Why are Republicans such dicks?

[Cyrano]

I've been asking this same question here on DU for many years. And the answers are becoming ever clearer.

The majority of us are average, and somewhat "normal" human beings. Today's Republicans represent and attract a minority of people who do not hold most of the same values/morals that the rest of us do. They don't view the world, or reality, the same way that most of us do. Want some examples? Okay. Here are the beliefs of many (most?) of them:

O They are against abortion for any reason, including rape, incest, or the life or age of the mother.

O They are for the death penalty.

O They want no restrictions on gun ownership.

O They are against any LGBTQ lifestyle, against gay marriage, and would make "alternate" lifestyles" a crime.

O They don't want people reading the "wrong" books. Book burning is fine with them.

O They want their children to believe the "correct" version of American history.

O They want America to be a "Christian" nation by their definition of "Christian."

O They believe that violence is necessary to obtain their goals.

O They have no problem with labeling all "others" as "Thems."

O They believe that any white "Christian" who deviates from their dogma is a "Them."

O They believe that cruelty towards any and all "Thems" is fine.

O They don't want any "Thems" voting.

O They don't believe in free and fair elections.

O They don't believe in the rule of the majority.

O They don't believe in democracy.

O They don't believe in the America that the rest of us long for.

O They are dangerous and deadly.

O They are fully capable, and ignorant enough, to destroy all life on the only planet we have.

Those are some of the reasons that Republicans are dicks. And please, add more reasons, disagree, or whatever.

[JHB]

1. Because they're fine with dickishness, as long as they or their side are the dicks

Most of them are the toadies of bullies who stand around and cheer "Yeah! Get'im! Give'im another one!" or are bullies themselves.

That's what it boils down to.

[Claustrum]

6. "they're fine with dickishness" is understatement of the year. They prefer it.

That's why they loved TFG. They loved triggering "libs". As much as we disagree and hate them, I don't think we are so hateful that we love "own the republicans" or such slogans. They don't care about policies as long as they think the "right" people are being hurt (ie. democrats, immigrants, etc). That's where the famous quote from a Trump cultist came from "he is not hurting the right people". They don't mind people getting hurt. They want it as long as it's not them.

[GrapesOfWrath]

2. Their authoritarian natures

they just love to wield power over others. Creeps

[wnylib]

19. Not always, but quite often they come from abusive backgrounds

and have not found any alternative way of life than either being abused or being the abuser.

[Starfury]

3. Self-selecting demographic. It's in their nature... nt

[LakeArenal]

4. I don't think it's that deep.

I think they are power hungry contrarians.

It’s all about owning Dems…

I believe if we were anti choice they’d be pro.

If we we corrupt thieves then they’d be “true” Christians.

If we hated the others, they would love them.

If we co-opted patriotism, they’d be all constitutional.

Edit to add: The deeply dangerous part is it, too.

[hamsterjill]

5. I agree.

I also believe that just about everything they do and don’t do is rooted in their own insecurity, which makes them want to be part of a larger group of other like minded dicks. Being in the group with others like them makes them feel safe.

[NCjack]

25. They are jealous of us. And, can't handle it.

[hoosierspud]

7. Oh, you've met my brother?

If you think I'm exaggerating, Wednesday my sister got a hit on her ancestry.com profile from a woman in the Philippines who shares 23% of the same DNA. Turns out my brother fathered her when he was in the Navy in the mid 1970's. At first he denied being the father then he back-pedaled on it. By Friday, they were FB friends, and by Sunday, the new niece sent my sister a message saying that she got the impression that my brother was extreme in his views. Didn’t take her long to figure out he was an asshole.

[maxsolomon]

8. Remember, this is the vast majority of American White People, including White Women.

It's the ideology of racialized privilege.

The War in Ukraine has brought some things about American Conservatism into focus for me; namely, the paranoia that is a fundamental part of the the Conservative mindset.

Russians see the West as actively trying to destroy their culture and nation. Liberal ideas are a "contagion"; colonized, conquered lands are "by right" part of Russia.

