H.L. Mencken wrote that “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins.” Good advice as it is very effective. However, it tends to lend itself to one particular party: the right-wing.
In psychology, we study this under this under several terms, just as Terror Management Theory, System Justification Theory and Ecological Fitness. As Janoff-Bulman (2009) describes it, a conservative mindset is protective or avoidance based, designed to protect a group from threats or dangers. Makes sense why the military is very conservative as the two just fit.
Now if you want to get a group of people to vote conservatively, it is best if they are born with a high sense that the world is a dangerous place. As Jost et al. (2007) wrote, “uncertainty avoidance (e.g., need for order, intolerance of ambiguity, and lack of openness to experience) and threat management (e.g., death anxiety, system threat, and perceptions of a dangerous world) each contributes independently to conservatism (vs. liberalism)” (p. 989).
And as a close second, if they aren’t born with these predilections, make them fearful. Repeatedly, we find that having people exposed to threats, making them think about their mortality, creating fear makes people more conservative. Its why the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been credited with moving American politics towards conservative values (Hetherington, & Suhay, 2011; Huddy & Feldmen, 2011; Murphy, Gordon, & Mullen, 2004).
Unbelievable, given this really well established connection, the democrats decided it would be a great idea to initiate Ebola as a campaign issue, with Senator Mark Pryor using Ebola responsiveness to critique his Republican competitor, Tom Cotton. It didn’t take long for the conservatives to thank them for the reminder and soon Ebola and ISIS, described as the “the two horsemen of the present American apocalypse,” dominated the political discussion (yes, above crumbling infrastructure, education and energy). Where the Center for Disease Control reports that the yearly flu will kill a few thousands if not tens of thousands, the number of Ebola cases (not deaths, just cases) in the U.S. is four.
The result was a disastrous midterm election for the liberals and Mark Pryor entered the history books as becoming the “the first U.S. Senator in history to lose a general election coming off a victory in which he faced no major party opponent on the ballot.” And now that Ebola has served its purpose, it all but immediately dissappeared from the news cycle.
If you get this, well consider yourself ahead of the curve. I’m writing a paper on national culture and how it changes (hence all the references as I had them handy) and thought the pragmatic use of Ebola by conservative interests would make a great example. And aside from an oblique reference by our own Dr.Daryl R. Van Tongeren, there wasn’t a single person or post making the connection between Terror Management Theory or System Justification Theory and The Ebola Midterm Elections. Not one. Whether they are formally making the connection or not, I think the conservative party has got the principle locked down, so they can be excused. On the other hand, perhaps the liberal party, who seem to have mastered other basic psychological principles like implementation intentions, have some remedial homework to do. You don't need me to tell you got a failing mark. The left-wing strategy here wasn't even within sight of good.
Hetherington, M., & Suhay, E. (2011). Authoritarianism, threat, and Americans’ support for the war on terror. American Journal of Political Science, 55(3), 546-560
Huddy, L., & Feldman, S. (2011). Americans respond politically to 9/11: Understanding the impact of the terrorist attacks and their aftermath. American Psychologist, 66(6), 455-467.
Janoff-Bulman, R. (2009). To provide or protect: Motivational bases of political liberalism and conservatism. Psychological Inquiry, 20(2-3), 120-128.
Jost, J. T., Napier, J. L., Thorisdottir, H., Gosling, S. D., Palfai, T. P., & Ostafin, B. (2007). Are needs to manage uncertainty and threat associated with political conservatism or ideological extremity? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(7), 989–1007.
Murphy, E., Gordon, J., & Mullen, A. (2004). A preliminary study exploring the value changes taking place in the US since the September 11, 2001terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Journal of Business Ethics, 50(1), 81-96.