Why do conservatives always accuse their opponents of exactly what they themselves are doing?

[mwb970]

Republicans don't care about freedom

As long as I have been alive, republicans have been stoking fear about what Democrats will do if they are allowed to govern.

They'll take away your rights.
They'll silence speech they don't like.
They'll take your money and give it to their rich friends. They'll steal your elections. They'll take over the educational system.

Yet time and again, that's exactly what republicans do when they get power.

They take away your rights - to marry who you want, to make choices about when and where you start a family. They silence speech they don't like - banning books and ideas that offend them, outlawing constitutionally protected rights to assemble and protest your own government.

They take your money and give it to their rich friends by cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthy and throwing sweetheart deals to their well-heeled donors.

They steal your elections through blatantly unconstitutional gerrymanders aided and abetted by an illegitimately stacked federal judiciary and Supreme Court.

And now, right after an election when voters rejected extremist republican ideologues and elected Democrats to the state Board of Education, your ridiculously gerrymandered Ohio state legislature is poised to take over the educational system too - by stripping power from the elected state board and controlling our state's educational system from the republican governor's mansion.

republicans don't care about freedom or government overreach or protecting your rights or anything else. They care about power, specifically forcing their radical MAGA agenda on the rest of us. Now that their most extreme elements have seized total power in gerrymandered states like Ohio, there is nothing to stop them.

Judson Dunham, Bexley

(Letter to the Editor, Columbus Dispatch, November 20, 2022)

[KarenS]

1. I've always believed too that

Republicans will eventually want to strip folks of their 2nd amendment rights,,, dictatorships work better without armed citizens.

[Ohioboy]

33. I fear the 2nd Amendment could literally become a tool for a dictator

An aspiring dictator could use it to get the people fighting with each other, then let only those loyal to the dictator keep their guns.

Just having guns doesn't keep you free, it's who you follow that determines whether you are fighting for, or against, tyranny.

[JHB]

2. Add to that "Getting government off your back"

They get government off of some backs, but for the rest shove more up other bodily places.

[TheBlackAdder]

35. Several DSM disorders include viewing others doing the same things they themselves would do.

.

There are a few disorders that fall into this category.

I know a couple people with Borderline Personality Disorder, which include a lot of mental splitting, narcissistic components, and persecution. They often cannot separate themselves with others, as being separate beings, and think others are probably doing what they would do if they had the chance.

.

[LakeVermilion]

3. Normalization...

It normalizes the crime and feeds into the "both sides do it" mantra. This is not something to be ignored. The media picks up on it and feeds it to the public.

[OldBaldy1701E]

6. Bingo! (n/t)

[spooky3]

8. I agree. They are trying to confuse and discourage potential Dem voters.

If they accuse Dems of trying to take away rights, then when the media correctly writes a story about Repubs’ book banning etc., it takes away the sting. The average person who doesn’t pay much attention to politics thinks both sides do it and dismisses it.

[JHB]

16. Also deflection. If they keep saying WE are doing those things...

...and then we rightly say those things are what they are doing, it comes off as "I know you are but what am I", especially when they can count on the media to back up their spin because it fits the lazy cynicism of "both sides do it."

[Backseat Driver]

31. We got a brand new outdoor security light on Saturday at our

apt complex. Thinking the young man working on it would want to know the first scores of the Buckeye-Maryland game (doesn't everyone in Columbus OH), I went out to deliver the good news. He told me he was from Georgia and a Bulldog kind of guy. Ok then...so I asked him where he voted - Georgia or Ohio. He told me, in other polite words, that he did not vote anywhere (while he worked in Ohio), because both sides were surreptitiously run by unknown party bosses, aka donors, that controlled who and what got on the ballot--pretty clear he didn't want to talk politics from up on the ladder...Told him, short and sweet, that I believed that voting was important for democracy's sake even as so much gerrymandering was going on, both here and there by the GOP admins, wherever he was registered, and SMH - no more game scores for him - I went back inside to watch the football game...Good Lord, the old light shade was filled with at least years of bugs and incandescent - this one is LED, and it's like daylight out there now!!! Going to be blinding when it finally snows, LOL! Praying he see's the light going forward.

