Cognitive Dissonance: Why do people vote for Democrats? A Liberal State of Mind pt.8 (Attack of the Republican Blogs)

Today on your home for young Republicans: Cognitive Dissonance aka A Liberal State of Mind pt.8

Cog-ni-tive (adjective)

1. Of or pertaining to cognition.
2. Of or pertaining to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning as contrasted with emotional and volatile processes.

Dis-so-nance (noun)

1. Disagreement or incongruity.

To anyone who doesn’t know, this is the feeling of uncomfortable tension that comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.

It often increases with the importance of the subject to us, how strongly the dissonant thoughts conflict, and our inability to rationalize and explain away the perceived conflict.

Dissonance is often strong when we believe something about ourselves and then do something against that belief. If I believe I am good but do something bad, then the discomfort I feel as a result is cognitive dissonance.

For example, have you ever been involved in a relationship (romantic, personal, work, ect…) where you spent more time rationalizing the reasons why you’re staying in the situation than realizing the negative effects of staying in said relationship?

“He hits me, but that’s only because I make him mad”

“She cheats on me, but she says she’s going to change”

“I’m a Democrat because my father was a Democrat because my grandfather was a Democrat and so on”

“So what if my taxes were raised? At least I didn’t vote for a Republican”

Notice anything about those statements? They all express a contrary circular logic that dictates that whenever presented with a negative occurrence, the most effective method to deal with it is to find a way to justify it to yourself. While this behavior may make you feel better in the interim, it does nothing to address the root issue or solve the problem. Hence, the same (insert problem here) will keep occurring, uninterrupted, in perpetuity.

I could go on forever with this subject. Most people find it easier to rationalize the actuality of (insert problem here) with a self defeating detachment from reality as opposed to facing the truth. It’s the literal equivalent of continuing to drive your car with the check engine light on in the hopes that it will magically turn itself off. You can ignore it all you want, but sooner or later, your car’s going to break down. Your refusal to accept the truth only leads to your inevitable failure. And that’s truly a liberal state of mind.

Cognitive dissonance is a very powerful motivator in voting which leads people to change one or the other of their conflicting beliefs or actions regarding a candidate, bill, proposition, measure, ect. The discomfort often feels like a tension between the two opposing thoughts.

Say for example, your friend happened to be running for (pick any) office and you knew they weren’t qualified to fill the position. Would you vote for them?

Consequently, if someone you truly disliked were running in opposition to your friend, would you vote against them even though they were more than qualified to fill the position?

The juxtaposition between doing what someone sees as what they’re supposed to do and doing what’s in their best interest has been prevalent in politics forever. Think about how many communities have been harmed or neglected by Democratic leaders for decades and yet their populace still votes Democrat. It’s astonishing.

To relive the tension felt by not acting in self interest, one of three actions will occur: a change of behavior, justifying the behavior by changing the conflicting cognition or justifying the behavior by adding new cognitions.

Dissonance is at its most powerful when it concerns self-image. Feelings of foolishness, immorality and so on (including internal projections during decision-making) are dissonance in action.
If an action has been completed and cannot be undone, then the after-the-fact dissonance compels us to change our beliefs. If beliefs are moved, then the dissonance appears during decision-making, forcing us to take actions we would not have taken before.

Does any of this sound familiar? I thought it might. Keep this in mind when discussing politics with the unenlightened.

In closing, special thanks to all of our Armed Forces, the RNC, the Missouri Republican Party, the Illinois Republican Party, the College Republican National Committee, the National Black Republican Association, the Wall Street Journal, KSDK Channel 5, KTVI Fox 2 News (thanks for the follow on twitter!) Jeanette (this one’s for you) and to all of my Republican Blogs and Bloggers (We’ve already won), my Libertarian blogs and bloggers (join us), my Democrat blogs and bloggers (Stop trying to socialize America), and to all Political blogs and bloggers: Let your voice be heard. GOP in 2012! If you’re not on the right, you’re wrong. Ready by 2011 to win in 2012! Follow STL_Politics on Twitter.
References
Festinger (1957), Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)

“Obamacare” aka what happens when you put Democrats in office pt.5 (Attack of the Republican blogs)

Today on your new home for all young Republicans: Change. As you’ve all noticed, I’ve recently made some changes to my site that I think will make it more accessible to all of my readers. It’s a new look, and a new format. But as some things change-others will always remain the same. Liberals will always be idiots.

Have you ever encountered someone in a bar that happened to be so blatantly ignorant about politics that you just wanted to grab them and choke them? Someone who’s’ never bothered to research the history, agenda or voting record of any person they’ve ever voted for but who complains when their taxes go up? Someone who’s’ never came to the realization that who you put into any office (local, state, federal) directly affects what legislation is or isn’t passed and how those decisions directly affect their life?

Unfortunately (or fortunately for us in 2012), I see this type of destructive, self-deprecating behavior on a daily basis. It’s almost like most democrats are suffering from abusive spouse syndrome.

