If you must sail the oceans in boats with no rudders, you learn that the greatest disasters happen to the most powerful boats. If all boats are rudderless, then the only safe boat is the child's boat in a bathtub.
Without faith in the guidance of a higher power, they are without a rudder.
Hence they fear power. They fear the military, they fear America, they fear George W Bush, they fear capitalism and industry, they fear freedom, they fear Moral Judgment, and they fear Faith itself, the one thing that would enpower them and enable them to overcome their fear. And for them, as for you and me, hatred, anger and loathing are the usual emotions that follow upon and cover up fear.
Without knowledge of good and evil and lacking the rudder of faith, all things powerful become all things dangerous. And since "safe" versus "risky" is their substitute for Good versus Evil, anything that is powerful is Bad.
Hitler and Bush become indistinguishable.
The Leftists are just as intelligent and learned as us, their emotions just as primal as ours, and their bodies just as strong. The critical difference is that they have lost their spirit.
Voting for social welfare nets is the extent of their "goodness." That's all they have to do to prove to the world (and themselves) that they "care." They don't want to take any longer dealing with their own morality than it takes to pull that "D" lever.
Fear, and avoidance and denial to themselves.
Have you ever read any books by Oliver Sacks? He's a neurologist who has chronicled the most interesting case studies of brain injuries in the US. (He wrote "Awakenings"--Robin Williams played him in the movie) What I found particularly interesting is that a certain number of his patients were sometimes particularly exasperating to deal with because the nature of their brain injuries left them completely unaware that they were injured. While they are obviously physiological causes of denial, it was interesting to see the way their minds worked.
If you do choose to read him, I recommend "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat" to start. Each chapter is a different patient, each one fascinating in his own way. You should be able to find them in the science section of your library.