[mitch96]

32. They learned it from the Ruzzians...nt

[JHB]

50. They were doing this even back when they were accusing us of "getting marching orders...

...straight from the Kremlin." It's always been part of their toolset. That's why it was s easy for the Russkies to clone a second set of controls and plug it in.

[Hortensis]

26. And projection. SOMEONE'S doing bad stuff. Can't be them.

It long ago became knee-jerk and automatic for them. So much so that, when our "side's" accused of doing some new bad thing, it's automatically taken as as a first clue that theirs has been caught out in it.

[twodogsbarking]

4. Trump is best at it.

[malaise]

5. Projection

Of course

[mucifer]

7. It pretty much works for them. That's why.

[wnylib]

9. Why do they do it? Deflection.

While people's attention is deflected to fearing Democrats, they don't see that Republicans are actually doing what people fear that Democrats will do
.

[Historic NY]

10. Democrats need to up their media game

and use it like a sledgehammer, facts seem to get drowned out.

[CrispyQ]

42. It's as if we don't believe in marketing.

For forty plus years we've let the right frame the message & dominant the narrative. For example, the issue of the economy. Republicans have America convinced that they are better at the economy when charts and facts show that Democrats actually are. But where's our messaging on that? It's the same with a lot of other issues like family values. They claim to be the party of family values and yet they're the party of hate. They claim to be the party of small government and yet every time they're in charge government expands. They claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility and yet they're the ones that shut down the government. They claim they are the only true Patriots and yet they're the ones that stormed the capital on January 6th. We should have hired George Lakoff, right after he wrote "Don't Think of an Elephant."

[orthoclad]

49. "let the right frame"

Yep.

Like inflation. We should have been screaming the facts:
1. Inflation is worldwide, and worse in most places
2. About 50% of inflation is directly due to corporate exploitation. "Inflation-washing" their price gouging.
Instead, gas pumps get plastered with Biden-did-that stickers.

Capitalists use the distress they cause to blame the opposition.

[Genki Hikari]

52. They did do that

It's impossible to reach people when you're not given a big enough platform to do it.

Enter: Our traitor media.

They willfully refuse to give Democrats the same access and the same respect that they give to the likewise traitor r thugs.

It's intentional.

That's what too many people wanting to blame the Democrats refuse to get.

[YorkRd]

11. They aren't conservatives but NAZIs

[Irish_Dem]

12. Every accusation is a confession. Typical of sociopaths.

[orthoclad]

37. "stochastic sociopathy"

I'll coin that term.

While psychosocial dysfunction is one of the dimensions of the behavior, we can't lose sight of the fact that much of this is deliberate manipulation. It's the old Nazi practice of accusing your opponent of what you're planning. The best defense is a hard offense.

It's boggling to see a party notable for hosting loads of sex offenders call their opponents and targets "groomers", for instance. This is not accidental. Much like foxers and ilk yanking the chains of unstable people so they'll shoot somebody (stochastic terrorism), the reich wing oligarchy encourages pedophiles, human traffickers, and CEOs to cover their ass by going on the attack and making accusations.

Also: we can use the accusations as useful red warning flags.

What do you think of the "stochastic sociopath" notion?

[Irish_Dem]

43. The GOP and Putin are waging a psy-ops war against the US.

For political gain. For financial wealth.

So yes it is the use of sociopathic methods to controlling others.

Sociopaths deliberately manipulate for personal gain.

Yes of course, psychopaths always accuse others of their own crimes.
It is a way to deflect and create confusion.

I think the term stochastic is an interesting here.
But I think it is too esoteric for the masses.

You have to keep things very short and simple.

[orthoclad]

48. "stochastic terror"

has been a phrase making the rounds for years; I recall first seeing it applied to a guy inspired by Glenn Beck to go attack an NGO he ragged on, back in Tea Party days. We see lots of it now. The Q Club tragedy is a recent, horrible instance.

The parallel concept "stochastic sociopathy" describes damaged minds inspired to perform projection by deliberate example of public figures like Musk -- tooter is filling up with bad voices coming out of the woodwork now, for instance.

Attacks on queer people often combine the two concepts.

Several times I've tried to compile lists of reich wing pols convicted of sex crimes. It keeps growing; it's hard to track.

But you're right, the phrase doesn't quite roll off the tongue. I'm open to suggestions. The point is that it's not just individual psychology -- it's manipulation by the powerful + psychology.

