A CLOSED SYSTEM

For several years I've thought that American movement conservatives are more a religious movement than a political one, in part because of conservative's anti-empirical approach to the world, in part because so many of them think they have eternal and universal values, like this clown:

...dynamic conservatism’s timeless values of fiscal conservatism, individual responsibility, a strong defense but smaller central government, federalism and reliance on free enterprise

In the LA Times, Neal Gabler also notes conservatives unreality:

Rationality won't work because their arguments are faith-based rather than evidence-based.

Gabler correctly notes that this leads to movement conservatives' success despite being in the minority on most issues:

You cannot beat religion with politics, which is why the extreme right "wins" so many battles. The fundamentalist political fanatics will always be more zealous than mainstream conservatives or liberals. They will always be louder, more adamant, more aggrieved, more threatening, more willing to do anything to win. Losing is inconceivable. For them, every battle is a crusade -- or a jihad -- a matter of good and evil.