BRAIN DRAIN

YOUR BRAIN ON POLITICS

Remember the old anti-drug ad that said your brain on drugs is fried? Something like that seems to be true of some people's brains on politics. Republicans who were running against the Washington establishment now support Mister Insider, Newt Gingrich. Evangelicals who were running against “immoral” Democrats now support Mister Infidelity, Newt Gingrich. Conservatives who oppose Freddie Mac now back it's former lobbyist, Mister Insincere, Newt Gingrich.

As I tried to make sense of that I turned to psychology and brain science blogs and found a couple of clues. First, people are very good at deceiving themselves. Those who believe adultery is a sin switch from morality to electability as the basis for their decision to back Gingrich. Those who despise Washington insiders switch to hatred of Obama as their reason for supporting him. And “everybody has to make a living” is reason enough to overlook Gingrich's career as a lobbyist.

The other insight came from a study of “group think.” This is the “to get along, go along” attitude which explains why honest men and women working on Wall Street engaged in flagrantly dishonest practices. And it may also explain why perfectly rational men and women are backing a man who was fined $300,000 for engaging in corrupt activities while serving as Speaker; number three in line to serve as President.

Between now and election day the airwaves, and on-line social media, will be awash in ads which remind voters of Gingrich's past. (Assuming he's the nominee.) But those ads won't change minds unless they directly address the self-deception and group thinking. I suggest using a grandmotherly woman in an ad in which she says, “You may want to forget his repeated adultery, but I can't and you ought to be ashamed of yourself if you do.” And one that features a man in jail who says, '”I broke the law when I was on Wall Street and am paying the price. Are you going to let Gingrich get away with his crimes and serve his time in the White House? (Head down) It's just not fair.”