[Irish_Dem]

53. It is a deliberate manipulation of people using powerful social/psychology tools.

Right out of the CIA and KGB handbooks.
Right out of the Hitler and Stalin playbooks.

The people who use these tools for diabolic ends are psychopaths.

Of course manipulation of people is common place.
Social psychologists working for large corporations convincing people
to buy Frosted Flakes cereal.

[orthoclad]

64. Sigmund Freud's nephew

conducted the first big "infomercial" type advertising campaign. "Breakfast is the most important meal". It worked. I've even heard far-leftists make that staement.

There's a LOT of research, study and practicum involved in mind manipulation. That's why I gave up watching TV shortly after "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". Now that I'm detoxed, if I'm in the same room with a tv, it hits me like nails on a blackboard. I despise the adoption of flat screen tv, because now they're impossible to escape in public spaces. No more reading material in waiting rooms, just tv, which is now the main mind-warping tool, which seems to be getting far worse over the decades.

(I confess to old "Doctor Who" and "Red Green" backsliding)

[jaxexpat]

13. Gerrymandering is democracy's kryptonite.

It abets social division by undermining basic representation for huge swathes of the population and rewards misgovernment.

But worst of all it requires near revolution to root out.

[milestogo]

14. That's what narcissists do.

[Ferrets are Cool]

15. If it were not so common, there would not be a word for it.

PROJECTION.

[The Jungle 1]

17. You forgot one very current right wing rant.

Democrats are all Pedophiles.

I have one right wing friend who rants about Democrats grooming kids in school.
I told him if he didn't want his kids groomed educate them at home and stay out of church.

[d_b]

18. How can you accuse us of that which we've accused you?

"There is nothing to stop them"

They can be stopped, but it requires unprecedented action. Until that happens, they'll continue to be gangsters.

[bringthePaine]

19. seriously? it's the old "I'm rubber, you're glue!..." children's canard writ large - pure BS

[rickford66]

20. They actually believe everyone is like them deep down inside.

They cannot fathom empathy.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

21. It's a great tool for manipulating

Their weak-minded voters.

[Chalco]

22. Psychopaths and sociopaths project to

place the blame on the other. That's what they do. They
have no empathy. They don't take responsibility for their
own actions/thoughts/feelings.

Just my professional opinion.

[dlk]

23. Republicans like to whip up hysteria and chaos to feel like they're in control

Projection is one of their favored tools and it is a pathology.

[Martin68]

24. "Why do conservatives always..." Because it is the cheapest and easiest way to avoid dealing with

issues and engaging in a meaningful discussion of differences. Most of us dropped this technique by the age of 11, if we ever used it. Just as the best defense is a good offense, accusing your enemy of engaging in the unethical, immoral, or violent you are already engaged in is an effortless and immature way to "turn the tables." Digging deeper, many of us have already pointed out that some of them are probably not even be aware of who they really are and are projecting the things they hate about themselves on their enemies - a defense mechanism among those who have never fully developed a healthy psyche.

[The Wizard]

25. Right out of the

Goebbels instruction manual.

[orthoclad]

39. Yes

check my post above where I coined the term "stochastic sociopathy". The reich wing manipulates their population of sociopaths. It's both spontaneous and planned.

[bucolic_frolic]

27. Well, Mr. Dunham, you are trying to stop them, so we do have that

May you be a harbinger of outrage

[azureblue]

28. it's called CYA

They know what they are doing. But, if they accuse their opponent of what they are doing, the accurate response, "You were doing it first!" sounds really weak and lame. IOW, it defeats any response to the attack.

The way to beat this is to attack first, and attack in a continuous stream of exposes. IOW, put them on the defensive, which turns their little game around on them. Fire with fire...

[musclecar6]

40. I agree

As soon as they open their mouth, with what you know is coming, bullshit, you call them on it right away. Just consider them to be sociopath/psychopaths until proven otherwise ( IE, maybe have a heart).

[Texin]

29. In psychology, it's called projection.

[orthoclad]

41. "projection" plays a part,

but we make a mistake to fail to see the planning behind it. It's not just an individual, spontaneous behavior.

Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.

