So far, the Republican-controlled 114th Congress has attacked women’s reproductive rights and savaged undocumented immigrants. Now they want to bully the Administration into attacking Iran.A classic Psychology Today article summarized the voluminous research on bullies. Usually they are hotheads who believe that aggression is the best way to resolve conflicts. Often they perceive provocation where it does not actually exist. They start fights. They have a strong need to dominate and typically pick on those perceived as weaker.Longitudinal studies indicate that while bullies may start out with normal intelligence levels, their aggressive behavior ultimately impairs their intellectual functions.One psychologist observed that bullies “are experts at using short-term payoffs. They’re not very good at long-range things that are in their best interest.”The Republican congressional behavior is classic bullying: “repeated, aggressive behavior intended to gain power over another.” Research suggests that bullies typically have low self-esteem. Republicans act the way they do because they’re deeply insecure; they doubt their masculinity. This explains why the GOP-dominated Congress, mostly white men, bully women, racial and ethnic minorities, and most anyone who doesn’t agree with them. It also explains their adoration of “manly” leaders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vladimir Putin, and Bibi Netanyahu.Now Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has scheduled bellicose Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress on March 3. Netanyahu will provide his opinion of US negotiations with Iran – why they won’t work. It’s an attempt to bully the Obama Administration into attacking Iran.Read More.Source: The Progressive Populist/BOB BURNETT