Likewise, Conservatives see Liberalism as actively trying to destroy their culture. Attacking their (Christian) religion and morality, telling them what they can and cannot believe, and what they must tolerate.

They are defined by this victimhood; your list is what they'll do to defend themselves against the future.

[Cosmocat]

20. Going on a half century of unabated gas lighting by "coservative" media

AM radio for the longest time, then Faux News and now the internet.

They spent all this time telling white people they are:

1) The greatest of all patriots
2) The greatest of all christians

At the same time telling them they are embattled victims against the evil liberal boogyman.

Going back to the 90s, they TRIED to put a veneer of policy to it, it was bullshit, but they focused grouped tight talking points and had every talking the same talk.

But, post 9-11 they got lazy, they just made everything about them being the only ones who can keep us safe, then after they milked that enough to get W reelected just started doing nothing other than blaming shit on the libs and dems.

Once they crossed the rubicon of virulently casting THEIR FORM OF HEALTH CARE as the greatest threat the country faced in its history, they literally had nothing other than spewing hatred about BHO, Pelosi and Dems, which led to their zombie base completely devolving into loving support of TRump, and now the miniTRumps that are popping up like golemites.

Along the way, the completely brain washed, as you noted, the vast majority of white people, including white women into this bizarre dystopian view of them as victims, and that any and every crazy ass thing they do, including knowingly and resolutely working to destroy our democratic system is fully justfied because ... LIBERALS!

[certainot]

43. yep. and limbaugh was a genius in making up excuses for their racism, sexism, hate, ignorance,

fascism, and failure while blaming everything on democrats.

they became immune to shame and criticism - their 'leaders' could do no wrong, it was all the democrats fault

they called COVID a hoax and politicized masks and vaccinations but when they brought it home and killed their grandmother with it it was because biden didn't roll out the vaccinations fast enough

[Ohio Joe]

9. Fear

They are terrified that white men are no longer going to be in charge... They are losing the position they have held for so long and fear being treated as they have treated all the 'others'.

[Mad_Machine76]

10. What I don't get about them

is that they are so wrapped up in what other people are doing with their own personal/private lives. Most of the people I know IRL don't spend nearly the amount of time they do endlessly obsessing over kids' genitals, who somebody is bedding down with every night, what's going on with somebody's reproductive systems. Most people I know are spending most of their waking hours at work and/or caring for their families. How do Republicans have the kind of time that allows them to worry about the aforementioned things?! For some of them, their whole careers are tied into fighting the aforementioned things and it just makes me wonder how or why that sort of stuff brings them happiness and fulfillment. That stuff is purposely harming other people. How can they feel good about that stuff?!

[MarcA]

11. Fear and resentment that theirs is no longer the ruling culture.

Of course the belief that they were all part of the ruling group is yet another
delusion they possess. Add in racism, misogyny and the I-got-mine-you-
get-yours authoritarian mindset that so many spout themselves or support
the dog whistles of those who do.

[NCDem47]

12. It's in their DNA.

When you're raised in that enviroment (you know, white, Christian, straight) born on second, third or homerun bases, they simply can't fathom why others others are so bitter and resentful of their "place." There's the Country Club Republicans and the Wal-Mart Republicans. All that seperates them is $$$$.

It's greed and power. Not a compassionate, sypathetic or empathetic bone in thier body.

Very, very low emotional quotient. They get theirs and want NO ONE coming up that ladder behind them.

[Cyrano]

13. It seems that Republicans thrive on hatred

What normal human being loves to spend their time hating? It makes one wonder if there's something wrong with them either mentally or genetically.

Think about that for a moment. Spending much (most?) of your time hating something or someone. How can that not injure you? How can that not diminish you? How can that not damage your very existence?

I really have no idea why people would open themselves up to the concept that in damaging/destroying others they would not damage themselves? Self-hatred? A death wish? Who knows?

