Monday, February 8, 2010

They Really Are Crazy!

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

The Daily Kos web site (www.dailykos.com) hired a professional polling organization to find out what Republicans really think about many political and social issues. The poll was conducted between January 20 and January 31, 2010, and focused only on self-identified Republicans. Although many, if not all, of the views expressed by those polled reflected the type of thing put forth as news by Fox, the survey results were quickly lambasted by Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove as being a fraud.

Interestingly, even though the official Fox line was that this poll was a fraud, Fox commentator Chris Wallace drew from the survey results when he was interviewing Sarah Palin and trying to make her look like a viable Presidential candidate. When the survey asked which Republican candidate would the responders support, Sarah Palin led the list with 16 percent. Mitt Romney was second (11%), followed by "The Dick" Cheney (10%), Newt Gingrich (7%), Mike Huckabee (7%), Tim Pawlenty (3%), Ron Paul (2%), John Thune (2%) and Undecided (42%) - and of that list, "undecided" should be the most preferable!

(BTW Palin and Huckabee are Fox employees. How's that for "fair and balanced?")

Another highlight from the poll for Republicans was this: Should Barack Obama be impeached? Thirty-nine percent said that he should! (One wonders what the grounds would be, or would it simply be: "Grounds! Grounds! We don't need no stinking grounds!")

Or how about this jewel: Do you believe Barack Obama was born in the United States? (Thirty-six percent of those polled believed that he was not born in the United States, never mind the evidence to the contrary. (They don't need no stinking evidence either!)

Do you believe Barack Obama is a socialist? Sixty-three percent bought into that notion, never mind that probably none of them has any idea what a socialist really is. If Rush and Glenn yell it enough, it must be true!

The poll also asked this: Do you believe Barack Obama wants the terrorists to win?
And while only a knucklehead would believe that the Commander-in-Chief supports the other side, 24% of respondents (nearly one-in-four) thinks that our President is secretly pulling for the terrorists.

Do you believe ACORN stole the 2008 election? That's right - when you get bored with making Obama the boogie man, wheel out ACORN - an organization that works at getting minorities registered to vote - egads! A mere 21% felt that ACORN, a group of community organizers, figured out a way to get the most decisive majority since the 1980's into the Obama column on election day. Nonsense!

Here is my personal favorite: Respondents were asked if they believed that Sarah Palin was more qualified to be President that Barack Obama. Fifty-three percent of those polled felt that she would be the better President of the two! Talk about your alternate universes! Oooh-wee-oooh!

Do you believe Barack Obama is a racist who hates White people? Glenn Beck thinks so, and so did 31% of Republicans who took this poll. Can you say "paranoid crackers?"

Here is one that I would agree with: Do you believe your state should secede from the United States? Twenty-three percent felt that their state should leave the Union. Take Arizona, please!

And then they had a predictable change-up to rattle those people who were just automatically answering "yes" to everything. But there was no fooling these folks. The question: Should Congress make it easier for workers to form and join labor unions? Sixty-eight percent said no. I'm actually surprised that the number wasn't higher considering that the GOP is generally and historically been cheerleaders for big business.

Here's a good one: Would you favor or oppose giving illegal immigrants now living in the United States the right to live here legally if they pay a fine and learn English? A hearty 59% said they would be opposed to that.

Should openly gay men and women be allowed to serve in the military. Fifty-five percent said that they should not - this from the party of Larry Craig and Mark Foley! Get a grip, folks, it's the 21st century - and your kids have gay friends!

Homophobia was even more apparent with this question: Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry. Seventy-seven percent (over three-in-four) said that they should not enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Should gay couples receive any state or federal benefits? Sixty-eight percent said that they should not.

Should openly gay men and women be allowed to teach in public schools? Nope! Seventy-three percent said that they should not be allowed to teach in public schools.

Here is one that broke closer to even: Should sex education be taught in the public schools? Fifty-one percent said it should not be taught, and 42% believed that sex education should be taught in public schools.

Should public school students be taught that the book of Genesis in the Bible explains how God created the world. Seventy-seven percent said that Genesis should be taught in school.

This one had a surprising result - to me at least: Are marriages equal partnerships, or are men the leaders of their households? Seventy-six percent said that marriages are equal partnerships. (Way to go, gang! You got one right!) Thirteen percent said that men are the leaders of their families, and 11% weren't sure.

Should contraceptive use be outlawed? Thirty-one percent said that it should be. Great - like we need those people reproducing!

Or, get this: Do you believe that the birth control pill is abortion? Thirty-four percent believe that the birth control pill is the equivalent of abortion.

This one was no surprise, considering who was being polled: Do you consider abortion to be murder? Seventy-six percent of those polled agreed that abortion is murder. Men, or course, were more likely to agree with that statement than women.

Do you support the death penalty? Yes, of course, with an amazing 91% favoring that irreversible punishment.

This one might be a sign of the times: Should women work outside of the home? Eighty-six percent said they should.

And, finally: Do you believe that the only way for an individual to go to heaven is through Jesus Christ, or can one make it to heaven through another faith? Sixty-seven percent (two out of every three) said the only way to get to heaven was by following the teachings of Christ.

Fifty-six percent of the Republicans interviewed were men, and 44% were women.Eighty-nine percent were White, with other races making up 11 percent. Young voters (18-29 year-olds) made up 9% of responders, ages 30-44 accounted for 21% of those surveyed, ages 45-59 comprised 33%, and those over age 60 made up 37% of responders. Eleven percent were form the American northeast, 42% were from the south, 22% were from the midwest, and 25% were from the west. (Old White Christian men from the south - yep, that would be fairly representative of the Grand Old Party!)

Overall, with a few exceptions, the survey showed a "fair and balanced" picture of the Republican party. Many of those interviewed were quick to parrot back the crap that they have been hand-fed by Fox since the general election of 2008, but when the mirror was held up to Fox, they suddenly didn't like what they saw. Live by the manure spreader, die by the manure spreader!

Good job, Fox. Your sheep are hypnotized - hope they don't walk off of a cliff.

1 comment:

bk in MO said...

Wow.You grew up in McDonald County and believe that marriage should be an equal partnership. That's amazing. I think so, too. But most men here don't. Many of them believe a woman should either stay home and shut up, or, when the man decides to stop working, the woman should go out and get a good-paying job and support him.