Do Conservatives Actually Believe Their Own Lies?

[marmar]

via AlterNet's PEEK:



Do Conservatives Actually Believe Their Own Lies?

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 10:29 AM on May 23, 2009.

Blatant dishonesty for partisan gain is much easier to understand than rampant stupidity among leading federal lawmakers.



For years now, many of us have pondered the question: conservative Republicans don't actually believe their arguments, do they? Publius considers this in the context of the hopelessly bizarre debate over the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The right is probably lying, hoping to exploit the politics of fear, but what if conservatives have come to accept their own nonsense?

There's actually one thing even more disturbing than Republican dishonesty -- the possibility that they are sincerely afraid of transferring the detainees. Some critics are clearly lying -- no argument there. But it may well be that other Republicans are sincerely worried that the detainees' evilness cannot be contained by any prison, or that they will brainwash their hapless prisonmates. (...)

What's truly disturbing is that a sizeable chunk of the public still fears that the Gitmo detainees are so dangerous that they could break out and destroy towns in America with laser beams from their eyes. Some of the detainees are, of course, very bad and dangerous people. But the idea that America is so very fragile and helpless in the face of these overpowering evil forces that we can't transfer the detainees to another prison (or give them real trials) is absurd.

So let's hope the GOP really is lying on this one.

That would be more comforting. Blatant dishonesty for partisan gain is much easier to understand than rampant stupidity among leading federal lawmakers.

It's hard to say with any certainty, and there's no doubt some variety within the group -- some liars and some fools -- but for what it's worth, there's ample evidence to support the "blatant dishonesty for partisan gain" theory. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Republicans see the debate over Gitmo as "the culmination of a carefully developed GOP strategy," which they hope to use as "the beginning of a political comeback."

The goal, apparently, was to identify a "favorable issue" on which the party could go on the offensive; "tarnish" Democratic leaders; and attack until the criticisms "begin to seem counterproductive."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) concluded more than a year ago that Mr. Obama might be vulnerable on Guantanamo -- and the unease voters would have over the prospect of transferring suspected terrorists to U.S. soil. Since April 20 he has delivered 17 floor speeches on the issue. Mr. McConnell beat back party dissent over his strategy, as some argued it was a losing battle when the president enjoyed such high poll numbers.

The attacks, in other words, are largely a cynical ploy, predicated on Republican hopes that public fear will outweigh public reason, and that most Americans won't realize how spectacularly dishonest the whole argument is.

That beats widespread stupidity, I suppose.


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/140218/do_conservatives_actually_believe_their_own_lies/

[suchadeal]

1. No. To them it's just a marketing tool.

Just as many people say things they don't mean, in order to achieve a goal which they feel uncomfortable about announcing, so too
conservatives (sic) say things that THEY don't mean or believe, in order to achieve goals which they know the public wouldn't support
if they understood them.

[patrice]

2. Plausible Deniability is a HIGHLY Cultivated and Marketable Commodity.

There's a game on Star Trek that looks like 3D Chess. Imagine different rules and abilities and relationships between the pieces depending upon what may or may not happen in different dimensions of the game.

[blueworld]

3. Don't underestimate the stupidity of their "base", however

In the midst of last night's insomnia, I inadvertently surfed to Faux News, where Geraldo Rivera (no less) was hosting two female pundits debating "torture". The Conservative was screaming that the Geneva Conventions applied during WWII because that was a "Gentleman's War". Huh?

Could she possibly believe it? I think so. However my teeth are still buzzing.:crazy:

[gratuitous]

4. The stupid ones believe their own lies

So that's pretty much all of them. It's why cynical demagogues like Newt Gingrich, Frank Luntz and Dick Cheney can manipulate the entire GOP caucus with a few nice-sounding lies that don't bear too much scrutiny. A man with three working brain cells and a certain reptilian cunning can rule the Island of the Idiots that is today's Republican party.

[tom_paine]

5. The Right-Wing-Authoritarian Followers believe the lies. They always have and will.

It is in their nature. It is what they are.

NOTE: There are infinite varieties of people, and varying levels of people's mentalities poisoned by these "RWA" characteristics, so undoubtedly there are exceptions to this generalization.

The Authoritarian Leaders are usually lying sociopaths who take advantage of the weak-mindedness, compartmentalization, and gullibility of the Authoritarian followers that have made up the backbone of every evil authoritarian regime throughot human history, and I doubt there are many exceptions to THAT rule.

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

[patrice]

6. I'm a little surprised that so few Progressives have picked up on what is frightening People about

the Detainees being in our midst.

It isn't necessarily that they will escape, and polluting other prisoners is only part of it, but the big piece is Terrorist Events on various scales in your community to punish and stress us out, with the hope of being ready for something bigger that could come along and provide the opportunity to bust the Detainees out of prison. Think grade-schools held hostage here and you get the idea, so I agree there is MORE of a problem with closing G than we'd like to admit.