DU POLL: Do you think the GOP is morphing into some form of the KKK, Nazi Party, Supremacist Power or

[Hortensis]

148. Very interesting. Little to change us, perhaps, but

given the reportedly immense influence of the leaders we accept on most of us, that should be a route to changing behavior. Just look what increasingly bad leadership has done to normal Republican voters since the beginning of the 1990s or so. (My observation was that the end of the Cold War left conservatives without an existential threat to fight and that very bad leaders, like Gingrich, turned their fear and hostility inward to replace Russia with Democrats.)

If it's true that people adopt their leaders' views, responsible leadership with the better ideals conservatism has to offer could reverse their decline. The enmity would be greatly decreased, their goals and ours would once again have a great deal of overlap, and many differences would once again be within compromise distance.

I'd love to learn about any resources you find especially interesting, and even perhaps see threads on them. At least we know now that it's impossible to understand what's happening in politics without understanding ourselves and how large social groups think and act.