The modern conservative movement is bat shit insane. We've all come to realize that, but I'm not sure that we've examined enough what that means. I've been looking into things I think I've made a connection that explains a lot of the conservative movement thinking.
Movement conservatism is a mass manifestation of the character disorder called passive aggression.
We've all thrown around epitaphs about our opposition. We call them crazy racist wingnuts they call us irrational baby killing communists, but I think that this really does warrant a look over, because once I list out the characteristics of a passive aggressive you'll have a hard time looking at the conservative movement the same I think.
I've looked a few websites devoted to the notion of passive aggressive disorder, and Wikipedia seems to have a pretty clear cut layout of the disorder as any.
The 'sign or symptoms' are:
* Ambiguity or speaking cryptically: a means of engendering a feeling of insecurity in others
* Chronically being late and forgetting things: another way to exert control or to punish.
* Fear of competition
* Fear of dependency
* Fear of intimacy as a means to act out anger: The passive aggressive often cannot trust. Because of this, they guard themselves against becoming intimately attached to someone.
* Making chaotic situations
* Making excuses for non-performance in work teams
* Obstructionism
* Procrastination
* Sulking
* Victimization response: instead of recognizing one's own weaknesses, tendency to blame others for own failures.
Sure we can point to the obvious one 'Obstructionism'. That's an easy one right? Doesn't even need extrapolation.
But how about 'Victimization response: instead of recognizing one's own weaknesses, tendency to blame others for own failures'. If you had to write a one sentence analysis of the Bush administration I dare you to do better than that! And aside from that when you look at the Republican attitude towards black people to you really get the impression that they think black are inferior, or do they live with the perpetual fear that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have gotten one over on them?
'Making excuses for failure non-performance in work teams'. Healthcare reform? Too expensive! We didn't have a chance to read the bill! They didn't incorporate our ideas even though we got whatever we wanted! They're rushing it through! No wait, they've taken too long and America has seen it and they don't like it! We can't afford it right now! We need to wait until the economy is better! Need I go on?
Fear of dependency According to the right we're creating a dependency nation!
Its all there. From the artificial chaotic situations such as the California legislature and the Arizona immigration law to the procrastination and chronically being late in the Congress using procedural tricks to push back bills and prevent confirmations of appointments and it continues on to trying to inspire fear in the population whether it be through terror mongering or over the top deficit hawking.
Why is this happening? This might be the most subtle really. Fear of competition. The right knows that they can not win an open debate on the issues. Even during the reign of their most revered leader, Ronald Reagan, they couldn't shrink the government, eliminate the Department of Education, eliminate Welfare and Social Security and Medicare. So what are they to do? Push around the edges, lie to people about the issues and their agenda, procrastinate, make excuses, blame others and otherwise throw childish temper tantrums, etc. In essence try to make others look bad to make try to make themselves look better by comparison.
Which brings us to the Obama administration and their reaction to the passive aggressive tendencies of the right in this country. There are two real tactics to be used with passive aggressive people. The first is don't let them under your skin. Obama is good at this he is cool as a cucumber and doesn't seem to let the oppositions obnoxious behavior bother him.
The second tactic is to confront the passive aggressive on their behavior. This is where Obama fails miserably, he himself is afraid of conflict to a degree so it seems he just accepts what the passive aggressive movement is doing, and sees their behavior as a variation of Washington Normal. It isn't, or at least it shouldn't be.
All of us in the country not on the right have been victims of this behavior for the past 20 years. Passive aggressives believe in getting their way using backwards and untoward methods. They take pride in their ability to upset others and get under their skin. So what they're doing is having recognized that they can't win what they want through the confrontation of ideas at the ballot box, they'll obstruct and procrastinate and use every tactic they can to create disorder and chaos along with fear, to try to get the type of government they want by creating crisis so that the country has no choice but to shrink government. No solution to any problem is good enough, because enacting solutions only takes away the power of the passive aggressive conservative movement.
There is only one person who can stop this pattern and it is Barack Obama. Only the President of the United States has the resources, political, economic and communications media, to confront the conservatives on a daily basis. To force upon the conservatives the reality of their own behavior. To force them to see that by trying to thwart the right to govern of the majority party, they are really thwarting the will of the American people and undermining our Constitution.
So the next time a Robert Gibbs tells you that you aren't appreciative enough and if you get tempted to listen to it, remember all of this. Barack Obama made promises and established expectations when he willfully chose to seek the Democratic nomination for President. We're not under any obligation to accept his pay forward the passive aggressive tendencies of the conservatives onto us, any more than we have to accept the conservatives.
Keep holding them accountable!
Take it for what you feel it is worth.