Lars's very well-written diary Red to Blue: Confessions of a Former Loyal Bushie got me to thinking about why people who are so obviously gifted and intelligent, drink - or have drunk - from the bottomless well that is Rethug "Koolaid". It's often impossible for many of us to understand why. Below the fold are some of my very unscientific observations with a few rhetorical questions thrown in for good measure:
As others have noted - and I have experienced this personally - when I first laid eyes on GWB my BS detector was pegged in the red zone. It was immediate and visceral. I just knew the guy was going to be very bad news. To this day, when he comes on television I have to cut it off or at the very least mute it because I just cannot tolerate the sound of his voice or the sight of him. And I can't recall a time - or even a single moment, including September 11th and the days that followed - when he did not have that effect on me. I suspect there are more than a few Kossacks who feel the same way.
So I am not alone. In fact, almost everyone I know has (or has had) the exact same reaction that I did and do.
Apparently one either sees this "aura" - or doesn't - for some mysterious reason. It's hard to do but the closest I can get to describing the feeling I have when I'm exposed to Shrub is quite similar to the feeling I used to get in grade school in the presence of a bully. The bully didn't have to announce his intentions; I just knew instinctively what they were and could tell who had the potential to be a "major league asshole" by the swagger, the look and the air of confidence that comes not from personal merit but from mastering the art of intimidation. Bush has all of these qualities in spades. The bullies in my school weren't very bright so they cheated, lied, copied off other people's tests but still had plenty of supporters, hangers-on, etc. who I guess could be characterized as "friends", but even they knew that they were expendable if necessary but would hang out with the asshole anyway.
I often wonder if this "sixth" sense - a sensitive BS detector - is hereditary: Nature or nurture? A gift or a curse?
Obviously not everyone feels (or felt) the way most of us do about the guy. (Look at the MSM who gave him a pass for so long!) The entire phenomenon is fascinating to me; How or why do so many smart people get duped? And why didn't their BS detectors go off like mine (and most of yours) did? Adolph Hitler obviously fooled a lot of very intelligent people into drinking some particularly nasty Koolaid but quite a few saw exactly what was coming and got the hell out - at least those who could afford to.
Most of us still do not harbor ill-will towards Germans though - even the elderly ones who might have been directly or indirectly involved with some really bad stuff. I think it's safe to say we've mostly forgiven them and tried to understand what happened. Incidentally perhaps we should cut the author of "Confessions" some similar slack.
At any rate, I have a long-time friend with whom I'd never discussed politics for whatever reasons until recently and I learned that he's a Koolaid drinker too. I couldn't believe it because I do know the guy kinda well and he's not a conservative person at all and he obviously doesn't recoil at the sight or sound of GWB like I do. I also learned recently that he comes from a family of Koolaid drinkers who could all obviously use a 12-step program of some kind to quit the stuff. But the real kicker for me is that he's not stupid and he's a nice guy. So what happened? Was it family peer pressure to stay with the GOP? And even if that's the case why doesn't he see Dubya the way I - and millions of other Americans do - as a painful wart on the ass of humanity? Why is it that, to many, Bush throws off an aura of total bullshit that we were instantly and painfully aware of and at the same time millions either do not see it at all or do and evidently choose to ignore it?
There are many chilling similarities to Germany, unfortunately. An entire nation (who were quite intelligent) was hijacked by one guy who was believed and admired by many and loathed by plenty of people too. Very few were middle of the road when it came to Hitler. Another commonality: Putting party before country. I think the Rethug circuitous "logic" goes something like this: Republicans know what's best for America. Therefore everything is second to the party - even America, because Republicans know what's best for America. This philosophy makes things like stealing elections and wiping one's ass with The Constitution much easier to swallow, I would imagine. It's also very dangerous.
So perhaps this can, in a way, explain a some of it. If George W. Bush is the best the party has to offer then he must be the right guy for the job because Republicans know what's best for America. Now for a pinch of blind faith - something many of Bush's supporters are quite adept at doing every day because they drank that Koolaid and, well... You know who knows what's best for America.
I still don't understand how they ignore all that BS emanating from GWB though. When I first laid eyes on the guy my switchboard was lit up so bad my hair was on fire. Why is that?