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September, 2006

3. Book Review: Conservatives Without Conscience

John W. Dean from Watergate fame (1972) who blew the whistle on Richard Nixon and forced the President to resign from office has written an interesting book which has remained on the non-fiction bestseller list for six weeks now. The thesis of his book, Conservatives Without Conscience, is that the Republican party has moved far right of center to incorporate authoritarian and elitist personality types who prefer black and white answers to social policy. He cites social psychological research by Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, and Malle on “Social Dominance Orientation, reported in the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 1994), 741-763, and John Burnham’s analysis of conservatism found in the late 1950s. The gist of the articles is that authoritarian leaders attract authoritarian followers who don’t question their leaders’ motives and policies. The direst historical consequence of these actions led Hitler to power in World War II and the annilation of over six million Jews in the Holocaust.

Dean also cites Stanley Milgram’s research in the 60s using college students who unwittingly delivered bogus shocks to “prisoners” who were uncooperative in a role-playing scenario which led to the study of authoritarian personality types. Dean cites George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay, Karl Rove, Bill Frist, and Pat Robertson as Machiavellian personalities who demanded loyalty above any other quality. This cultist mentality can have dire consequences ranging from insular thinking and policies to manipulation and deceit. Regardless of your political orientation, the thesis is that free thinkers who question and challenge are threats to authoritarian leaders (nothing new here) and find themselves looking for work elsewhere.

Dean’s book brings into question “the authoritarian character of contemporary conservative beliefs, attitudes, and prejudices and how these are expressed in policy and practice” ( from book jacket). The executive branch is given enormous latitude to make policy without the usual checks and balances from the legislative and judicial branches of government. Presidents issue executive orders based on scant evidence and impulsive actions that dictate policy rather than vice versa. Lyndon Johnson could have been accused of usurping his presidential powers in the Gulf of Tonkin incident that led to American troop increases in Vietnam; Reagan likewise in his invasion of Grenada, George Bush (No. 41) in his invasion of Iraq to protect Kuwait’s sovereignty (and our oil interests) in 1990;or George W’s entry into Iraq in 2005 in the fight against “terrorism” following the 9-11 attack by radical Muslims.

Religious authoritarianism also takes a hit in Dean’s book when Christian conservatives take their religious beliefs into the political arena (AKA Pat Robertson and James Dobson). Fundamentalism of any religious faction is questioned by Dean as blind allegiance to beliefs without empirical evidence (so called faith position). This insular thinking can lead to embarrassing consequences as evidenced by Robertson’s recent remarks about Sharon’s recent stroke as a sign from God that Israel should not give up their land in the West Bank. (Robertson later issued an apology).

Dick Cheney is the epitome of “conservatives without conscience” in a Howdy Dowdy, Buffalo Bob unkind analogy of Cheney’s relationship and behind the scenes influence on George W. Bush. Cheney’s “one percent doctrine” aptly described in Ron Suskind’s book of the same title dictates that if there is a one percent chance of some evil portend to the United States, then we should treat this statistic as a “certainty” and take action as if it were a 100% certainty.

Newt Gingrich, Jack Abramoff, and Tom DeLay are other examples of “conservatives without conscience” which led to DeLay’s resignation from his house majority leader seat in Congress because of allegations of kickbacks and bribes. Dean estimates that about 25% of adult Americans are right-wing authoritarians who are scared, self-righteous, dogmatic, and ill-informed who would march America into a dictatorship. This is a scary statistic as evidenced by late-night talk radio and conservative websites that espouse elitism and blind loyalty to action dictating policy.

Whether you are liberal or conservative this book is grist for thought. You don’t have to agree with Dean but his points are cogent and thought-provoking. In a nation founded on democratic principles and checks and balances, we must carefully defend the right of informed voters to make their own decisions independent or rhetoric and unfulfilled promises. Spiro T. Agnew (of Nixon fame) once described “the silent majority” as those voters who have a stake in American policy; let’s hope that the remaining 75% of this “silent majority” speak out and elect leaders who will honor the democratic process and pluralistic republican form of government.

Helpful Hints:

1. Read Dean and Suskind’s books to see if you agree with their main thesis; then read a liberal approach to solving America’s problems. Notice the similarity in the far left and right approaches to solving problems.
2. Reread the founding Fathers’ Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation to review the principles underlying our democratic form of government.
3. Listen to Rush Lindbaugh and Ann Coulter and notice the hyperbolic rhetoric based on character assassination rather than factual evidence.