GOP Debaters on the Couch

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Produced by: 
KBOO
Air date: 
Mon, 09/21/2015 - 12:00am
Psychology of the Republican candidates' appeals
Psychologist Jan Haaken offers a psychoanalytic interpretation of the Republican debate last week, drawing out the way these candidates mobilize human anxieties over threats, mostly imaginary, and longings for a strong, protective leader. Progressives need to go beyond the tendency to frame these tactics as simply "negative campaigning" and expose the paranoid and pathological ideas that fuel right-wing campaigns--ideas that Democrats also often employ, but less crudely.  
Photo credit: DonkeyHotey
 

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