Easily Observable...

...without a scientific study. Of course republicans and democrats cannot reason. I am beginning to question that same quality about the official Libertarian Party and the Free State Party Project. Too bad they were not tested using this proceedure...

Democrats and Republicans alike are adept at making decisions without letting the facts get in the way, a new study shows.

And they get quite a rush from ignoring information that's contrary to their point of view.

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"We did not see any increased activation of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning," said Drew Westen, director of clinical psychology at Emory University. "What we saw instead was a network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be involved in resolving conflicts."

Bias on both sides
The test subjects on both sides of the political aisle reached totally biased conclusions by ignoring information that could not rationally be discounted, Westen and his colleagues say.

Then, with their minds made up, brain activity ceased in the areas that deal with negative emotions such as disgust. But activity spiked in the circuits involved in reward, a response similar to what addicts experience when they get a fix, Westen explained.

The study points to a total lack of reason in political decision-making.

More here...

I have noticed that since the campaign of 2004, whenever anyone starts with "you can blame the (insert your opposing political party here) for the current problems...", I automatically disassociate that person from rational behavior or thought. They are simply caught up in the propoganda of (insert your favorite political party here) and are incapable of rational discourse about whatever subject was being discussed.

"There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
-- James Madison, speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 16, 1788