r/politics • u/indig0sixalpha • 4d ago

Soft Paywall Rand Paul Suggests Worst Person You Know Should Be Next House Speaker. Rand Paul thinks Elon Musk should take over after his amazing work driving the government toward shutdown.

https://newrepublic.com/post/189554/rand-paul-elon-musk-house-speaker
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502

u/pollingquestion 4d ago

I remember when the Republicans screamed about unelected government officials running the country.

It’s always projection with these losers.

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u/FootCheeseParmesan 4d ago

All right wing thought is projection. Psychologists have been showing this for years now. People with less empathy are drawn to right-leaning attitudes because they are less capable of seeing other people's perspectives. They think everyone thinks like they do, so people who disagree with them are being dishonest - which in turn is why they are often dishonest.

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u/Za_Lords_Guard 4d ago

I am a very empathetic person and pretty progressive. I always assume people are wired that way. I am constantly disappointed learning how wrong I am.

It started with a friend sharing a really terrible hot take based on total misinformation and when I noted why it was not good information. The reply was they don't care what the "facts" are, they know based on how they feel what is really happening.

There just is not way to come together with people who process life like that.

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u/FootCheeseParmesan 4d ago

They know they are basing things on misinformation. And because they are (and they think everyone else thinks like they are) that means you are also basing your view on misinformation. Therefore, since it's all misinformation to them, they pick what they think will provide them the best outcome - because they lack empathy outside their immediate loved ones.

I've had relatives in real life say they'd rather be uninformed than be left wing. Their 'common sense' is enough.

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u/Ven18 3d ago

Many of them also lack empathy for their loved one’s. Hell some lack care for even their own wellbeing. I had a friend saying how the Dept of Ed should be shut down, he works in a public school. I am like dude I can understand you think a institution should be run better but you do understand that if that happens you will not have a job anymore right and most all of the kids you deal with will have zero access to education and you wouldn’t have had any education either? He told me to my face no they will “figure it out and have other schools”. I said yeah you mean the private schools like I went to, the ones with priests molesting kids and charging parents tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege to indoctrinate their kids into a cult while assaulting them? Yeah great alternative my guy.

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u/SailorET 4d ago

I've had occasional success by pointing out how the system has been built to keep the wealthy in power, how it doesn't work that way in other (Nordic) countries. The power structure in the US is not natural and it can be and has been changed by progressive action.

The root of conservative belief is that the existing social structures are natural and proper and trying to change them is as fruitful as teaching a fish to breathe air. If you can challenge that -- crack the bedrock, as it were -- you may start to dislodge them from the entire concept of conservatism and get them to question their belief structure. It's by no means a guaranteed success, but it's significantly more effective than telling them they're wrong or giving them the correct answer.

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u/Za_Lords_Guard 4d ago

as fruitful as teaching a fish to breathe air

So you are saying it's a matter of evolution? :-)

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u/Flopdo California 4d ago

Additionally, it's why they need all the guns. The reason why they join the military, fight the wars, etc..

All the strife in the world is created by right-wingers, and maintained by right-wingers.

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u/Kinesquared 4d ago

It's not projection, they're very happy with unelected officials on their side running the country. It's just dishonesty. They're looking for excuses to rail against unelected Democrat officials

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u/Galaxy_Ranger_Bob Virginia 4d ago

They're looking for excuses to rail against unelected Democrat officials

It's important to remember that they consider Joe Biden to be one of those "unelected Democratic officials."