The Duck of Minerva

Cognitive dissonance

by Dan Nexon

11 July 2008, 1958 EDT

Depending on how one looks at it, the fact that some Democratic Hilary Clinton supporters are willing to betray everything she stands for in order to “punish” the party for nominating Barack Obama is either perplexing, amusing, or just plain sad.

Not that there aren’t plenty of reasons why someone would support McCain over Clinton and Obama. But the rank ordering of Clinton > McCain > Obama–for anyone with actual policy concerns–is simply bizarre. Which may be why the commentary at such websites is so vicious and vile that it makes a online Halo 3 game full of 12-year olds look like the height of civilized discourse.

But sometimes the dissonance is right there in front of one’s eyes… like on the front page of the supposedly pro-Hillary “Hillbuz.” Take a look at the screen capture after the jump:


For added fun, check out Obama supporters explaining that Clinton voted “the right way” on the FISA bill for nefarious purposes.

What’s the easiest way to defeat Democrats? Sit back and let them eviscerate one another.

Daniel H. Nexon is a Professor at Georgetown University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service. His academic work focuses on international-relations theory, power politics, empires and hegemony, and international order. He has also written on the relationship between popular culture and world politics.

He has held fellowships at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation and at the Ohio State University's Mershon Center for International Studies. During 2009-2010 he worked in the U.S. Department of Defense as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow. He was the lead editor of International Studies Quarterly from 2014-2018.

He is the author of The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe: Religious Conflict, Dynastic Empires, and International Change (Princeton University Press, 2009), which won the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) Best Book Award for 2010, and co-author of Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order (Oxford University Press, 2020). His articles have appeared in a lot of places. He is the founder of the The Duck of Minerva, and also blogs at Lawyers, Guns and Money.

Daniel H. Nexon is a Professor at Georgetown University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service. His academic work focuses on international-relations theory, power politics, empires and hegemony, and international order. He has also written on the relationship between popular culture and world politics.

He has held fellowships at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation and at the Ohio State University's Mershon Center for International Studies. During 2009-2010 he worked in the U.S. Department of Defense as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow. He was the lead editor of International Studies Quarterly from 2014-2018.

He is the author of The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe: Religious Conflict, Dynastic Empires, and International Change (Princeton University Press, 2009), which won the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) Best Book Award for 2010, and co-author of Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order (Oxford University Press, 2020). His articles have appeared in a lot of places. He is the founder of the The Duck of Minerva, and also blogs at Lawyers, Guns and Money.

0 Comments