This week, in yet another example of Democrat Party lunacy, House leaders are proposing adding a tax on insurers in their bizarre attempt to reduce the price of their misguided (socialist) health care bill. Read more:

By Deirdre Walsh
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that an excise tax on high-end insurance plans, similar to the one included in the Senate Finance Committee’s health care overhaul legislation, was “under consideration.”
But Pelosi added that leaders are looking at other proposals to offset the costs of the bill.
“We have to see how much money we need, and if we’re taking the bill down in costs, there are other provisions in the Senate bill that bend the curve that might be more palatable. We’ll see,” she added.
House Democratic leaders and key committee chairmen met Friday to try to come up with a final version of the House health care bill. Much of the discussion centered on how to cut about $200 billion in costs from the measure.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the House bill costs $1.1 trillion over 10 years, but President Obama told Congress he wants a bill that costs $900 billion.
The House Democrats’ health care plan includes a surtax on wealthy Americans. The graduated tax would apply to families making more than $350,000 a year, with the rate increasing as income levels go up. But a number of freshmen Democrats argued that the initial income level should be raised so the tax doesn’t unfairly burden small businesses.
Leaders have now agreed to apply the surtax on those making more than $1 million a year. But losing some revenue from the surtax is forcing Democratic leaders to look for other sources of funding.
Democratic leadership aides say that if the House moves ahead with a tax on insurers, it would probably modify the Senate Finance Committee version, because many Democrats are worried the Senate plan would hit middle-class families.
See what happens when you put democrats in office? In closing, special thanks to all of our Armed Forces, the RNC, the Missouri Republican Party, the Illinois Republican Party, the College Republican National Committee, the National Black Republican Association, the Wall Street Journal, KSDK Channel 5, KTVI Fox 2 News (thanks for the follow on twitter!) and to all of my Republican Blogs and Bloggers (We’ve already won), my Libertarian blogs and bloggers (join us), my Democrat blogs and bloggers (Stop trying to socialize America), and to all Political blogs and bloggers: Let your voice be heard. GOP in 2012! If you’re not on the right, you’re wrong. Ready by 2011 to win in 2012! Follow STL_Politics on Twitter.

Class is Back in Session! A Republican State of Mind

Today on my Republican Blog: Class is back in Session! This is just a little something for everyone to think about when deciding who to vote for in this next upcoming election and also a life lesson for anyone who’s never taken a class in political science (you can apply this to any aspect of your life). Congrats to N. Reimer, D.W. Simon and J. Romance for enlightening the masses! The irrational actor model is coming next (thanks Wash U). And don’t forget to give thanks to our Armed Forces on this remembrance of 9/11. Enjoy:

What values, what understanding of political phenomena, and what grasp of public policy alternatives actually influence decision making? How adequate is the machinery available to decision makers? What are the consequences of our public policy decisions? How is power wielded, and how are political conflicts resolved?
To answer these questions we present the following models: (1) the rational actor, (2) the political actor, (3) the organizational actor, (4) the elitist actor, and (5) the idiosyncratic actor. While these models are not mutually exclusive, they emphasize different factors in, and different approaches to, decision making.
In the rational actor model of decision making, decision makers seek to accomplish four tasks: accurately identify the problem that confronts them; take into account the key factors that bear on the problem; critically examine alternative courses of action; and make a choice that will wisely maximize benefits and minimize costs.
In the political actor model, decision making is not essentially rational deliberation. Rather, it is characterized by decision makers involved in a struggle for power, and decisions emerge from that struggle. This kind of decision making necessitates bargaining, accommodation, and consensus, as well as controversy, conflict, bluff, threat, and even deceit. The bottom line is that key decisions are most often the result of bargaining among diverse political interests.
The organizational actor model affirms the organization’s crucial role in decision making, and it stresses the importance of the organization’s vital interests, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and capabilities. It emphasizes how the organization sees problems, obtains information, shapes alternatives, assesses costs and benefits, and makes choices.
The elitist actor model of decision making asserts that very powerful individuals or limited groups of influential people, known as elites, make the really significant decisions in politics, and they do so to protect their own self-interest and power.
Finally, the idiosyncratic actor model of decision making recognizes the role of personality in politics. Factors such as the personal intuition, communication skills, charisma, compassion, demagoguery, ruthlessness, or dogmatism of a leader become important to understanding his or her decisions. A decision maker’s role may be destructive, as in the case of leaders like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Saddam Hussein, or it may be creative, as in the case of Winston Churchill, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.

In closing, special thanks again to all of our Armed Forces, the RNC, the Missouri Republican Party, the Illinois Republican Party, the College Republican National Committee, the National Black Republican Association, the Wall Street Journal, KSDK Channel 5, KTVI Fox 2 News, my personal assistant /gf #2 Jeanette (partners in crime), Missy (don’t make me take this to twitter-say yes already), Kevin (you’ll get this…share it with your co-workers), Joe Wilson (thank you), and to all of my Republican Blogs and Bloggers (He’s lying), my Libertarian blogs and bloggers (you know he’s lying), my Democrat blogs and bloggers (seriously; you know he’s lying. Stop trying to socialize America), and to all Political blogs and bloggers: Let your voice be heard. GOP in 2012! If you’re not on the right, you’re wrong. Ready by 2011 to win in 2012! And if John doesn’t get his truck back there’s gonna be an issue. Do Remember to follow STL_Politics on Twitter.