bible-clutching red-state fatties

[Paul Mackin]

On Fri, 2004-11-05 at 22:59, sims wrote:
> >
> >listen:  kerry, especially toward the end, ran on a straight-up 
> >class platform.  he was directly addressing the concerns of the 
> >rank-and-file, the lower-middle and middle working classes.  he 
> >spoke directly to their economic future, to the practical concerns 
> >of their lives.  that they chose to ignore him, to, as thomas frank 
> >says, strike a blow against wall street by voting republican, means 
> >one simple thing:  that the majority of this country is acting 
> >directly against their own interests, which is to say, irrationally. 
> >they are voting for 'national identity,' for america as a brand name.
> 
> Does logic sell cars?
> Do rational decisions guide 'consumer' purchases?
> 
> Of course not.
> 
> Emotions, basic human drives, fears & dreams drive purchases.
> 
> The consumers purchased a presidential product which was sold to them
> by sophisticated merchandisers that toyed with emotions.
> 
> voting = purchasing
> 
> Simple images which drive basic fears & emotions made shrub pres.
> 
> Logic/rationality is nice but it ain't gonna sell cars or ice cream.
> 
> Single words like Terror which the consumer then pours his own personal
> bogy man into the provided mold motivate sales.  These are slick 
> sales guys who know how
> to close a deal.
> 
> Fear was more powerful than logic in this case.
> You cannot rely on logic alone to make sense or understand human actions.
> 
> That's how I look at it from my own personal bomb shelter here in Valletta.
> 
> sims
> 
> 


The way I look at it, it was the three Gs.

Gays
Guns
God

These fear issues overcame any repugnance felt for the war.