Not rivals. Enemies.

Right-wing conservatives view Democrats and liberals generally as enemies, not rivals.  If you want to understand our apparently crazy politics today, it's critical to recognize this.

Democrats and the now-dwindling faction of reasonable Republicans have traditionally seen one another as rivals - opposing sides playing the same game.  Even though they are contending against one another, they share a common set of principles and a common belief in the value of the game itself.  Rivals are trying to best one another according to the mutually accepted and respected rules of a game.  This is as true in politics as in sports - rival parties accept to function within a system and to abide by its rules and norms, because ultimately they share a faith in the system itself, and they share a stake in it.

In an important sense, rivals are collaborators: two players, or two teams are required for the game to take place.  Both players/teams must play by the rules in order for the game to make sense and have some meaning and value for themselves and for the audience.  Despite the competition, there is a real element of common purpose and shared values.  Among rivals, the principles of sportsmanship, fair-play and mutual respect can abide - indeed, they're normal.  When the game is over, the players shake hands and may even go out for a drink afterwards.

Two rival parties can vie for power in a constitutional democratic republic without seeking to destroy one another, since they actually have important, indeed essential, values and interests in common.  The soundness of the republic itself, for one.

To understand today's reactionary right wing, one must understand that they do not perceive the Democrats as respected adversaries on the playing field, or as rivals for the upper hand in the temporary management of our common enterprise.  They see the Democratic Party and liberals in general as enemies who are bent on destroying their country and their way of life.  They see Obama as the embodiment of this destructive intent.

If you believed that your country, your way of life, the safety and well-being of your family and your community, indeed everything that you value and care for, were under attack and in danger of being destroyed utterly, what would you not do to preserve them?  Would you not resort to any means possible?  Wouldn't talk of rules and norms and comity and collegiality strike you as irrelevant to the enormity of the struggle?

That is the psychology of today's right wing reactionary.  He perceives himself besieged and under attack.  He feels that his way of life is at stake.  He believes that his country is on the verge of irrevocable estrangement from his values and his beliefs.  And he's right.  The times are changing, and changing for good.

So what does he have to lose?