Democrats Go Off the Cliff

The Weekly Standard, Volume 008, Issue 41 | 06/30/2003 | David Brooks

[Savage Beast]

Delusional people will defend their delusional systems at all costs. Some will even kill if their delusional paradigm is threatened. The more "Liberals'" delusional system is threatened, the more hysterical they get. It's similar to murderous madness with which Muslims defend their delusional paradigm. Madness can be dangerous.

[Cultural Jihad]

The morose Democratic Party...

[Cultural Jihad]

So true. It must have come to a shock to them that disgorging their lunches on the sidewalk is not considered valid political discourse among the vast majority of Americans.

[Tom Bombadil]

The Democrats are letting their inner selves out for a romp.

an ugly picture if there ever was one......A Democrat inner self is full of blind spots and irrationality.

[mewzilla]

[Cannoneer No. 4]

I found this yesterday and thought Brooks made a lot of sense. Here is the thread from yesterday if you're interested: Did I Just Hear Krauthammer Right?

Leftists/Liberals/Democrats do not experience reality in the same way that Conservatives/Libertarians/Republicans do. I suspect that mental health plays a role in deciding which faction, wing or party to support politically. I see a propensity to engage in "magical thinking" much more frequently on one side than on the other. Brooks explains this better than I could ever hope to:

Americans and Europeans no longer share a common view of the world. Americans are from Mars, and Europeans are from Venus. The essential reason Americans and Europeans perceive reality differently, he argued, is that there is a power gap. Americans are much more powerful than Europeans, and Europeans are acutely aware of their powerlessness.

Something similar seems to be happening domestically between Republicans and Democrats. It's not just that members of the two parties disagree. It's that the disagreements have recently grown so deep that liberals and conservatives don't seem to perceive the same reality.

The Democrats share much of the world view of the European Tranzies. They do not process information, interpret data, and develop courses of action like Republicans. We share the same planet, but live in different worlds.

How long do we have before one side convinces itself that the other side is criminally insane and a clear and pesent danger to the world as we know it? How long do we have before one side demonizes the other sufficiently to kill it's opponents with equanimity, as a sort of distasteful but necessary civic duty little different from shooting a rabid skunk? How long do we have before one side decides the other is not only not fit to live, but must be exterminated immediately lest the world be destroyed? And while the inhabitants of the planet's sole remaining super power are engaged in this bloody work, what becomes of the rest of the world?

[JohnEBoy]

I like your analysis. The simplest political axiom is that 1/3 of everybody are democrats, 1/3 are republicans and the remainder are the up-for-grabs voters. So your message, as a candidate has to appeal to your base and to more than 50% of the middle voters. What I think is happening at this time, reflected in this article, is the nine dwarfs are having to out-liberal each other to try to appeal to their base. Their problem is their message is way outside what the middle is looking for. And then actions like the Wellstone rally just emphasize the differences even more to the middle.

Another example was running an ad trying to make George Bush complicit in the dragging death of James Byrd. Your average voter did not believe Bush, in any way, supported that action and they knew in Texas those men were locked away. So as you said, that average voter took that charge personally and rejected it.

[Sonny M]

How long do we have before one side convinces itself that the other side is criminally insane and a clear and pesent danger to the world as we know it?

If you haven't noticed, I think we have already reached that point to some respect. After 9/11, Michael Moore's biggest gripe was that the planes should have targets that were in republican areas. Over on the "other site", they openly wish for assasinations of high ranking conservatives.

This country has already entered a cold civil war.

To show you how mainstream or out of the mainstream the 2 most notable political boards are, put it this way. This is a right wing board, during the 2000 primaries, most of the members of free republic supported George W. Bush for the nomination, the general populace supported him also for the nomination. He also became president. Over on the other board, now in 2004, the most popular canidates that they have winning the primarys are dean, kunich, and then kerry, even sharpton is doing well with the du'ers. Joe Lieberman comes in last, but nationally, with the exception of Kunich and Sharpton, they are all pretty much neck and neck. They are even out of touch with there own party.

You know your out of touch with political reality, when your political board has people that are nationally coming in last, winning in landslides for primaries, and you can't understand whats wrong with the actual real voting populace.

[Ann Archy]

Crude behavior and hate are a big part of the Clinton's legacy.

[Sonny M]

Your average voter did not believe Bush, in any way, supported that action and they knew in Texas those men were locked away.

Actually Bush did better, when middle of the road voters heard about Byrd and how Bush was opposed to hate crime laws, they were confused, untill they found out that instead, one of the men, recieved the death penalty, something democrats would not have done.

Irony alert, the NAACP was unsure how to react to this guy getting the death penalty, since they are opposed to it, there is still disagreements on what they will do when the actual execution will happen, since protesting this guy getting executed could be percieved as racism, and anti-death penalty advocates will loath protesting side by side with racist white supremacists.

[Kensei]

"But if you listened to liberal rhetoric, you would think America was convulsed in a Manichean struggle of good against evil."

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[ctonious]

This writer nails many important observations about Democrats. Unfortunately, many of my relatives fit these descriptions to a "T". When discussing Bush, they revert to blatant irrationality - even though there is no shortage of intelligence nor education among many of them.

Their faces contort with raw hatred at this mild-mannered President - and when you ask them why and how they can hate such a man with such vehemence - they absolutely lose it. They realize they cannot rationally justify their pathological hatred of them - and it makes them even madder.

[Rummyfan]

'Janet Reno recalls her visit to the Dachau concentration camp, and points out that the Holocaust happened because many Germans just stood by. "And don't you just stand by," she exhorts her Democratic audience.'

Like people stood by when you burned the Branch Davidians compound to the gorund, you crazy b****?

[Sonny M]

I really got a sense of this during the antiwar idiocy. When the liberal types spouted on TV, Michael Moore etc, I saw that they really DO believe they are the American mainstream.

To show you how nuts the left is. Alot of people could not understand how Michael Moore is so loathed, by even the people of New York City. The media usually just trumps up people who hate Moore as being conservatives, I know liberals who hate him, and moderates hate him just as much.

They do not understand how america is as of this time, we are not a conservative nation yet, but we are certainly right of center in general. Everyone who is not a liberal is not a right wing extremist, conservatives do not assume that if you are not one of them, your automatically a liberal. If somone tells me they are a moderate, I pretty much can guess on what with accuracy. If a liberal meets somone who is a moderate, they think either liberal who doesn't know it, stupid, or right wing fanatic who is lying.

Having one or 2 conservative positions makes somone automatically a right wing nut in the eyes of liberals, the good thing is, most people, especially independents, don't like being called extremists.

[Rummyfan]

'And it is true that Michael Savage and Ann Coulter are still out there accusing the liberals of treason. '

What the hell, they ARE treasonous!

[Ditter]

I think I will stroll over to DU & watch for myself.

[Dog Gone]

I think you might enjoy this article.

[7 x 77]

"Bush passed two tax cuts, but on education he abandoned school choice and adopted a bill largely written by Ted Kennedy. On Medicare, the administration has abandoned real reform and embraced a bill also endorsed by Kennedy. On campaign finance, the president signed a bill promoted by his opponents. The faith-based initiatives are shrinking to near nothingness. Social Security reform has disappeared from the agenda for the time being. Domestic spending has increased."

[7 x 77]

"our politics is still a contest between two competing but essentially valid worldviews"

[4Liberty]

Sept 11th was the end for democrats.