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newsman0719 t1_j16hwuc wrote

What ever happened to the Republican Party that was opposed to excessive government intervention in people’s lives?

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excalibrax t1_j17lv2d wrote

Look back at Mcarthyism, Its been part of the conservative DNA For a LONG time.

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hansolemio t1_j177s7k wrote

They have always wanted complete iron-gripped control over every aspect of all of our lives. They just lie and say they believe in freedom for the same reasons the Nazis said they were socialists

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Main_Dirt_7302 t1_j17ozdx wrote

I still don't get this at all. They ultimately work towards Taliban/Handmaid's Tale society yet use the symbolism and rhetoric of "freedom" in the process. It's not a mass conspiracy & there's no central command center but I'm perplexed by how their belief system works.

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StarMangledSpanner t1_j187q7g wrote

They simply want the freedom to tell other people what to do while simultaneously believing that nobody can tell them what to do.

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DuckQueue t1_j18rgdy wrote

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."

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Main_Dirt_7302 t1_j18bbei wrote

Exactly! Nicely said. I just think it's so strange that some groups involved in political movements can take their greatest weakness and then simply claim it to be one of their assets.

Pairing traditional values with freedom is like trying to blend oil and water

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DifficultyWithMyLife t1_j1886e4 wrote

It's basically ignoring the meanings of words so they can control discourse, and thus people's very thoughts.

"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."

― George Orwell, 1984

The scary part is, it works. We really are nothing more than dumb animals that learned how to talk and build things.

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Lower-Cantaloupe3274 t1_j18nz41 wrote

I was raised in the belief system. As soon as you start to think critically and ask questions, it unravels alarmingly quickly. It all makes sense until you pull that one string. Then the avalanche of "well, if that's not true, what about..." and when you ask earnest questions to try to salvage any if it, you are labeled as "woke" and pretty much anything you say is immediately discredited.

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Main_Dirt_7302 t1_j193otu wrote

Yes. I'm just curious if there is more of a general process in psychology that accounts for this. Everyone knows (on a subconscious level) the major weaknesses of their theory/belief system. It seems like they charge forward with the freedom stuff because it makes them feel invincible and morally justified (if it were true).

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Lower-Cantaloupe3274 t1_j196h5o wrote

Well I think confirmation bias is part of it. Also affinity bias. Spreading of alternatives. So is the need to belong to a group, which is stronger in some people than others.

I am not sure everyone knows the weaknesses if their belief system. If you come from an authoritarian background, you are taught from a young age not to question authority and are punished if you do.

I do think some people are highly aware and exploit people. Others may not understand the underlying mechanisms, but they can smell it a mile away and use it to their advantage.

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kittenfordinner t1_j1ale08 wrote

your over thinking it. Remember when you were 7 or 8 years old? and you thought that you were right and everyone who thought you were wrong was an idiot? There is nothing more to understand, my buddy was bitching about the government making people do something or whatever, and I asked about how come they all were insisting on MAKING people swear to the flag, and say "under God" in school. He was like "I don't understand why anyone would not want to say the pledge of allegiance" It didn't compute, didn't matter. They want to win, they are right, you are wrong, the principles which they hold dear only apply, like the bible, if and when they want them to and how they want them too. Don't over think it, people, like animals, do what they do

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Main_Dirt_7302 t1_j1br6px wrote

Thanks yeah... That makes sense. What do you think the equivalent of this is on the more liberal side of the political spectrum? Like something where there's a massive level of bs but the group writ large is totally ambivalent to it???

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kittenfordinner t1_j1c03dy wrote

I'm sure their are lots of things , probably some of the more dumbass woke people, like the people who think sayings like "the pot calling the kettle black" is racist. There is no apples to apples comparison though. Because the crazies don't make it all the way to the too. Right now being a nut job is requisite to gathering favor among the right wingers. So it's really a totally different environment that we all are living in

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boxsmith91 t1_j1amlz9 wrote

It's backfiring to some extent though. Most libertarians no longer align themselves with Republicans anymore, especially in light of roe v Wade.

Source: have libertarian friend. Maybe a few, though it's never been super clear with some of them.

And just to be clear, I think libertarianism is stupid for many reasons. We just don't talk politics much and that's how we get along.

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Main_Dirt_7302 t1_j1bros3 wrote

Yeah that makes sense. Reconciling the following is likely to just piss them off::: wanting laws that result in throwing a women in jail for having an abortion after being raped by her father VS protesting laws for the right to go have lunch at Olive Garden (a private company) during the height of the pandemic without proof of vaccination...(my body my choice)

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WTF_is_this___ t1_j1atwxa wrote

When a republican politician says something you can safely assume the opposite is true.

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Snakestream t1_j17nztc wrote

Without double standards, Republicans would have no standards at all.

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halfar t1_j16szjc wrote

It never existed.

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Swampwolf42 t1_j18axji wrote

No, no, no…they never wanted that. They were, are, and always have been opposed to excessive government intervention in their lives. Other peoples’ lives? That’s just fine.

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HDC3 t1_j16i3jt wrote

It turned fascist.

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Skripka t1_j16saa7 wrote

Turned? It has been a "Freedom!.... Wait! No not like that!" Party since the Nixon days

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hansolemio t1_j177v0a wrote

They’ve been the party of criminal fascism since the 70’s

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donkeylipsh t1_j198bqi wrote

>since the 70's 30's

Prescott Bush (H.W. Bush's dad and Republican US Senator from CT) attempted a fascist coup on FDR

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ramriot t1_j17m3kt wrote

That change the day they decide that the constitution was merely optional & not something they needed to take account of before drafting legislation.

Makes me wonder if like with a public business one can sue those making the decisions for fiscal irresponsibility.

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garry4321 t1_j18yfj4 wrote

Its gov. intervention into THEIR lives AKA I can do what I want, and you cant.

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bigbangbilly t1_j189sob wrote

Lack of excess doesn't mean no intervention at all. Minimal and moral intervention is necessary for a society at least /s

But seriously, the "moral" meddling is basically unnecessary and actually harmful while regulatory intervention is actually necessary for safety (especially when self-regulation due to the financial incentived against self-regulation)

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Lower-Cantaloupe3274 t1_j18nabf wrote

Well, that only applies in circumstances that are convenient to them. The purpose of the government is to support their beliefs and squash anything and anyone that causes open dialog.

At least that's how it looks to me.

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HobbitFoot t1_j18vuiv wrote

You might have had some natural libertarians, but a lot of people became Republican around the time that legislation was being enacted to get rid of racial segregation.

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ph30nix01 t1_j19s7fo wrote

Only intervention that protected people from scams and con artists.

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GabeTheJerk t1_j174986 wrote

What ever happened to the democrats that hung black people like balloons simply for looking at them and that fought back against the union?

Oh right.

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JimC29 t1_j178k74 wrote

They became Republicans starting with Nixon southern strategy. Do you know anything about American politics.

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21_MushroomCupcakes t1_j17xl3s wrote

I'm assuming (hoping) they were being facetious.

But I've been mistaken before.

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cmmosher t1_j1kmuh2 wrote

During the civil rights movement there was a flip between the parties.

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FawksyBoxes t1_j177yhz wrote

They switched to the Republican party after the Civil rights act was signed

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