In a recent poll, conducted by Daily Kos, 2003 self-identified Republicans were asked various questions to gauge their attitudes about current political issues, and particularly their opinions about President Obama.
When asked whether President Obama should be impeached, 39% said yes and 29% were not sure. Never mind that as grounds for impeachment the President must be guilty of breaking the law. No evidence exists to support impeachment; they just feel like he should be. President Obama is, after all, black and Democrat, which is evidence enough of skulduggery and treason in the cynical hearts of that 39%.
When asked whether Obama was born in the United States or not, 36% of polled Republicans said he was not--22%, not sure. That points to a significant percentage unwilling to acknowledge the legitimacy of Obama's presidency. It gives them a basis on which to declare, he's not my president, notwithstanding the discredited fiction of the initial premise.
63% of polled Republicans believe that Obama is a socialist. I assume in the minds of Republicans "socialist" is synonymous with "un-American" akin to communist, and definitely in opposition to their unarticulated concept of "freedom." It troubles that 63% not that there is no evidence that Obama is other than he is, a left-of-center moderate. Liberals are pissed that he isn't socialist! But when you crowd against the wall of the lunatic fringe of the extreme right, everything to the left looks perversely liberal.
This one kills me: 24% of the polled Republicans believe that Obama wants the terrorist to win, with 33% not sure, thinking maybe, maybe not. Christ almighty! In the words of John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious!" To believe that Obama is in league with Bin Laden is confirmation of delusional thinking, fueled by paranoia, and the need for psycho-therapeutic intervention.
53% believe Sarah Palin is more qualified to be president than is Obama. 33% are not sure, and presumably need more time to think about it, not that all the time in the world to do so will result in any cogent, well-reasoned conclusion. This hits on the issue of competence and wisdom. People who possess any appreciable degree of competence attended by wisdom recognize the same in others when they see it, and instantly sense it when it is lacking. Fact: In the arena of competence Sarah Palin is to Barack Obama what an eight-man pee-wee league is to the NFL.
Asked whether President Obama is a racist who hates white people, 31% said yes, 33% not sure. Close and bolt the door shut to the room in your brain where reason resides, and get a load of this retarded logic. Obama is half-white, half-black. His mother is Caucasian. Therefore, Obama hates his mother, and presumably half himself. I guess all those white people in his administration are just window dressing to lure in all white people into believing that he actually likes white people. Then, one day, having lulled all the white citizens of the United States into complacency, BAM!, all the honkies will be rounded up by employees of ACORN and incarcerated in cracker concentration camps and brainwashed into accepting Muhammad as their personal savior. Please.
23% believe that their state should secede from the union. 68% do not want Congress to make it easier for workers to form and join labor unions. 51% do not want sex education being taught in public schools. 77% believe public school students should be taught that the book of Genesis is a factual account of how God created the world. 31% are of the opinion that contraception should be outlawed. 67% believe the ONLY path to salvation is through Jesus Christ.
The wide, open arms of Christ's compassion were not present in the poll with regard to undocumented Hispanics and homosexuals, shocking as that may be.
The wide, open arms of Christ's compassion were not present in the poll with regard to undocumented Hispanics and homosexuals, shocking as that may be.
Let's call these people what they are: premodern, angry, scared, ethnocentric, insane and intellectually unfit to formulate reasoned, logical opinions. Oh, here's a statistic for you. 83% of those polled intend to vote in the upcoming 2010 Congressional elections. Look out.
Geez- living in Oklahoma, the only all red state, I already feel like I am in a Cracker Concentration Camp! Only one run by idiotic mouth breathing homphobic rednecks.
ReplyDeleteI heard something interesting recently. That when reacting out of fear, the brain does not engage logic. Fear is a response tied to the mammalian and lizard brain, and not wired directly to the cerebral cortex and the frontal lobe. Hence, the angrier people are about stuff, the less logical they are.
ReplyDeleteI would like to ask those 67% who believe that the only path to salvation is Jesus Christ this: Exactly, what does that mean?
ReplyDeleteThese people are stupid, we know that, and they probably can feel it too. Unfortunately, telling them they are stupid is probably not the way to influence them. To help them help themselves they need to recognize their own interests instead of using their own morals to subjugate them to the rank and file of the GOP--a party clearly not in their best interests but a party that wears the mask of their perceived values. Racism probably fuels much of their hatred for Obama, and let's face it, that's going to take some more time to change--if it can ever be changed.
Pedantic grammar question:
Is it "The wide, open arms of Christ's compassion was not present in the poll with regard to undocumented Hispanics and homosexuals, shocking as that may be." or "The wide, open arms of Christ's compassion were not present in the poll with regard to undocumented Hispanics and homosexuals, shocking as that may be." ( 'were' substituted for 'was')
The Lawyer: Mercutio, Thanks for pointing out the grammar issue--corrected. Like you say, how in the heck do you begin to communicate with people that are so possessed by scared, whacky thoughts?
ReplyDeleteWe did a couple of pieces on this. This whole dang "Tea-Bagger" paradigm scares me speechless..well not speechless but I think you get my point :-)
ReplyDelete