The 'Commander In Chief' Cultists

That's the easiest way to describe who (besides the rich and the religious right) make up Bush's base.

In my catharsis entry this morning, I described the diehard Bush supporters as "authoritarian cultists ... advocating for the policies of fascism, and speaking as if we lived in a military dictatorship". These are the people who cry 'treason' when anyone questions their Leader (with a capital "L") and who speak of America as if it were a fragile flower facing immediate peril (think Cuban Missile Crisis x 9/11 and you have the worldview they live in). See the previously-linked Blogs For Bush (or check out Free Republic) for a look inside. They truly believe that if Bush were to be removed from office (or even scolded!!!), that we'd be 24 hours away from total annihilation. I don't know how they will handle it when 2009 arrives.

Meanwhile, all the pundits are gleefully declaring censure a dead issue (after only a few days?- jeez, people, it takes the Senate two weeks to debate funding farm equipment, give the censure debate some time!) and insisting this move will be what rallies the conservatives back to the President's side. Wishful thinking, most likely. A few bloggers are analyzing this line of thought and have compiled a few links here.

Glenn Greenwald:

There is a palpable increase in the level of extremism and desperation among Bush followers as the Commander in Chief's approval ratings fall lower and lower and as the views which Americans have of both him and his party become more hostile. This is going to be a significant dynamic -- as their power slips further and further away, Bush followers are going to resort to increasingly radical and rage-fueled measures to keep it...

...Many of them have become convinced -- or convinced themselves -- that it is literally a matter of their immediate and personal survival that the country be controlled by Republicans devoted to the neoconservative mindset. Many of them actually believe that if those who deviate from that worldview gain political power, that they will be irradiated or blown up by Al Qaeda. And then still others are just so filled with rage and contempt for "liberals" (meaning anyone who is not a Bush supporter) that those sentiments are, by themselves, sufficient to push them into extreme and irrational thought as they lose more and more power.

Jane Hamsher (Firedoglake):

In the face of a 33% Presidential approval rating, the New York Times quotes oodles of Republicans this morning who admit that their base is so disspirited that their only hope of holding them together is the Bush Cargo Cultist fear that the Chief Jeep will be impeached.

If that's all they've got, the Feingold resolution has clearly demonstrated that the wingnut tank is on empty...

Andrew Sullivan:

But you only have to watch O'Reilly or read Powerline or listen to Sean Hannity or David Horowitz to know that the only thing that really gets them fired up any more is loathing of liberals. The only way the GOP base will be motivated to vote for an incompetent, exhausted, fiscally insane administration is if they get to vote against "libruls". Michael Moore, the Daily Kos, Paul Krugman, George Clooney, et al. are therefore the GOP's last, best hope this fall. ... My gut predicts a huge swing against the GOP this fall. So watch out for the anti-left hate and hysteria from Republicans. It's coming. It's all they've got left.

What people like Karl Rove fail to realize is this- the type of people the censure/impeachment specter will rally back around Bush are the ones already in the 33-37% who support him in these current polls. They're the cultists. All the rest are gone... perhaps forever. The President's numbers have been this low since August. The 63-67% of Americans who have abandoned Bush have seen the Emperor is wearing no clothes and it will take alot more effort to fearmonger them back into supporting the President. The polls have held steady because all that the President has left is his base, who will never abandon him. They refuse to acknowledge this reality and that level of denial is part of the reason that they are in this state.

The President got here because of a failure of leadership. Complaining that people are pointing that out is not going to save him.