[markie]

18. yes

Link to tweet

[d_r]

14. I believe

That their mother's followed a rigid schedule in formula feeding them rather than breast feeding on demand. This was the recommended practice a few generations ago an ng conservatives who believed that feeding babies on demand would spoil them. The babies learned that the world was unpredictable, unresponsive and basically scary. Combined with an authoritarian parenting style in which the parents used power assertive discipline to regulate children's behavior through force. My way or the highway and I'll give you something to cry about. They learned to mind to avoid being punished but learned to be sneaky. They didn't internalize a sense of right and wrong because the source of morality was external to them: the punishment of their parents and eventually the wrath of the evangelical God. So, they would behave to avoid being punished but if they thought they could get away with it they did. Ethics are what you do when no one is watching, and for them if they believed no one was watching they thought they would get away with it. Through their fear they learned to resent those who had an actual moral anchor and learned to feel better about themselves by making fun of them. They are xenophobic because they have learned the way to feel better about themselves is to degrade others. The smug hypocrisy is their attempt to display their virtue to their fellow tribe members for external validation. Their thinking becomes so compartmentalized and fear driven that they do not even recognize their own inconsistencies and hypocrisies.

[mcar]

29. Umm, wow

I bottle fed my babies and, yeah, got them on a schedule as soon as I could. They are nothing like you describe here.

But sure, blame it on bottle-feeding mothers.

[d_r]

48. there were physicians

in the 1960s and 1970s that told mothers not to feed children off schedule no matter if they cried until they turned blue, because they would pass out and start breathing and it would only be teaching them that they can get what they want by crying. You can roll your eyes but it was cruel.

[IronLionZion]

15. Their whole worldview is about dicking someone over

They don't have very constructive goals, only destructive.

[LuckyCharms]

16. Because those things are all part of

a larger plan.

Wish I knew what that plan was.

[twodogsbarking]

17. They were better at disguising it before TFG, now they flaunt it.

[Cyrano]

23. He unlocked the nuthouse door

He gave them "permission" to publicly display their inner frustrations, hatreds, insanity.

And you're right, twodogsbarking. What we're seeing today has been the Republican Party for many decades. Then, this incredibly malicious imbecile rode down his golden escalator. And damned if he didn't change the world. He made it worse than we ever imagined it could once again become. I guess that puts him in "The Greatest Republican Dicks" Hall of Fame.

[peppertree]

21. Textbook sociopaths

As has sometimes been mentioned, the harm and the cruelty are the point.

Makes them feel more important.

[The Jungle 1]

22. I believe what happened is this.

Their daddies said pick something and be good at it. They picked dick.
Or in the more polite long hand version "richard craniums".

[Jack the Greater]

24. You might be painting with an overly broad brush here

I don't think you can claim, with any accuracy that all Republicans are against abortion for any reason. As far as being against any LGBTQ lifestyle, you have the Log Cabin Republicans. I could go on with this critique, but I will let a few examples represent many. From my own experience, I see Republicans shying away from the Republican Party of today. These are good people, people you might like as neighbors. But the pendulum has swung too far for them. Many have noticed that Trump tends to admire Putin, and while there are many Republicans who inwardly, and amongst themselves, praise him for this, there are others who back away from this sentiment. I believe that both sides should be open to those on the other side who share common values of humanity.

[Cyrano]

28. Note than in the OP I said many (most?)

I didn't say "all."

But any halfway decent human being would have, years ago, run from the Republican Party as they would from a plague.

Of course there are varying positions on abortion and people are entitled to them. What they're not entitled to is to impose their beliefs on others.

And please spare me the Log Cabin Republicans. There's something seriously wrong with any of them that still claim to be part of the GOP.

And, as for that pendulum swinging too far, we're on the threshold of Fascist America if they win/steal the congress this year.

One final thought. If you want to defend whatever it is the Republicans call their "agenda," please explain exactly what their agenda is, aside from hatred, venom and evil. And if that sounds blunt, you bet it is.

[mcar]

31. Well said

[Jack the Greater]

34. I guess I was blind-sided by the title: "Why are Republicans such dicks?"

... and skipped right to the bullet points. Thanks for the lesson on the importance of careful reading for comprehension.

