Conservatives Without Conscience Quotes

“Social conservatism and neoconservatism have revived authoritarian conservatism, and not for the better of conservatism or American democracy. True conservatism is cautious and prudent. Authoritarianism is rash and radical. American democracy has benefited from true conservatism, but authoritarianism offers potentially serious trouble for any democracy.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Probably about 20 to 25 percent of the adult American population is so right-wing authoritarian, so scared, so self-righteous, so ill-informed, and so dogmatic that nothing you can say or do will change their minds,”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Conservatives without conscience do not have horns and tails; if they did they would be easier to identify. Many of them can be quite pleasant, but at heart they are tough, cold-blooded, ruthless authoritarians. They are limited in their ability to see the world from any point of view other than their own, and they are narrow in their outlook.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:5–7; emphasis added).”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“But on a more pedestrian level, he found it difficult for most right-wingers to talk about any subject about which they felt strongly without attacking others. This heightened level of aggressiveness has a number of psychological roots.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“If you think [the United States] could never elect an Adolf Hitler to power, note that David Duke would have become governor of Louisiana if it had just been up to the white voters in that state. —PROFESSOR BOB ALTEMEYER”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“More specifically, the study established that the various psychological factors associated with political conservatives included (and here I am paraphrasing) fear, intolerance of ambiguity, need for certainty or structure in life, overreaction to threats, and a disposition to dominate others.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Conservatism is not inherently moralistic, negative, arrogant, condescending, and self-righteous. Nor is it authoritarian. Yet all of these are adjectives that best describe the political outlook of contemporary conservatism. I make these observations not as an outsider, but as a conservative who is deeply troubled by what has become of a treasured philosophy. Conservatism has been co-opted by authoritarians, a most dangerous type of political animal.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Our societies presently produce millions of highly authoritarian personalities as a matter of course, enough to state the Nuremberg Rallies over and over and over again. Turning a blind eye to this could someday point guns at all our heads, and the fingers on the triggers will belong to right-wing authoritarians.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“An authentically popular American fascism would be pious, antiblack, and, since September 11, 2001, anti-Islamic as well.”98 Are we on the road to fascism?”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“What actually occurred was that the Supreme Court issued its abominable opinion in Dred Scott v. Sanford in 1857, asserting that slaves were neither citizens nor persons under the Constitution; that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories; and that the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “all men are created equal” referred only to white men.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“They are nattering nabobs of negativism.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“American-style despotism is possible only if it has a large and influential base, and that potential exists in the religious right’s active role in the political arena.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Our founding fathers understood that republics were vulnerable; they knew that “many republics in history, such as the Roman republic, had been replaced by despots,”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Right-Wing Authoritarian—Followers: • men and women • submissive to authority* • aggressive on behalf of authority* • conventional* • highly religious • moderate to little education • trust untrustworthy authorities • prejudiced (particularly against homosexuals, women, and followers of religions other than their own) • mean-spirited • narrow-minded • intolerant • bullying • zealous • dogmatic • uncritical toward chosen authority • hypocritical • inconsistent and contradictory • prone to panic easily • highly self-righteous • moralistic • strict disciplinarian • severely punitive • demands loyalty and returns it • little self-awareness • usually politically and economically conservative/Republican”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Social Dominators—Leaders: • typically men • dominating* • opposes equality* • desirous of personal power* • amoral* • intimidating and bullying • faintly hedonistic • vengeful • pitiless • exploitive • manipulative • dishonest • cheats to win • highly prejudiced (racist, sexist, homophobic) • mean-spirited • militant • nationalistic • tells others what they want to hear • takes advantage of “suckers” • specializes in creating false images to sell self • may or may not be religious • usually politically and economically conservative/Republican”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Nothing shows lack of conscience better than bold-faced lying.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“• They travel in tight circles of likeminded people. • Their thinking is more likely based on what authorities have told them rather than on their own critical judgment, which results in their beliefs being filled with inconsistencies. • They harbor numerous double standards and hypocrisies. • They are hostile toward so many minorities they seem to be equal-opportunity bigots, yet they are generally unaware of their prejudices. • They see the world as a dangerous place, with society teetering on the brink of self-destruction from evil and violence, and when their fear conflates with their self-righteousness, they appoint themselves guardians of public morality, or God’s Designated Hitters. • They think of themselves as far more moral and upstanding than others—a self-deception aided by their religiosity (many are “born again”) and their ability to “evaporate guilt” (such as by going to confession).”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Research finds that authoritarian aggression is fueled by fear and encouraged by remarkable self-righteousness, which frees aggressive impulses.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s Hardball has made similar observations, and describes today’s Republicans as the “Daddy” party and Democrats as the “Mommy.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“the “queen of mean,” Ann Coulter,”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“how have conservatives succeeded in coalescing as a political force? The simple answer is through the power of negative thinking, and specifically, the ability to find common enemies.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Political scientist Clinton Rossiter, considered one of the first neoconservatives, answered this question head-on, and unlike his peers, honestly, in his early study Conservatism in America, stating correctly that America’s political roots were “progressive” and the United States was conceived out of “a Liberal tradition.”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

“Conservatives seek the wisdom of the past, not the worst of it,”
― John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience