Is the Conservative Psyche powerless against myths?

"Ronald Reagan would have...a hard time in today's Republican Party, [which insists on a path that] doesn't allow for finding some common ground. And it's Obama's fault."               

Jeb Bush, Republican Governor Florida 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

If the quote above, from George W Bush' brother Jeb, doesn't strike you as a bizarre leap in logic, you might be a Republican. 


Clearly Jeb would like us to believe that because of some unnamed action that Obama took, the GOP had no choice but to lurch so far to the right ideologically that they could brook no compromise with anyone to their left - even on policy positions where President Obama and former-President Ronald Reagan (the GOP Man-God) are in complete agreement. Don't believe me? Watch this...

But back to Jeb Bush. First, Jeb's assertion is historically inaccurate. The Tea Party, the group most responsible for the GOP's rightward lurch, formed largely in reaction to the financial betrayal of the Bush Administration to core conservative principles, by spending the US into deficit oblivion, But that spending splurge, including the trillion dollar TARP,  also known as the Wall Street bailout, was from George W. Bush, not Obama. The non-partisan Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that Congress uses, graphs it like this, with Republican administration spending in Red, and Democratic administration spending in Blue...

...so who inspired the rightward lurch of the GOP? Correct, the GOP itself did, with their wild spending on unfunded wars, unfunded social legislation (Bush II's prescription drug benefit for seniors), and endlessly supporting tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations; also known as "those most able to pay for GOP spending". Worse, their tax cut fever dangerously reduces the Federal governments ability to balance budgets when the GOP is in the White House. By the way, the chart above disproves another oft-repeated myth of the GOP, that Democrats are the ones who "tax and spend" and cause deficits. Clearly untrue.


As I've said before, GOP economic orthodoxy is illogical and dangerous.


The Tea Party has come to represent the pressure group that is pushing moderate Republican lawmakers out of government by rallying around (and successfully getting elected), Tea Party-friendly GOP challengers. Several high profile moderate Republicans have lost their long-held seats in House and the Senate to virulent, no-compromise Tea Party faithful legislators. 


So, Jeb, it is not "Obama's fault", it is the Tea Party, with their virulent threats against moderate, compromising lawmakers, who is really to blame for the rightward lurch of the GOP - obviously.

So why would Jeb Bush argue that GOP intransigence and uncompromising behavior is Obama's fault? Is he lying? Well, maybe, but I have begun to think that GOP legislators, when they say things that are "check-able" and easily found to be factually inaccurate, are not lying. They actually believe in something for which there is no evidence. Sound familiar? Right, that is the definition of religious faith, which is a prerequisite of all GOP legislators. Is their psychological worldview, with their virulent faith in religion, for which no evidence exists, a precondition that allows the GOP mind to believe whatever they wish - despite all evidence? Perhaps, and that possibility explains a lot doesn't it?

So are Conservative Psyches powerless against their own myths? It sure seems that way. It's either a) they are lying, or b) they truly believe things for which no supporting evidence exists.

Here's another, even clearer example. Watch this clip setting the stage for a GOP myth believer to rear his illogical head...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Now let's watch the panel discussion, and notice the argument the Republican on the panel insists is true, in particular that the Federal Reserve ("the Fed") caused the great recession of 2007-2008 by lowering interest rates too low.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So let's recap his argument. The Fed is to blame for the great recession of 2009 because they lowered prime interest rates that banks are charged for borrowing money, (that banks in turn loan to you and I). Think about the lack of logic in that argument. It's a dazzlingly bizarre conclusion to draw.


He is saying that the great recession of 2009 wasn't Wall Street's fault, for aggregating thousands of loans, many made to people who could never afford to repay the mortgage and were 100% assured of foreclosure. Instead he's passionately arguing that the great recession of 2009 was the fault of the Federal Reserve (and by association Ben Bernanke) for making money so cheap for Wall Street to borrow.


Of course, that argument is preposterous.


It's like blaming a store robbery on the store, for making it too tempting for the bandit to come in and take the money. He's clearly arguing that Wall Street was just tempted by the cheap money, and therefore had no choice but to offer mortgages to people who could not afford to pay them back. 


Um...what? 


But look at how violently he believes he's right. I wonder if he makes this argument hoping people will blame the Fed, rather than blame the obvious culprit of the financial collapse of 2009 - Wall Street.


Perhaps he knows that the topic is arcane and complex, and most people won't be able to understand what he's saying anyway - so they can't challenge the obvious ridiculousness of his position? I'm not sure but clearly what he believes passionately is so illogical it obviously can't be true. 


Does he really think it's true and just misses how illogical his position is on the cause of the recession? 


Or, does he believe it because believing it is the Fed's fault 

1. puts pressure on the Fed not to help the economy any further right now, 
2. which therefore creates a stalled economy, 
3. which therefore harms Obama, and makes Mitt Romney more likely to win the Presidency? 

The 3 steps above seems much more likely why he believes what he believes. He knows it's false but hopes to convince voters it's true so his side (the GOP) wins the election. He's lying to make people blame Obama and therefore vote for Romney. But I'm just not sure.


Again, either conservatives are lying when they say things like this, that are obviously false, or they really believe things they want to believe, even when the evidence is clearly not supporting their conclusion.


Either way, this is terrible news for our country. How can we possibly have a civil discourse when one side believes things that are clearly false?


My solution? Vote for Democrats. What else can we do to restore our country to centrist sanity?