Must Read Post: Bush's followers are not conservatives. They're cultists.

[BurtWorm]

Five star, instant classic post from Glenn Greenwald on the adoration of the Bushists.


http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/02/do-bush-followers-have-political.html



Indeed, as many Bush followers themselves admit, the central belief of the Bush follower's "conservatism" is no longer one that ascribes to a limited federal government -- but is precisely that there ought to be no limits on the powers claimed by Bush precisely because we trust him, and we trust in him absolutely. He wants to protect us and do good. He is not our enemy but our protector. And there is no reason to entertain suspicions or distrust of him or his motives because he is Good.

We need no oversight of the Federal Government’s eavesdropping powers because we trust Bush to eavesdrop in secret for the Good. We need no judicial review of Bush’s decrees regarding who is an "enemy combatant" and who can be detained indefinitely with no due process because we trust Bush to know who is bad and who deserves this. We need no restraints from Congress on Bush’s ability to exercise war powers, even against American citizens on U.S. soil, because we trust Bush to exercise these powers for our own good.

The blind faith placed in the Federal Government, and particularly in our Commander-in-Chief, by the contemporary "conservative" is the very opposite of all that which conservatism has stood for for the last four decades. The anti-government ethos espoused by Barry Goldwater and even Ronald Reagan is wholly unrecognizable in Bush followers, who – at least thus far – have discovered no limits on the powers that ought to be vested in George Bush to enable him to do good on behalf of all of us.

And in that regard, people like Michelle Malkin, John Hinderaker, Jonah Goldberg and Hugh Hewitt are not conservatives. They are authoritarian cultists. Their allegiance is not to any principles of government but to strong authority through a single leader.

[movonne]

1. good..

[rkc3]

2. Doesn't Jesus warn us about blind faith in the NT?

[Hubert Flottz]

3. Just Freakin' say it NAZIS!

"Their allegiance is not to any principles of government but to strong authority through a single leader." Just like the fools that were sucked in by Hitler and his non stop propaganda blitz. Kind of like the Five Year Bush Propaganda Blitz...

[annabanana]

4. He has hit that nail right on the head

I am looking for a picture of a young woman looking at bush with devotion in her face (It was from around the election)... I think swampy did a lizard of her...

[Buns_of_Fire]

19. This one?

Scary...

[BurtWorm]

21. How revolting!

:puke:

[annabanana]

24. Oh thankyou!!

Yes.. exactly the one I was looking for..
Isn't she something.
I hearted you for that!

[ninkasi]

29. That's pathetic

[stellanoir]

5. sure some of them are lazy incurious self absorbed idiots

who are far more callous than compassionate.

Others I swear have Stockholm syndrome where they are lulled into a false sense of security by their abducters and/or abusers.

Also drives me nuts when pundits say this is a 51/49 nation. Only 60% of the voting elegible population voted so split that in half. Then factor in election fraud and manipulation, obfuscation and spoilage of 8-10 million votes and/or voters.

Poof * has far less that 20% support and aside from post 9/11 brief bounce probably always has.

[centristo]

8. everyone loved Bush right after 9/11

which makes it truly amazing that he squandered all of that good will. Hey, its kind of like what he did to the national debt...

[DELUSIONAL]

12. I never loved bushie -- even after 9-11 -- I knew he was a lying

bastard.

Also, the way he flew around the country hiding out.

How stupid can people be? He isn't a leader.

Yes the hard core bushie followers are cultist. I've been saying this for years.

[Nabia2004]

25. The MSM would have you believe so, but the writing was on the wall

Many of us knew before the election that Bush would be bad for the USA. 9/11 just confirmed our worst fears beyond the imaginable. The man and his administration are pure evil.

[eleny]

6. Isn't that the truth!

No matter how bad the revelations - it's all perfectly okay with them.

[Vexatious Ape]

13. It's the liberal media, don't you know

The ones who refuse to take a serious look at their idiot leader and all his failings and crimes all seem to scoff it off as just more evidence of a media overwhelmed with liberals. I know some of these people and everytime I think I've chiped away at something with them, they throw that "liberal media" bullshit at me.

[Poiuyt]

7. I've read several articles about Bush and his cult

There's something about the way he speaks with such an air of certainty that inspires people to follow him. Much like David Koresh and Jim Jones

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. You know, a few years ago I saw a documentary about North Korea

and the North Koreans talking with starry eyes and rapt voices about Kim Jong-il and the late Kim Il-sung reminded me so much of Bushbots that it was spooky.

Remember, this is a country where people are starving and being tortured, and due to the closed, total information environment, they're genuinely ga-ga over their Dear Leader.

[DemReadingDU]

10. I have always said this about Bush supporters

that they've been brainwashed in this Bush cult. Definitely, they've all drunk the same kool-aid

[arcane1]

11. they love Big Brother

[unblock]

14. their religion is the republican party, and shrub is their pope

no offense to catholics, but the pope is the closest analogy i can think of.
shrub comes out with "papal" edicts and the rank-and-file just accept them, not because they believe or understand or even care, but simply because IT'S NOT THEIR ROLE to debate or decide policy.

the "pope" is infallible.

