product of a cultish mentality that undermines critical thinking and supports dangerous and violent behavior. Consider the following characteristics of a cult.

[cilla4progress]

10. Thanks -

great find!

[Thinkingabout]

7. He is unable to handle criticism and therefore those around him is unable to tell him he

is wrong. He does not know how to govern, those around him are not much better and since they can not tell him he is wrong. This will result in a great failure.

[C_U_L8R]

8. Greed

Knuckledragging suckers think the 'successful businessman" will make them rich. And cynical rightwing elites and politicos think the can steamroll through all the tax breaks and power grabs they can (until he's impeached, arrested, expired, whatever). Trump is feeding all their greed. It sells.

[eyeofnewt]

9. HRC

Just in my tiny part of the world all I hear is hatred of Hillary as their total reason/excuse for voting for Trump. They believe everything they've been fed about her for years up to and including the campaign. A few don't like Trump, but to them anyone is better than Hillary.
Plus if you're raised in a sexist environment, it makes T easier to stomach. A lot of these people haven't been directly affected by the ACA, nor have they been hungry or jobless. The ability to empathize is a fundamental difference in Ds and Rs imho.

[Mr. Ected]

11. It's a cult, alright, but not simply a Trump cult

This cult is bound tightly by a common belief: anything that pisses off a liberal gets my stamp of approval.

It's as simple as that.

Trump was their dream candidate because he tore down liberals just like Rush and Sean and the rest of those gaslighting gasbags do. They live in an echo chamber, cautioned not to venture too far out or else be susceptible to left wing lies.

It's a cult, alright, with a shit ton of "leaders".

[MedusaX]

12. It's a patchwork quilt of varied Cult squares.. stitched together creating the illusion of shared

Loyalty to 45....

Sure some squares truly are 45 kool aid drinkers...

But as pointed out in various comments above...
there are many squares which are temporarily loyal in an attempt to get what they want...

[2naSalit]

13. +1

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. The Cliff Notes

He hates the people they do and has a megaphone.

[yallerdawg]

16. It's the "Us vs Them" team mentality extreme partisanship has created.

When every issue is identified as a "win" for one side or the other, the details, nuances, and compromises are seen as concessions to the other side.

Trump's claim to substance and action is actually tearing down everything Obama did!

The right claims Gorsuch was an accomplishment, but it was just a denial of Obama having the choice, and a rejection of bipartisanship in Senate confirmation.

We aren't going to work together on anything.

We have to beat them.

[RedWedge]

17. Meh, I don't think he has the motivation, insight or ability to deliberately manipulate people in

the manner of cult leaders. Using the term "cult," which is a specific term, to describe what's going on, makes it difficult to fight what actually is happening.

[grantcart]

18. They are projecting their own revenge on the failure of their own small insignificant lives.

Not all but most of the hard core