[musclecar6]

30. Here's a simple answer

All one has to do is see the first 3 letters in conservative. CON. They are always all about themselves, their wallet, power and fuck everybody else. While they spend all their spare time doing just what their present Manchurian Cantelope leader has done his whole life. Conning, lying and cheating.

[Joinfortmill]

34. Maybe they're all narcissists

[Hieronymus Phact]

36. Everyone generally thinks that everyone else thinks more or less like they do.

It's natural since it's rather difficult to to step outside our own mindset, we're all stuck-in-our-own-heads, and have no real experience inside other peoples heads, so the only guideposts we have is ourselves. (unless you're a clinical psychologist or something)

Since many are thieves, deadbeats, and grifters, deep down they naturally believe that everyone generally thinks like they do. So they quite naturally expect everyone else is a thief and deadbeat. It's their only reference point.

So when they accuse others of these things, we call it 'projection', but that isn't the whole story, since that has a connotation of awareness and strategy. There is also this stuck-in-your-own-head natural element that i think makes them honestly believe that everyone else generally thinks like they do. However it's also a useful conscious strategy of deflection. and finger pointing so there's that too.

It's almost like they couldn't stop themselves from doing it if they tried.

[overleft]

38. Everything a repug accuses you of, they are already doing. It's called projection.

[Cherokee100]

44. Because

Because it works every time.

[PatrickforB]

45. I call this the 'projection connection'. It leads to 'conflation station.'

And millions fall for it because we don't teach strong civics courses in High School, nor do we teach rhetoric. All most people have is reality TV punctuated by violent TV punctuated by right wing 'news' carefully designed to drive wedges between us so the oligarchs, who I fondly call 'billionaire parasites,' can continue to pick our pockets.

[bluestarone]

46. I look at it like they need proof that things are really bad.

So THEY DO IT! Then they can say fraud. It's ON THEM, but their base doesn't give a shit!

[crickets]

47. The strategy of emotional abusers: DARVO

How Narcissists Use DARVO to Escape Accountability
https://www.narcissisticabuserehab.com/darvo/

DARVO is an acronym for Deny, Attack, Reverse, Victim and Offender. It is a defense mechanism used by manipulators to evade accountability for the abuse they inflict on others. It is a blame-shifting tactic used for gaslighting in the context of emotional abuse. [snip]

The cognitive distortions created by DARVO cultivate an ecosystem of moral corruption. Members of the peer group are encouraged by the narcissist to engage in polarized or black and white thinking.

The group’s empathy for the narcissist is weaponized and used to encourage negative biases about the recipient of the abuse. Narcissists, psychopaths and other manipulators do this in order to ensure that members of the dominant clique become indifferent and callous about the betrayal of the survivor.

The desensitization of the group opens the door to the objectification of the targeted individual and once this is accomplished every kind of violence becomes acceptable.

Examples of this can be seen in manifestations of anti-semitism, racism, sexism and homophobia.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

51. "A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim,

so it asks a frog to carry it across.

The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river.

The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion.

Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both.

The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies:

"'I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's in my nature.'"

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

54. Karl Rove seemed to have used this tactic consistently.

He and GWB got away with it, so why not continue?

[Voltaire2]

55. Karl Rove taught them this trick.

[patphil]

56. Because that's all they know.

They assume the Democrats are the same incompetent, dishonest, self-centered, ignorant, moronic jackasses they are.

[prodigitalson]

57. they have done that my whole life

I have never figured out if it was an 'all thieves think people are stealing from them' thing or an 'I know you are but what am I?" thing but its a thing and it has been a thing since at least the Gingrich years.

So much of a thing, in fact, that there have been times over the decades from then until now that the GOP has accused the Dems doing something I had never heard of and I just assumed that's what they must be doing in secret.

[dcmfox]

58. Is simple

Deflection plain and simple, they tend to be rats and floating poop but they know how to put the stink on you

[Stuart G]

59. Just 5 more words, "That is who they are"

[czarjak]

60. Cruelty. For. Kindness.

[Arthur_Frain]

61. I've been screaming about this for all my life.

nt

[Alwaysna]

62. The GOP has accused the Dems of vote flipping so many times

I'm starting to think some machines actually flipped dem votes to Republican candidates.

[calimary]

63. Boy, do I like this essay!

Just nails it. And nails it again. And then nails it some more!