Are Democrats "Emotional Thinkers"?

Which is to say, they don't really think that much, they FEEL more than anything else, and act accordingly. A study has been done that pretty much says just that. Neal Boortz has a look at it here:

THE DUMBING DOWN OF DEMOCRATS

[...] It looks like we have a high-powered brain scientist serving as the latest advisor to the Democratic party. Drew Westen conducted research which leads to his conclusion that politicians – liberal politicians -- should try and appeal to people's emotions, rather than bogging them down with data and facts.

Where did we first find out about this research? Why, at the ultra-left wing "Take Back America" convention, that's where. The study was presented by researcher, Drew Westen, a psychologist and brain researcher at Emory University in my hometown of Atlanta.

Here's the ironic part of his study. It sounds to me like Dr. Westen is basically telling democrats that their constituents are stupid. He is telling democrats to appeal to constituents' emotions because "it doesn't make sense to argue an issue using facts and figures ... or to count on voters to make choices based on sophisticated understandings of policy differences or procedures." And there you have it. Avoid the facts, just go right for the heart!

Dr. Westen is suggesting that manipulating a voter's emotions is better than boring them to tears with sophisticated understandings. "Sophisticated understandings? What's that? Sounds to me like just a phrase denoting basic worldly knowledge, or being an educated citizen. Mr. Westen says, "[The brain] prefers conclusions that are emotionally satisfying rather than conclusions that match the data."

Message to Democrats. Don't bore your constituents with facts. Just tell them whatever makes them comfortable, warm, happy and all fuzzy.

Hmmmmm .... Not boring constituents with facts. Does that sound at all like the global warming cultists? But, I digress [...]

(bold emphasis mine) It's worth reading the whole thing. Some of the
recent comments by Global Warming religionists are a perfect example of "emotional thinking" in action. They are attempting to whip up the emotions and create hysteria, in order to silence the opposition and stop reasoned debate and argument. That is the only recourse of people whose arguments will not hold up to scrutiny; prevent the scrutiny from happening.

The Irony is that Drew Westen is using his study to advise the Democrats that they can only win elections through emotional manipulation, and if that requires being negative about the opposition, they should go for it.

Emory University Professor Drew Westen, right, and Associate Professor Stephan Hamann, left, look over a computer generated composite of a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, FMRI, picture of a brain on Emory University's campus in Atlanta. (AP)
The Democrats already have a reputation as being the party of negativity. Yet time and time again, Americans elect optimists in presidential elections. Drew Westen's strategy sounds like a losing one to me. You can read more about his study here:

Hearts over minds, he tells Democrats

For more on the topic of "Emotional Thinking", see Born Again Redneck Yogi's essay here:

"The spirit is willing...