To the famous list that only two things are certain, death and taxes, famous University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein now adds a third: consciousness of one’s own mortality produces greater support for President Bush and Republicans. I’m not making this up.
Sunstein refers to some recent findings of “mortality science”:
(a) Suppose that people are merely reminded of their own mortality–by being asked, for example, to describe “what you think will happen to you as you physically die and once you are physically dead.” After that reminder, and in answering seemingly unrelated questions, they show stronger support for President Bush and his policies in Iraq.
(b) After people are reminded either of their mortality or of the September 11 attacks, they become more favorably disposed toward Bush and less favorably disposed toward John Kerry.
(c) Both mortality salience and a reminder of the September 11 attacks had similar effects–in increasing support for Bush among liberals and conservatives. Astonishingly, the reference to the terrorist attacks increased support for Bush among liberals even more than among conservatives.
I don’t think the latter is so astonishing, since liberal support for Bush had so much more room to grow, but never mind.
Sunstein’s article suggests a winning ad campaign for Republicans: “You’re all going to die, so vote Republican while you can.”
“Sunstein’s article suggests a winning ad campaign for Republicans: “You’re all going to die, so vote Republican while you can.””
It also fits in with their irresponsible deficit spending: let the future pay the bill, and by the way, it won’t be you.
Is this the great “Culture of Life” I’ve heard so much about from right wingers?
–Cobra
Notice that people were more Republican when reminded of their own mortality. I guess the flipside is that one is more of a Democrat if the person dying is someone else (say, children in the womb).
conservatives are more realistic than liberals. we realize that possibilities are limited, that every choice forecloses another choice, and that life has alot of sadness. the entire liberal platform is about how everyone can everything for nothing. liberals did not use to be like that. the civil rights people were about how to change things within a real framework, how to work with different people, how to appeal to our better nature. now it’s all america is evil, we’re all rotten and stupid and that we stupid people should be able to somehow fix things so that everything is perfect.
That isn’t even a vague sequitur, Cobra. It makes no sense.
David writes:
>>>”That isn’t even a vague sequitur, Cobra. It makes no sense.”
Ok. Let’s explain…
>>>”The phrase “culture of life” is a rhetorical term arising from Roman Catholic doctrine, used frequently by Republicans in United States politics. It is shorthand for a concept that human life, at all stages from conception through to natural death, is sacred. As such, a “culture of life” is opposed to practices seen by its proponents as destructive of human life, such as embryonic stem cell research, abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and war. The culture of life has often been contrasted by politicians and religious figures with a “culture of death”. As such, it serves as a code word that appeals to a politician’s main demographic without having to mention any of the issues that may cause dissent.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Life
So when Prof. Sunstein accurately depicts the “death” strategy capaign of the GOP all sorts of ironies spew forth.
Less vague now, David?
–Cobra
It’s nice to know some liberals are so concerned about deficit spending, considering they were the ones with the purse strings for most of the last 60 years of deficit spending (the sole exception, of course, being during Bill Clinton’s tenure when the Republican Congress didn’t allow him to spend as much as he wanted). I can’t WAIT to see what expenditures Democrats will want to cut spending on if they regain power. Oh wait, they think taxes aren’t high enough. I keep forgetting.
Less vague now, David?
I didn’t say it was vague. I said it was a non sequitur.
Leaving aside your usual questionable summation — Sunstein didn’t “depict” any “death strategy”; he depicted some social scientists’ findings, and speculated about what they would mean for the fate of the two parties — the two things have nothing to do with each other.
There is precisely zero “irony.” Reminding people that they are mortal in no way conflicts with, contradicts, or relates to the rhetoric about the ‘culture of life.’
Perhaps Cobra’s living in a cartoon world, where walking off a cliff won’t cause you to fall until/unless you look down, and anyone who remains oblivious to his own mortality really won’t die? Unless you think awareness of one’s mortality causes mortality, there is no irony here at all.
I actually just DRAW cartoons, but find humor in 3D reality.
David writes:
>>>”Reminding people that they are mortal in no way conflicts with, contradicts, or relates to the rhetoric about the ‘culture of life.'”
I disagree. The current Karl Rove strategy isn’t simply “reminding people they are mortal.” If that was the case, then the GOP would be emphasizing quality of life reforms like health care for ALL citizens, and further regulations on industrial pollution…etc–goals that would help increase the quality of life.
That, unfortunately, is not the tact they’ve taken. They’ve perfected the art of pimping FEAR.
TODAY’S GOP wants the American public to fear for their lives from “terrorists” behind every rock, or illegal immigrants “invading” our country.
Now that Saddam is gone, the GOP wants you middle America to think that Iran’s president will be storming the beaches of Cleveland next week.
And with this hysteria, the GOP wants you believe that THEY are the only ones who can protect you.
Any foreign leader who takes issue with US foreign policy is either “Hitler” or “an appeaser, just like with Hitler”…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11159503/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,210989,00.html
It’s not so much, “Vote Republican before you die,”
as much as it’s “Vote Republican OR Die.”
–Cobra