The Nut Of The Issue

This quote of Harry Reid speaks volumes:

"Mr. Reid said that in 40 years of public service he had not had a tougher relationship [with Bush].

"'He is impossible to work with,' the senator said. 'There are times I say: 'Is there something more I can do? Have I done something wrong?' But even his own people tell me he won't compromise.'"

This quote encapsulates the problem Democrats have with Republicans. The modern Republican party takes this dynamic and burns the opposition.

Here's the deal. It's a chronic condition in American culture to believe that an individual has some sort of control over others around them. It's stems from a cultural history of abusive parenting. When children are abused (at whatever level), they develop a fantasy that if the child had just done something different, they wouldn't have been hurt. For example, "if I had just picked up my toys before dad came home, my (drunk out of his mind) father wouldn't have beat the crap out of my mother" or, "if I was funnier my mother would have been happy". Parents unwittingly perpetuate the myth with blaming, lack of insight, dishonesty, and lousy communication that says to the child, "it's always your fault."

Put another way, it's a self protective mechanism that naturally occurs in kids to maintain a sense of power in the midst of a powerless situation . Without that power fantasy and survival sense, children simply will not thrive. This occurs to all children in all families. In healthy families, children (with the help of caregivers and significants in their lives) are taught that this fantasy is wrong, delusional, and not operational in the adult world.

But what if the fantasy is not un-learned? Taking that ingrained delusional myth into adult relationships is disastrous. And Harry Reid demonstrates one aspect of it. Reid's belief that, in some way as yet undiscovered after nearly eight years, if he just finds the right formula he can turn Bush around. That leaves Reid with a sense of power .... and incredible frustration as his fantasy is proven wrong over and over again. Yet, most adults will hang on to this mythic power-over-others fantasy despite all available life experience to the contrary (teaching old dogs new tricks anyone?) because the perceived risks of trying something different can be overwhelming (see: Democrats, captitulating over and over again). Incidentally, the Republican party and Bush demonstrate the same dynamic except they play the role of the abuser. But that's another post.

But Harry? You know what? Here's the fact.

Bush is a disordered individual that cannot be controlled or influenced except by being confronted. He, and his sort (see: Cheney, Rumsfeld, Addington et. al.) with the the help from the perceived power of some of the most disordered of people (spare the rod, spoil the child-evangelicals) have moved the Republican party in the direction of their pathology. They cannot be reasoned with, they can only be fought. Like an abusive husband, you can't change em'. You can only confront them and take care of yourself. And until the Democratic party learns this lesson, they will continue to be the whipping boys of the Republicans.