The Right WIng Delusion of Mainstream Thought

[jmondine]

Have you ever had an acquaintance or co-worker, in the midst of conversation with you, lower their voice, and then make some really inappropriate racist joke or comment? Did you then wonder what the hell you did to make them think that you shared their bigotry? I've come to realize that these folks live under the delusion that their prejudice is secretly shared by the vast majority.

This is the only explanation I have for the behavior of the Republicans right now. They seem to believe that to appeal to the mainstream of our country, they just need to reach out harder and harder to the most narrow-minded, willfully ignorant, reactionary and prejudice among us. Because, after all, most of us are suspicious of our "black" president, want to build border fences to keep "the lazy messcans" out, think "community organizer" is somehow a bad thing, and believe that Darwin's theory is the only aspect of science which flies in the face of the idea that the Earth is only 6000 years old.

A message to the Republican Party: Your base is not the majority. Not even close. Their views are not shared by America. In fact, they offend us, deeply to our core. They may be your most reliable voting bloc, but in this multimedia information age, pandering to them will make them your only voting bloc.

But, you say, what about the 250,000 teabaggers who turned out on tax day? I have some math for you. Even if every one of them was an in-the-bag Republican voter, no Libertarians, independents, lefty infiltrators, or simply curious passersby, and even if each one represented a hundred more who didn't make it to one of those events, they would represent a whopping 8.3% of the population.

You can run Fox News on that. You can't win elections.

[Believing Is Art]

1. It's part of the Republicans' talk machine message and part of their mentality.

They are told that they are the silent majority. "We Surround Them," as Gleen Beck says. Just from observation, it's pretty apparent that ego-stroking is something that draws people to the Republican party. They are attacked because they speak the truth - thus they like to be attacked. They are the "moral majority" - thus they are better, no matter what they do or someone in their party does. They're convinced the voices of the masses are being silenced in the pursuit of some nefarious leftist plot, so they have to sneak out those with whom they agree.

It's all rhetoric and ego and I doubt the Republican base will ever get it.

[jmondine]

2. I was just thinking of the "Moral Majority" propaganda label myself in regards to this

Sounds like we're on the same page

[Echo In Light]

3. The mainstream media has contributed substantially to this illusory "reality" for many yrs

That alone has gone a long ways in serving to establish and perpetuate the rightist 'majority' myth - plus completely, 100% covering up two stolen elections ...it's little wonder, and should likewise serve to dissuade people from being unwary of the sudden shift to the left the M$M has taken. Calculated, by design, and likely temporary.