The Republican Refusal to Deal with Reality Runs Deep

There are many different ways to research the conservative mindset. The news isn’t only found in what someone like Sarah Palin or Ted Cruz has to say, but in how the base feeds on their lunacy.

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After a long Sunday afternoon of online research. I can now present to you another example of how conservative logic works, as demonstrated by that base. This particular dialogue surrounded the posting of PoliticusUSA’s article Obama Steps Up and Shows Republicans How It’s Done While Knocking Down Ebola Hysteria, by Sarah Jones, posted on Saturday.

As Sarah wrote, “The President poured water on the “just ban the flights!” hysteria – this is a common initial reaction, but guess what, experts know something. That won’t work and that’s why we’re not doing it. He urged us to be guided by the science and facts…and checked some of the hyperbole.”

The Republican reaction to all this was, well…typical: bereft of science and fact. There was no sizzle as the water of reason hit the fire of hyperbole:

John Patti 12:27 PM
The only end of story is the Democrats in November. Cruz, Fox, Rush, Koch, Bush. The left is full of straw man fantasies.

John Patti 12:29 PM
Oh and please, more links that prove how right you are because there just aren’t any counter-links out there that prove you wrong. LOL

Straw man fantasies…Never mind that actual, hyperlinked citations of conservative rhetoric leave no room – and no need – for straw man arguments. Republicans actually say the crazy sh*t we report on here. And no examples of these alleged straw man “fantasies” were offered to support the claim made, giving me reason to suspect John didn’t know what a straw man is:

Hrafnkell Haraldsson 12:29 PM
The facts are there. Do you know what “straw man” means? Doesn’t sound like it

There can be only one answer to this right? Right!!:

3…
2…
1…

John Patti 12:31 PM
Do you know that Hrafnkell is such a American sounding name? It doesn’t sound like you do.

You had to know this was coming.

So “Hrafnkell” not being an American-sounding name means, is, in the conservative mind, an instant win. If you have nothing, no argument at all, no answers to any questions, you launch the handy ad hominem attack.

“Oh, oh yeah? Your name is funny!”

Just imagine if my name was Barack? Oh wait…

It’s the Republican Get Out of Reality Free Card.

Here is another example of the sort of reasoning we liberals are dealing with:

Cam Loon 1:30 PM
Poll: 67% Want Ebola Travel Ban

http://dailycaller.com/2014/10/14/poll-67-percent-want-ebola-travel-ban/

Oh, majorities suddenly matter? So I made a point that obviously needs to be made:

Hrafnkell Haraldsson 1:34 PM
It’s a little late isn’t it, to start caring about majorities? Most of us voted for Obama, too, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from saying he has no right to be president, that he’s an usurper. Save your hypocrisy for those who are interested.

There can be only one response, right? Address the issue of hypocrisy in saying majorities only matter when it’s something you want.

Wrong:

John Patti 1:39 PM
“Most of us voted for Obama” hahaha. So you vote on skin pigmentation only, racist.

You remember how after attacking President Obama for appointing czars, the Republicans suddenly demanded President Obama appoint an Ebola czar? Turns out, Obama is to blame for appointing an Ebola czar:

Cam Loon 3:07 PM
you are saying the world and africa are stupid, you mistake common sense for opinions, obama and incompetent political czars are not the medical community, lol, typical mindless liberals

And offering facts is “trash-talking” and “sad”:

Duane Zadarosni 6:06 AM

More typical BS propaganda by that trash talking “Sarah Jones and PoliticusUSA”. It’s almost hilarious to read their stuff any more. It’s sad really. It’s equally sad that this administrations thinks it’s approach to this virus is sufficient. For example why would you put a former “COS” and lawyer in charge of coordinating an attack on Ebola instead of putting an experience and competent medical doctor in charge. Have this doctor let this “coordination expert” know what is a priority and what is not and him structure and execute that part of the effort. We don’t need a lawyer to head the fight against Ebola, we need a medical professional.

You’re right. We need a medical professional. Gee….if only we had…I know! A surgeon general!!

Sure, you can call our new Ebola czar, Ron Klain, a political and not a medical person, but there is the little issue that Republicans have blocked Obama from appointing a surgeon general, a person who is, unarguably, a medical person – Dr. Vivek Murthy.

Republican rhetoric surrounding the Ebola crisis in West Africa has been incomprehensible from Day One, a jumbled attack on President Obama that completely ignores their own culpability in American ability to deal with the outbreak.

I will leave you with these comments. If you can make sense of the former, you are doing better than I:

Cam Loon 2:48 PM
travel ban works for african countries, liberal logic: liberal political hacks spread ebola to stop the spread of ebola, nice try

And you can’t have a conversation about Obama that doesn’t end with this:

Frank Black 4:09 PM
You want us to trust this slime ball communist egg sucking muslim as president and he’s gona lead us in the ebola epidemic that he brought into america?

That he has gotten more people expose to ebola, and has cost america 100’s millions of tax dollars already over ebola!

I would like to say you can get intelligent debate from a Republican, but if wishes were horses. The only thing I didn’t see yesterday was the cry of “Benghazi!” but that is only because they can now cry “Ebola!” instead.

Actually thinking about the issues and formulating cogent responses seems beyond them in an age of easy-to-remember talking points helpfully provided by Fox News. No, what we say here will never pierce the sanctity of the Republican echo chamber. We know that the instant our fingers touch the keyboard.

It is sad, but this sort of dialog, if it can be called that, only highlights the need for liberals and progressives to vote. If we don’t, we will one day have an entire country taught to “think” this way from birth.

Hrafnkell Haraldsson

Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.