tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post6235232971366097498..comments2023-10-30T19:03:59.225+01:00Comments on David Seaton's News Links: 2014... and welcome to itDavid Seaton's Newslinkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00269813419598042699noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-6575243869525509722014-01-06T22:26:16.114+01:002014-01-06T22:26:16.114+01:00Great comment, thanks.Great comment, thanks.David Seaton's Newslinkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00269813419598042699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-8624755755937308082014-01-06T01:41:37.320+01:002014-01-06T01:41:37.320+01:00Right-wing populism is the ultimate mind-fuck. The...Right-wing populism is the ultimate mind-fuck. The Republican Party has used it over the past 40-some years to worsen social democracy and give license to economic oligarchs, thereby creating a positive feedback loop for middle-class stress. The worse it gets, the better the Republicans do. <br /><br />It's probably something to do with the reptilian brain, but the stressed don't seem to blame the rich who increasingly take the lion's share of wealth for themselves. They blame those on the ladder's rungs below them, particularly racial and ethnic minorities. I talk to these people but you can't reason with them - once the toxin is ingested, it takes over. The explanations for their misery are so juicy and satisfying. Liberals want to give everything away to these "others"! You have to fight back!<br /><br />Still, given all the hysteria about the mild-mannered centrist Obama, you might think political violence would already be evident. Maybe it's all a feint. But the Republican Party keeps getting crazier and that, perhaps, is the real clue. There's no downside risk here to a party that exploits social friction. At some point, the cold civil war releases magma from below. There's simply too much anger floating out there. My prediction: violence finally cracks the silent ground and the future engages with startling force.walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06221959390644542667noreply@blogger.com