what motivates the right?

[anarch]

I'm truly puzzled.

I don't mean those who are part of the super-rich, top 1% overclass...greed and self-preservation I understand.

I’m talking about the average people who seem to consistently vote Republican against their own best interests, who seem to embrace whatever point of view Rush and his ilk foist on them, and who, it seems to me, represent the true problem that progressives must confront in order to reclaim our nation as a constitutional democracy. If enough of these people could be reached, and made to listen to reason, then maybe we could put an end to this current madness.

It's easy to say, "well, they're stupid", or call them "sheeple" or whatever else makes us feel superior, but that just adds to the problem. Name-calling and other tactics that increase alienation can never foster discourse. Besides, ignorance and gullibility are not motivations, just characteristics. I feel that these qualities are intentionally developed in the general population in order to make life easier for the fascists. (Well, that along with hatred toward any and all targets that those who give them their “talking points” decide need to be hated.)

But what is the motivation for this "pulling the wool over their own eyes" that right-wingers engage in? What drives them? And can their minds be changed?

All humans want similar things, I should think: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and so on. But how is it that these people connect such ideas with their right-wing ideology? Do they honestly--even after repeatedly seeing what this "conservative" Republican agenda does to their wallets, their freedoms, and the lives of our troops--do they still think that such "conservatism" is the be-all, end-all answer to everything?

It’s clearly not patriotism that governs their thoughts and actions, if anything can be gleaned from the recent reactions to Cindy Sheehan – e.g. “we don’t care” about the troops, or apparently the American flag…

…or the cross. So there goes any kind of religious motivation, too, I think…I mean, they aren’t really Christian at all—Jesus Himself would probably puke if he saw what these assholes are doing in His name. They can pay lip service to religion and morality all they want, but until their actions reflect the teachings of Christ, they are just lying to themselves. And everybody else.

I keep coming back to racism as a major motivator, but even that doesn’t explain the whole thing to me. I mean, they seem to hate the white liberals just as much as they hate all the non-white ‘others’. They seem to be extremely easy to whip up into feverish hatred of whomever…

So, what the hell is it that drives them?

[LisaLynne]

1. That's a question that I don't think has one answer.

Have you read "What's the Matter with Kansas"? That book made an attempt to document the issue, but as far as real explanations ...

I think the entire thing is very complex. There is the element of racism. And I think there is a sense of self-preservation. And there is a LOT of hatred. To me, all of those things stem from a more basic emotion -- fear. They're afraid. They're afraid of change. They're afraid of being left behind economically and socially. They're afraid of the world-view they rely on to make sense of things around them being proved false. In short, they're afraid of the unknown that progress can bring.

And that's the closest I've been able to come to a partial answer.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. FEAR. For the average RWer it is fear. Then there are a few others

who are motivated by hate, greed, and a lust for power.

But the average RWer is just scared: http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/libvsconserv.htm

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Fear & Selfishness

I've always believed that.

They fear the unknown. So they can be bamboozled into fearing the boogeyman.

They fear dark people, so they can live with their decision to vote Repub for lower taxes so they can "keep more of my own money".

It's not even greed. They aren't coveting other people's money. They are just allergic to sharing and they sure won't share with people they don't understand. And, if they don't understand them, they are scared.
The Professor

[MsAnthropy]

Excellent synopsis!

Fear is their greatest motivator

[sui generis]

12. xenophobia, dynamic worldviews

I think they're just a little stupid too. Clever sometimes, but in the long run, stupid.

[anarch]

22. fear and hope

These are the twin, basic emotions that drive most human endeavor. I think this is true of both sides... I mean, I fear what is becoming of this world (largely thanks to the actions, and equally harmful inactions, of our 'leaders'), and I hope we can pull together and change it. These emotions can be manipulated by anybody seeking to control the population--and you're right, it's mostly fear, especially lately, that has been used to control the right-wingers...

I guess what I am looking for is a common ground, something that will make enough sense to them to crack the shell of their hatred, bigotry, and fear, on a basic level.

Cynically speaking, maybe the price of gas will be the thing to do it...

[Touchdown]

3. Complete one party state.

Nothing else matters. See running over crosses as a form of troop support.

