The 6 Most Bizarre Freakouts Over Obama’s Re-Election

From Talking Points Memo courtesy of BuzzFlash:

The re-election of President Obama last week was just too much for some conservatives to handle. Although the doomsday pronouncements of the past four years have yet to materialize, some Americans couldn’t help themselves from freaking out over the news that the president will be here for one more term.

TPM has compiled the six most bizarre reactions to Obama’s victory.

More here.

And this is quite a fun list, including the spiteful revenge firings I've already blogged about, bizarre investment moves by the wealthy, racist student riots, and more.  Right-wing nuttery continues to be alive and well.

Indeed, I've got a sense that it's going to be around for the foreseeable future.  I had a friendly argument on facebook with a liberal friend who was pointing to conservative establishment figures starting to do a bit of soul searching as evidence that the tide might be starting to change.  I shot back with history: the exact same thing was seemingly happening in the first few weeks after Obama was first elected back in 2008.  But then Rush Limbaugh gave his infamous "I want Obama to fail" speech, followed very quickly by CNBC business reporter Rick Santelli's on-air live rant which lead to the birth of the Tea Party movement.  In spite of the electorate's rejection of far right conservatism, in spite of the financial crisis laying conservative economic assumptions to waste, conservatives doubled down on their bullshit, and have ridden it all the way into yet another devastating defeat.

And that's what they'll do again.  They have to.  How on earth can they reevaluate their most sacred notions?  If they moderate themselves on gay marriage, if they change their tune on immigration, if they start to question their cherished slogan that "government is the problem," then what are they?  Well, they're Democrats, that's what they are.  And deep down they know it.  That is, this is about identity.  These ideas are deeply intertwined with who they believe themselves to be.  They can't abandon them.  To do so is tantamount to mass suicide on a psychic level.

That's why they're going to triple down on discredited conservative values.  Just wait and see.  This is a runaway freight train on a collision course with the brick wall called reality.  It's going to take a lot more than just a Democratic Electoral College smackdown to change conservative minds.  It's going to take something spectacular.  Like the specter of large scale armed insurrection.  And even then, lots of them will probably go down fighting.

It won't be pretty.

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