Republicans Are Falling Victim to Groupthink on Iran
The word “groupthink” gets tossed around a lot these days — usually by people who couldn’t define it if you handed them a glossary. Over the years, I’ve had MAGA types accuse me of suffering from groupthink simply because I criticize Trump —as if pointing out a pattern of authoritarian behavior makes me the problem. But groupthink isn’t just a buzzword or a cable news insult. It’s a very specific psychological phenomenon, and it’s one we’re watching play out in real time.
It’s always easy to diagnose groupthink after the disaster. No one ever wants to admit they were part of it when the consequences start unraveling like cheap stitching. But as someone who’s been immersed in studying groupthink and the many disguises it wears in politics, I can tell you: if it walks like a pressured consensus, quacks like a silenced dissent, and runs headfirst into a wall while telling you it’s a strategic plan? That’s groupthink.
And we are watching it in real time. The Republican Party’s reaction to Trump’s military strikes in Iran has been a showcase in fractured loyalty and performance-driven unity. Some officials hesitated at first — voicing concern over escalation, legality, or optics — but as the pressure mounted, the chorus fell into tune. Within twenty-four hours, senators like Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, and Mitch McConnell were celebrating the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities as a bold success. Because that worked out so well for us with Vietnam. Or Iraq. Or the Bay of Pigs.
Declaring victory days into an international crisis is not just historically shortsighted — it’s strategically unserious. In 1961, the Bay of Pigs was launched with the belief that Cuban exiles would topple Castro and democracy would flourish. Instead, U.S.-backed forces were outgunned, outmaneuvered, and left to fail. President Kennedy had to eat the loss. In 2003, we dropped bombs in Iraq with confidence, then spent the next decade getting dragged through insurgency, regional destabilization, and a PR nightmare so toxic it birthed “Mission Accomplished” as a cultural punchline. But sure, this time will be different.
https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/republicans-are-falling-victim-to