[katsy]

4. You have covered all bases quite well.

bigotry + ignorance; or greed + more greed

Either or a combination of the above exacerbated by a lack of conscience = a neocon.

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Bully mentality

not to mentiona greed and narcissism.

[Snotcicles]

6. Self Loathing n/t

[sepia_steel]

7. Money. Fear. Hypocrisy. Self-righteousness. n/t

[Roxy66]

8. Insecurity...most bullies are very insecure

[Burried News]

9. Boredom and lack of sex, any sex.

No full fill ment. Lives of frustration and desparation which they wish to inflict on as many people as possible so they can continue lying to themselves (as they eat shit and creat shit they are comforted by the fact that 50 million flys can't possibly be wrong).

[Individualist]

10. They have an obsession with hatred

It's evident in their elected politicians, their talk shows, their publications, etc.

[jsamuel]

11. they don't want to be ignored

they have sold their souls to be heard as they were not heard before Bush

[anarch]

14. and yet their well-being is given less consideration

under this administration than any in recent history. How many people are struggling to even get by now, and all they get is more grief, while giant corporations are given even more leeway to pick their pockets? Health care, pensions...even simple employment taken away from us all with the assistance of our government

[SammyWinstonJack]

23. They never get the disconnect between what their leaders say

to get elected and what they do once in office.

[DURHAM D]

13. Feelings of loss of masculinity resulting from competition with

women and people of color. Loss of masculinity = lost of dominance = fear and anger = embracing bullies.

[longship]

15. Pure ideology

This ideological stuff is very strong. I don't think we're going to easily break through that barrier. Pat Robertson did a great job of taking over the Republican party in the 1980's and 1990's. These people are strongly aligned to the ideology. But that ideology has morphed from one of support for a set of policies to one of support for a group of individuals, or to a particular administration in power. This is a very dangerous thing. It blindsides any opposition to policies and nullifies any claim of hypocrisy. The defense is that "I support my President" no matter what he does.

[DS1]

16. Desire for validation

[Crankie Avalon]

17. Being able to say there is someone who is lower in the pecking order...

...than they are, maybe? No matter how much shit is flung their way by their masters, so long as they can believe there is some other group who counts for even less, they're satisfied.

I posted this on another thread earlier today:

"...it's not about country or even about God, for them. They really don't care about the flag or the cross, they just care about being able to have control over someone else.

Feeling like they are in on being able to tell others they can't get married, being able to tell them they have no decision making control over their own bodies, being able to tell them to die in Iraq for no good reason, being able to tell them to just shut up and sit down. Basically, being able to think they are not at society's bottom rung by virtue of being able to push someone else down there, instead.

Being able to say, "Sure, maybe I'll never be a Bush, but at least I ain't no gay, black, liberal, fill-in-the-blank."

The flag and the cross are merely props to be used for that ultimate goal of feeling a little empowered by being able to put other human beings down. If the flag and the cross should happen to get in the way of that, both will be treated with the same contempt as these people treat everyone and everything else."

[anarch]

24. aha! the Will to Power

I think you are on to something...

[formerrepuke]

18. Fear masquerading as 'traditional values'..such as, Fear of women

(for example: the whole anti-choice movement, which I believe has as much to do with misogyny as it does with the concern for the sanctity of life; Fear of foreigners (English-only movement, the anti-immigrant sentiment); Fear of change (universal health care, stem cell research developments); Fear of people who live their lives differently than they do (marriage amendment)...

[auburngrad82]

19. Hate

For non-Christians, blacks, hispanics, muslims, Democrats, horses, dogs, cats...

They hate everything except chickenhawks.

[mindfulNJ]

20. There's a scene in PeeWee's Big Adventure

where the waitress from the roadside diner that tells PeeWee that her boyfriend hates everything French because he thinks all they want to do is make guys like him feel stupid. I really think the freeps feel like this about open-minded, educated liberals.

[arwalden]

25. Jesus? Hate? Fear & Self-Loathing? Hypocrisy?

[Mr_Spock]

26. I find FEAR when I hang out at the redneck bar. They are cowards

and they cover their cowardice and fear by talking tough. All the rest is just fluff to support this basic instinctual fear of the unknown that permeates all aspects of their life...