[mcar]

26. I'm so old I remember when they had Bobby Jindal

do an evaluation of the party and make recommendations for making it more inclusive.

That was, what, 2008? They threw those recs out and decided to go full on '50s and embrace their inner mean-spirited bigots.

[Effete Snob]

42. Good Lord

That moron.




It's amazing how these "Republican leaders of the future" just disappear down the memory hole.

Whatever the fuck became of him?

[mcar]

44. No idea

And he was their up-and-coming star not that long ago.

[cynical_idealist]

27. They don't believe in evolution since it doesn't apply to them

Much of humanity is barbaric.
Those who push against education want to make us more barbaric.

Prediction: if repubs regain power, suffering will increase exponentially

[Cyrano]

32. "Reeducation Camps" may also increase exponentially

[Loge23]

30. They all missed the boat of life

Now they're forever on the dock dismissing the vanishing boat like "I didn't want to be onboard anyway".
A simplified explanation into a demographical disaster, but they're clueless as to a raison d'etre for their idiocy - and it is idiocy.
They don't understand government, religion, history, or freedom to name a few of their favorite things. So they make shit up and call it "libertarianism" because they saw that word somewhere and thought it sounded smart.
Like a school of diseased salmon, they are committed to forever be swimming against the tides of history and progress, oblivious to the damage they cause to our environment, our government, our countries, and our world.
Signs of the end times, they are fond of saying. End times which they will create.

[Evolve Dammit]

33. Cept for a few, Tom Delay, etc. they are never held accountable. That's why. F as many as you can.

It's the American way. I think it's that simple. Why be a "sucker" or a "loser" by playing by the rules?? Does not apply to "winners".
No personal responsibility, no integrity, just make money by fucking as many as you can.

[Initech]

35. Not only are they dicks, they're proud of being dicks.

They have been taken over by psychopaths and sociopaths. Your misery is their pleasure.

[Iggo]

36. Money. (n/t)

[Cyrano]

37. Money is just the entrance fee

It buys control, power, and the ability to remake the world into what they want it to be. Regardless of whether or not the majority of people don't want to be controlled, dictated to and owned.

And perhaps, that's the definition of who they are. They want to own us, -- not in the moment, -- but totally and forever. (Seems it always goes back to America's original sin. -- Slavery.)

[housecat]

38. They like violance as long as they can be bullies. Get one alone and watch him run

[hadEnuf]

39. The answer is very simple. They are NAZIS.

The German Nazi party attracted the same kind of freaks and whackos that the GOP does now, and their "belief" systems are almost identical.

Rinse, lather and repeat for almost every other murderous dictator that has popped up since.

[Shermann]

40. Mistrust of the electorate is baked into the Constitution

One of the reasons for the electoral college is to create a buffer between the electorate and the Presidency. So that anxiety around a truly free election has always been there. Republicans have only won the popular vote once in the last six presidential elections, and this fact does not help with the Election Day jitters. They believe that the long-term trend of the electorate is to vote for the party that gives them "free stuff" and pull the country inevitably towards socialism. They want to protect the Presidency from this trend in any way possible and will feel entirely justified in doing so. That doesn't make it right, I'm just trying to characterize the perspective as I understand it.

[A_Steel_Magnolia]

41. A couple more points!

- Republicans' resentment of "others" who win is founded in the belief that because life is a zero sum game, when others win, republicans lose.
- The end always justifies the means because...power/money rules.
- Appearance matters more than substance.
- Three word memes distill everything to its least common denominator (which also appeals to the masses, supports transaction rather than process and compromise, and doesn't require a verbose explanation).
- Republicans are lazy. They don't know how to govern and don't care about learning. They just want to make decisions on behalf of everyone else and keep their jobs with the perks and status.

[Skittles]

45. they represent wealthy white men

that's all they care about

[niyad]

46. They hate and fear women.

[Emile]

47. They create wedge issues and have successfully convinced

willfully ignorant voters if you can relate to any of their issues you must be a Republican. That's the only thing I can come up with. Why else would an average middle class citizen vote for tax cuts for tax evading billionaires?