It should be clear from Palin’s recent speech that the Republican Party is about revenge, and the fantasy of revenge that requires a target.
The rank and file of the Republican Party are being motivated by their fear and hatred to send an amoral and rapacious elite into office where they can do the most harm. The modern conservative movement is about an elite instilling the illusion of purity against taboo, which is essentially identical to any regressive religious extreme response to change: because change threatens the power of the elite, the religious must be manipulated into protecting hegemony of elite power through radicalized religious fervor.
The corollary of Rove’s strategy of criticizing the enemy for one’s own weakness is that the Republicans hate the country.
The corollary of Yoda’s catechism that fear leads to hate is that the Republicans hate the country because they are afraid.
The vicious cycle is that the rank and file Republican creates their own suffering by supporting those elite who in turn only seek their own aggrandizement by manipulating the hate and fear of their supporters.
The conservative movement appears to be about conserving fear and hate about being denied an imaginary golden age when the garden of eden existed undisturbed by the real, multi-millennial movement toward progressive ideals.
The conservative movement appears to be counting on the reality of a Fool’s Ball where their elite masters give them the crown for a day, thinking they can make that last. But, like that Fool, the topsy-turvy doesn’t last. But, like the den of thieves, those that no longer serve a purpose are liabilities, liable to execution at any moment. And, they don’t realize that they aren’t even invited to that Ball anyway; because behind the scenes the next Fool has already been picked. I hear he’s already scheduled to accept their nomination, a ratification of choices that were made for them.
The conservative movement appears to be afraid of the people. They will manipulate their own and oppress any popular movement they can’t manipulate.
Until that movement wakes up enough to realize they are caught in a vicious cycle of suffering that they can just step out of by not being led in circles, I hate to say I fear this will all continue to happen again and again.
So, a warning to conservatives to be careful what they wish for: Like every story about Cthulhu, be careful that you can put down what you call up; and, don’t be so surprised when that Evil you have summoned turns around and eats you.