The Dish - Andrew Sullivan Options for this story I have long been puzzled not by legitimate opposition to various policies but by the frenzy of it. I can only explain it by the sense that the Civil Rights Revolution of the 1960s was the defining event for a certain generation, that the backlash to it was seen as a restoration of the right people running the country (i.e. no minorities with real clout), and that Clinton’s and even more Obama’s victories meant this narrative was revealed as an illusion. This is compounded by racial and cultural panic – against gays, immigrants, Muslims, Latinos etc. This mindset – what I have called the “fundamentalist psyche” – is what is fueling the rage. It’s what fueled the belief that Romney was on the verge of a landslide. It is inherently irrational. It knows it is headed for defeat. But it will take down as much of the country, economy and constitution as it can while doing so. For this time, as they surely know, Reconstruction will not be on their terms. They have no agenda because the country they live in is a refutation of their core identity. So race fuels this – perhaps not explicitly or even consciously for some, but surely powerfully for many. And we are reaching a perilous moment as their defeat nears. After that, the rage could become truly destabilizing, unless some kind of establishment Republican leadership can learn to lead again. Until then, we have the miserable picture of John Boehner, a man who in years to come may well be seen as the most pathetic excuse for a Speaker in decades.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 02:56:50 +0000
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