[AnnInLa]

15. Glenn's post has caused a tremendous stir in the RW blogosphere

All of the RW bloggers have jumped on it....it must be hitting very close to home.

It is a great read....I urge everyone to please go read the whole thing, then read his updates as he responds to the criticism of the RW blogs.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

30. How do the RW bloggers respond? I mean, it's true, after all.

[AnnInLa]

34. Read what he says here....all dismissed, he's a liberal, after all

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/02/follow-up-to-bush-post-yesterday.html

[BurtWorm]

16. Today's followup post is also extremely important.

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/02/follow-up-to-bush-post-yesterday.html

Including the comments, such as this one:

Michaelgalien said...

This truly is hilarious. They're doing exactly what you were saying.

I was thinking a little bit about this Bush cult. Someone, in the comments to your other post, said that we needed to find another word for fascism when referring to Bush and co. This due to the fact fascism is mostly linked to for instance, Hitler.

Anyway, isn't it weird how most large fascist movements begin as a personality cult? Hitler was the Savior. Mussolini was the Savior. Mao was the Savior.

All should be (blindly) loyal to the Great Leader.

Of course I'm not saying Bush-followers are fascist as of yet, nor that the USA is. But: It's getting dangerously close.

Right on the money!

[Oilwellian]

22. I liked this follow up

Bush Anonymous

Do you suffer from factophobia, mathophobia, and feel emasculated by US veterans who actually served their country? Do you feel compelled to channel the resulting insecurities through uncontrolled rage at those US veterans who disagree with George Bush? In fact, do you need to demonize everyone who disagrees with George Bush because of the lack of your own identity and self esteem, it makes you feel like a small, inconsequential person, but by hating others you find a meaning for your pathetic life? Do you resent others with real backbones who stand up for their rights and yours as well?

Does your unrestrained need for loving George Bush cause you to watch Faux News and spend all your money (and that of your children, grandchildren, and great grand children) in the fruitless pursuit of a $12TRILLION national debt? Does your addiction to George Bush blind you to the incompetence of his cabinet, the paucity of good judgment in focusing on Iraq instead of Osama, and is that feeling so overpowering that you must gutlessly surrender your freedom?

Then repeat this statement:

"I am powerless over the cult of George Bush and his unprincipled destruction of American values has become unmanageable."

[KyuzoGator]

17. I've said from day one: BUSH IS NOT A CONSERVATIVE.

From the lips of my very conservative macroeconomics professor last month:

"By every strict definition, the second Bush administration is not conservative. We economists are still working on figuring out exactly what they are."

[glitch]

26. He doesn't get looting? It's not that complicated. nt

[WillyT]

18. Most Excellent !!! - K & R !!!

:kick:

[Beelzebud]

20. Very good read! kicked and recommended.

[jasmeel]

23. It blows my mind though because weren't these *bots the same people

that questioned EVERYTHING Clinton did? Shouldn't they have learned some critical ability? I guess not if you're just a parrot.

[JohnnyCougar]

27. This is the new meme we have to push.

I've been trying to push this on the other mixed political forums I frequent, as well as on my blog. It works great! Even conservatives agree with you!

[EstimatedProphet]

28. That's exactly right

I put up something on this the other day-let me see if I can find it...

Here it is

5 symptoms of a cult-

1 The organization is willing to place itself above the law. With the exceptions noted earlier, this is probably the most important characteristic.
2 The leadership dictates (rather than suggests) important personal (as opposed to spiritual) details of followers' lives, such as whom to marry, what to study in college, etc.
3 The leader sets forth ethical guidelines members must follow but from which the leader is exempt.
4 The group is preparing to fight a literal, physical Armageddon against other human beings.
5 The leader regularly makes public assertions that he or she knows is false and/or the group has a policy of routinely deceiving outsiders.

Lines up quite nicely with the Repubs, doesn't it?

[DarkTirade]

31. Well duh. :)

[burythehatchet]

32. Janeane and Sam are discussing this tonight

It is sort of scary

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

33. In the news tommorow

If a big headline came out on every single news source stating "Bush feasts on warm flesh of children in attempt to stay young" backed up with an overwhelming wave of evidence there would still be a disturbingly large percentage of the population still supporting him.

You know some know somehow they'd find someway to justify it and continue supporting their all wise and powerful leader.

[Inland]

35. It's Fascism.

All fascist states include the cult of the strong leader. Bush plays to that and his admirers can't wait for him to finally put an end to opposition entirely and render all insitutions not directly under his command powerless.

I didn't read the entire article, but the word is missing.

[leesa]

36. That's right. And we need to start describing these lunatics as the nuts

they are.

[ariellyn]

37. K&R nt

nt

[Jade Fox]

38. In truth, they hate freedom.....

Paul Craig Roberts (a Conservative) got it right in this article:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts75.html

[ananda]

39. cult-like

Yes, anyone who can still follow leaders like Bush
and just about anyone in the GOP must be exhibiting
symptoms of something that looks like cult influence.
Maybe they have Stockholm Syndrome as well.

It's certainly not rational or human.. that's for sure.

Sue

[Uncle Joe]

40. This is outstanding,

one would think these people might have picked up a clue the second Bush vs Gore came about.

Kicked and recommended!

:kick: