Republican voters are like abused spouses.

They really want to believe their Party is going to do the right thing. They have been betrayed time and time and time again. Yet, they hold out hope that they will say or do something to make them believe again. Hope is the thread they cling to ever so faithfully. If they will just promise to do something about immigration, the war in Iraq, or the huge deficits, the voters will accept them back under their roof. They are willing to forgive once again, if their abusive leaders will only say they are sorry and are willing to change.

yesterday in a discussion along with Pat Buchannan, Arriana Huffington, and Frank Rich talking about the current state of politics. Sully still believes that the Iraq War is "just" and that John McCain is "true conservative" who will "unite" the country. The same shit from 2000 repackaged for a new puppet (McCain).

psychologically, to believe you have been taken for a ride. VERY hard for some folks. And to hear "I told you so" while your sons and daughters are dying? Almost imopossible....but there it is!

They have a perfectly legitimate replacement standing right next to them. A trustworthy, honest, caring replacement. But they won't consider the change.

What we need for them to see is that it's not their administration that is bad. It's their party. That, in my mind, is the big leap we have to bridge. Then, and only then will we get America on track.

BTW, I'm not saying anything here--I just thought my thread was a good one and it died a slow death:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2623483

I'm happy to revive the thought. :)

And on important subjects, sometimes DUers are too quick to call it a "dupe" and shut it off. Sometimes I think we need several discussions going on at once. We are hindered by those that wish to keep it all under one topic heading, imo. :)

...whether it's an abusive marriage or abusive political party; to really LOOK at yourself, do the soul-search necessary and admit "I was wrong. I fell for it. I got suckered."?
Nobody enjoys admitting they did something stupid.
Some people are truly unable to do so.
While many abused spouses can usually find some help, backup and support, those being abused politically are especially subject to peer pressure not to 'desert', or to just keep believing and everything will eventually come right.
Just my two cents and humble opinion...
:shrug:

That's interesting...good point. I had always thought of them as deeply insecure people: their aversion to civic responsibility and their demand for 'freedom' are really two sides of an insecurity coin. Not sure if that relates at all to your point but it's how I see them, anyway.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

reveals their insecurity about their ability to control their own.

saying, "It doesn't have to be like this. You could have a better life, or at least a different one. Why not take the chance, for your kids sake if not your own?". Sadly, many prefer the devil they know to un-proved hope.

I read somewhere once that we Liberals take it on the jaw because we raise people's hopes that things could be better, and then disappoint, at least some of the time. Conservatives mostly promise to stop various things going on blamed for making people's lives hard (with frequent references to and idealized past when this bad activity supposedly didn't happen), there by keeping the disappointment factor lower. The point was: people reserve their greatest anger for those who get their hopes up, and then don't come through.

especially when you hear so many Repubs say that they will not vote Republican again - but they cannot vote for a "Democrat" - as if Democrats were some type of demon.

the way the Wingnut pundits have inflamed the disappointment people feel toward Liberal Democrats (fueled with a goodly amount of untruths, and while ignoring Conservative success in de-railing Liberal goals). At the same time these pundits steal from the very Liberal ideas that Conservatives opposed. (example: Martin Luther King would be a Conservative if he were alive today, don't cha know?).

From the start it's been clear that Rush Limbaugh's job was not to promote Conservative ideas (do they have any? Oh yeah, there's that "build a great big fence" idea :eyes:) so much as it is to deepen and encourage the disappointment people feel that so many Liberal ideas have not manifested.