Why No Republican Compromise: Not mentally capable?

A CNN story this morning caught my eye. Actually it was more than that; I was almost shocked by the implications.

Political Affiliation	Willing to Compromise	Stick to Beliefs
Independents	49%	24%
Democrats	59%	18%
Republicans	32%	41%

These numbers alone are pretty scary. According to CNN, "Forty one percent of Republicans questioned in the survey say it is more important for lawmakers to stick to their beliefs even if little gets done." Imagine if the Democrats adopted that same rigid unwillingness to compromise. Our government would come to a standstill.

Coincidentally I read a fantastic article yesterday called Neuroscience and Fundamentalism by Kenneth M. Heilman and Russell S. Donda (sent to me by reader cipher – thanks!).

According to Heilman and Donda, there may be genetic reasons for why some people have more flexible beliefs than others:

How is it that one person can find it utterly intolerable to believe anything other than a given interpretation of religious doctrine, while another appears comfortable with adding his or her own meaning to the same literature? It is conceivable that the mystery underlying these distinct approaches arises from a not often considered, yet key difference in brain function.

In other words, some of us may be biologically programmed to be inflexible! I encourage you to read the whole fascinating article; I can't do it justice with a few quotes.

But there's more. Heilman and Donda go on to say that the tendency towards fundamentalist thinking can be amplified

Is the Collective Republican IQ Really This Low?

Here's a rather frightening poll. If these statistics are true, the Republican party should be ashamed of itself. Either that, or else the collective IQ of the Republican Party is so abysmal it's not smart enough to be ashamed. According to a new poll:

• 57% of Republicans still believe Obama is a Muslim. (Ironic, given that he actually may be a closet atheist.)
• 45% of Republicans still believe Obama wasn't born in the United States, even though the State of Hawaii produced his official birth certificate, and a notice of his birth was published in the newspaper.

You think those numbers are scary? There's one more:

• 24% of Republicans think Obama is the antichrist. (Do they even know what an antichrist is?)

I think I'm in the wrong line of work. Spreading truth and wisdom is such an uphill battle, maybe I should give up and instead just spread drivel that people want to believe. It's so much easier.

How can people believe this utter nonsense in the face of clear and compelling facts?

I'd be willing to bet that the the fraction of Republicans who believe this drivel are the same ones who were raised in fundamentalist, evangelical churches.

Sarah Palin: The REAL Bush Clone

I try to keep this blog about religion and atheism, but this morning's news was just too much.

SARAH PALIN, not John McCain, is the Bush clone. A New York Times article has a subtitle that says it all: "Palin's sharp elbows transformed town."

The article documents how Palin turned Wasilla, a congenial small Alaskan town, into a divided community. When she arrived, the town was run by cooperation and consensus; by the time she left, her "polarizing single-mindedness" had split the town in two.

It began with the election itself, which Palin won by introducing irrelevant, polarizing, national issues into small-town politics. Abortion rights, her ultra-conservative religious views, her membership in the National Rifle Association – all of these things played a big role in her campaign, even though they are virtually meaningless when it comes to running a town of 9,000 people. "We will have our first Christian mayor," became a rallying cry for her supporters.

Personally, I just can't see how being a Christian has much to do with whether to approve a new Target store, or which streets should be paved, or whether the teachers should get a raise. And it's hard to imagine how her membership in the NRA would help, either. But help it did, to get her elected, that is.

Once elected, the fun really started. The town had been run by a non-partisan, professional city manager, but Palin turned it into an us-versus-them polarized city. She demanded the resignations from city employees who had supported her opponent in the election, something unheard of in the small town. The public works director, the police chief, the city planner, even the museum director! All were fired.

Then the real bombshell: Palin ordered that nobody was to talk to the media without Palin's permission.

Does any of this sound familiar? Palin is the real Bush/Cheney clone, not McCain. Palin's record for dividing her constituency, and for being secretive and controlling, would make Bush proud. McCain has a lot to learn from Sarah Palin if he's going to fill George Bush's shoes!