I like to think--at least I hope--I'm not the only one with his mouth hanging open at the amazing level of projection here.

contradicting a Conservative can never by solely an intellectual exercize, it will usually be perceived as an attack on the Conservative's character, morality, and general worth as a human being.

...Fear of being wrong, a romantic/heroic inner narrative, authoritarianism...all combine in a wickedly self-reinforcing mental structure.

Yeah. Where are we seeing a lot of this here?

One of the generalizations I can make about "the Conservative mind" is that it feels a constant and generally unconscious need to put down other people who disagree.

I'm sure insufferably smug, self-congratulating insults and simple-minded generalizations about your opponents don't fall into this category.

It might be instructive to go over the past few weeks or months on the board and see who's been generating the obscenities and personal insults. Make a chart of supposed liberals and conservatives, and plot the points.