This is just my experience...

[BillZBubb]

27. Hatred is a good starting point.

They need something/someone to hate. Since the Democrats (liberals) took away their "right" to openly hate black people, they have had to generate new targets.

Naturally, the liberals who did this to them go to the top of the list. Gays are next in line. And since the Communists are pretty much washed up, now it's Muslims, the French, and Arabs on the foreign hate list.

[whosinpower]

28. Two things and two things only

Money and power.

[anarch]

29. but most of them have neither...

I understand if you are saying that they feel that voting Republican promises them more chance of getting money and power, but when it doesn't happen (and instead things go down the tubes worse than ever before for the working class), they don't say "I've been hoodwinked!", they say "Damn that Clinton!" or something.

:shrug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Hate, and selfishness

read this thread

an email exchagne I had with one of them

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4367961

[anarch]

33. yikes!

that is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about...I just don't understand it at all. "I hope her other son gets killed"???!?!

It really makes me wonder if there is any hope of real discussion with these people. I fear that all too many of them--especially young, college republican types--fall into this kind of group-think viciousness, because they get short-term pleasure out of annoying and shocking people...and I hope they will grow out of it.

[SeekerofTruth]

31. My parents are Republican, we actually agree on a core issue

The main motivation my parents have comes down to a core belief.

'The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to protect us from the government'.

That means that every time a new government program is added, it has the potential to take away an individuals freedoms, and too cost ALOT of money.

I agree with them that every time Democrats offer a new solution, it's for more government programs. Which means more government control and more government money, which means less money for taxpayers.

Also, the government is usually very inefficient when it comes to dollars vs. services offered. Capitalism is much better at producing the most at the lowest cost.

Thus, I agree with my parents that there has to be a way to combine the best of government with the best of capitalism when it comes to providing certain types of services. (food productions is a good example). The government makes the rules, capitalism produces the food.

The bigger the government gets, the more scared they are of it because they know it means less money and less freedoms. That's it in a nutshell.

Now, I won't even go into details on how we disagree on abortion, religion, gay marriage,..etc. Just remember, money is a core issue, if you pay attention to that, you can get them to vote for Democrats. (Something they have done in the past, just rare).

[anarch]

34. OK, but...

what passes for 'conservatism' nowadays has had a hand in creating the most humongous and bureaucratic government ever...instead of limiting the power of the federal government, those at the helm continue to do all they can to expand that power and reach into every aspect of our lives, and expended a mind-boggling amount of tax-payer money in the process. If anything, traditional conservatives should be seriously thinking about their party affiliation if this is their motivation...

What I really wonder about is the unconditional support of this foreign policy of bald aggression. Your parents sound like reasonable people--how do they feel about their tax money being spent on "preventive" bombing and invasion of other sovereign nations?

[SeekerofTruth]

36. They questioned why we went into Iraq..

My dad served in the Navy during the Korean war, we both agreed going into Afghanistan was viable. When we discussed Iraq, he agreed that it was wrong. We haven't really discussed any other wars in the last 20 years.

I consider my parents typical Republicans. There is a way to get them to vote for Democrats, the problem is we keep pushing all the wrong issues.

I look at Rod Blageovich here in Illinois as an example of how Democrats can win back the government. He promised NOT to raise taxes. He kept his promise, and my republican neighbors say they'll vote for him just because of that alone.

In essence, the republicans I know, don't like the government increasing taxes and spending more money. If a Democrat has that as a platform, they can get enough votes to win the elections.

As my dad said "Bush makes me sick with his crap of a prescription drugs programs, it's just more government crap and only increases the deficit.". He and I believe the government should only spend money if they have it, without increasing taxes. (Fiscal responsibility).

BTW, he doesn't have a problem with welfare, just not outrageous amounts of welfare being given to people for years. In essence, the government can have a safety net, just not too big.

[The Sleeper]

32. sense of empowerment...

that comes from being told the lies about their lives that gives them the illusion that there is actually hope. People will fight very hard to hold on to hope, even false hope...... especially if their reality is grim...

[tx_dem41]

35. It's quite simple...greed...and the acquisition of power to satiate ...

that greed.