http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/02/the-intolerance-party-gop_n_274355.htmlIdeologues incite the base with wild rhetoric and pinning their hopes on a "great American awakening" that will bring neocons into power. Conservative strategists, OTOH, see the party's growing intolerance as a death knell.
The ideologues are winning.
"Nobody helps the cause when they use name-calling instead of substantial criticism," says strategist Charlie Black, a senior adviser to almost every Republican presidential campaign since Ronald Reagan first ran."
Click the link.
My POV is that neoconservatism is a form of political fundamentalism. As research has shown at the core of political conservatism is a deep-set resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality. Some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:
* Fear and aggression
* Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
* Uncertainty avoidance
* Need for cognitive closure
* Terror management
In short, neocons are ideologues and one cannot reason with fanatics. Perhaps the time has come for the need to recognize that very few individuals are completely conservative or completely progressive and address the issues.
In my experience, neocons are more willing to give in to the compulsion to create and punish scapegoats.
