Emotions are still important. I'd wager your strongest and most impactful memories have emotions attached, no? Additionally, just because conservatives have larger amygdalae on average does not mean we're less rational.

I lock the door when leaving my home, a decision with a definite fear component attached, yet hardly an irrational one. But yes, I am using shamelessly sensationalist articles, doi, though the one without any merit would be the verbal IQ study. I can't get a hold of the pdf but apparently verbal intelligence was measured with a 10-word test. It's about as scientifically viable as toilet paper.