I don't know if it's just the binary mind that requires something to resist (be against), in order to perceive itself as free, but it seems obvious that for some people resistance is all there is. That is, they don't resist for some ulterior objective, which, were it to be achieved, would call the resistance off. Some people just resist for the heck of it.
It's no wonder that the war-mongers who instigated the assault on and invasion of Iraq refused to acknowledge the resistance that rose up against them. Perhaps it was subconscious, but the resemblance of the behavior must have been too familiar to credit. "Insurgent" was a much better term, especially since it might well be confused with the "invaders," who were definitely not them. The U.S. came to liberate, not invade, as it always does. It is their mission, ever since Europeans set foot in the Americas.
The idea is what matters. "All it takes is the idea," as the ad for ExxonMobil says. Taking the idea for the act is similar to resistance in that there is no action involved. Action is what happens between cause and effect. So, if there is no action, if what happens is simply ignored or overlooked, then there is no connection between cause and effect -- and no need to identify the responsible party. So, denial is not associated with either cause or effect. Denial comes into play with the action which, if it isn't noticed, presumably doesn't occur. Indeed doesn't need to be denied, unless someone insists.
How does action go undetected? How does motion go undetected? Natural predators are attracted by the motion of their prey. Which is why the freeze response is protective. Fight or flight are more likely to end in capture. So, inaction is a preservative response. And the "party of no" is an aggregation of people who prefer not to do anything. Fiddling doesn't count.
Which suggests that when the Cons accuse the POTUS of being lazy, they're actually recognizing him as one of their own. One is reminded that Michelle identified that characteristic early on when she revealed that Barack does not pick up his own socks. So, what makes him different from the Cons on the Hill whose fear of their own shadows has them stuck in resistance mode? The answer may well be that he's been pampered from the start -- first by a mother, then by a grandmother, and finally by a wife, who takes care of all the nitty gritty aspects of daily life. Barack Obama is as self-centered as Willard, but he is not mean.
What makes people mean? Probably the same thing that makes dogs mean -- being abused.