Steven Greenhut: Counseling for would-be secessionists
2012-11-16 14:46:05  SACRAMENTO – Psychiatrists talk about the
progressive stages of grief people experience after suffering a
devastating loss in their personal lives, moving from denial to
anger to bargaining (i.e., trying to strike a "deal" with a
higher power) to depression and, finally, to acceptance.
Political scientists ought to come up with a similar series of
"grief stages" for people grappling with a devastating political
loss. Case in point: Republicans, who were convinced that voters
would grant them the White House after four years of failed
Obama administration policies.  Discouraged political activists
have been expressing denial, anger and depression. Currently,
they are going through a stage that should be termed "fantasy,"
where they advocate ideas that will never come to fruition and
pretend there's a quick, fun solution to deep political problems
that will be solved over time and through hard work and vision.
For instance, more than