"Staunch" Reactionaries
So, my father is describing to me some character from his past by saying "Now, you've got to remember that he was a staunch Republican…."
He paused, and we both wondered why it so frequently happens that Republicans are described as "staunch".
"Perhaps," I suggested, "staunchness is required if they are to believe even half the silly doctrinal ideas that they pretend to believe in so strongly."
We nodded thoughtfully. That sounded like a pretty good reason, we thought.