John W. Dean: Republicans rule, rather than govern, when they are in power, by imposing their authoritarian conservative philosophy on everyone, as their answer for everything... Ruling, of course, must be distinguished from governing, which is a more nuanced process that entails give-and-take and the kind of compromises that are often necessary to find a consensus and solutions that will best serve the interests of all...
Republicans' authoritarian rule can also be characterized by its striking incivility and intolerance toward those who do not view the world as they do. Their insufferable attitude is not dangerous in itself, but it is employed to accomplish what they want, which is to take care of themselves and those who work to keep them in power...
The leading authority on right-wing authoritarianism, a man who devoted his career to developing hard empirical data about these people and their beliefs, is Robert Altemeyer. Altemeyer, a social scientist based in Canada, believes about 25 percent of the adult population in the US is solidly authoritarian (with that group mostly composed of followers, and a small percentage of potential leaders)... They are people who, in Altemeyer's words, are "so self-righteous, so ill-informed, and so dogmatic that nothing you can say or do will change their minds."...
The fact that the pre-election polls are close -- after eight years of authoritarian leadership from Bush and Cheney, and given its disastrous results -- shows that many Americans either do not realize where a McCain/Palin presidency might take us, or they are happy to go there. Frankly, it scares the hell out of me... If Obama is rejected on November 4th for another authoritarian conservative like McCain, I must ask if Americans are sufficiently intelligent to competently govern themselves.
