Research 2000 just released a big poll commissioned by Daily Kos, asking self-identified Republicans nationwide all sorts of loopy questions and getting, predictably, all sorts of loopy answers. The full poll is pretty entertaining reading, but here’s a little table summary of the highlights, from Bruce Bartlett, whom you all should be reading:
Andrew Sullivan has a very thoughtful post on the origin of the virulent reactionarism that today defines the Republican party:
What you begin to realize is that on a whole host of issues, the GOP is going backward in areas of social tolerance, as they marinate in their own paranoia and purge every non-ideologue from their ranks….There is a profound insecurity and dysfunction in these subcultures which cannot make the transition to modern life and thereby surrender more totally to the ancient past and to hatred of those who succeed.”
Bruce is rather more direct, concluding that “between 20% and 50% of the party is either insane or mind-numbingly stupid.”
Well I’m a little partial toward that explanation myself these days, but couldn’t you say that about the members of most every political party across all times? So 63% of Republicans think Obama is a socialist. In 2006 I bet a giant chunk of self-described Democrats would have answered affirmatively to the question, “Do you believe George W. Bush is a fascist?” Or following Katrina, how many would have said yes to, “Do you believe George W. Bush is a racist who hates black people?” And the number who thought George W. Bush should be impeached was probably off the charts.
The rest of the poll shows the GOP to be pretty solidly anti-union, anti-immigrant, and pro-Jesus. No real shocker there. Just as a poll of Democrats during some particular apex of resentment against Bush would show them to be pretty solidly pro-union, pro-immigrant, and more mixed-bag about Jesus.
But, the rabid homophobia, the birtherism, the cranks who think they want to secede from the Union: it’s very disturbing stuff, to be sure; but I also notice the very high percentage of “not sure” responses. I don’t think these are the typical cynical “not sures” of politicians (ie., “do you think your opponent is a Martian Nazi ManBearPig?” “Well I’m not sure, you’ll have to ask him that.”). I think the 55% of people who weren’t sure if ACORN stole the 2008 election have no bloody idea what the hell ACORN is.
Also, most people just don’t follow these things at all closely, and I think we really overestimate the degree to which folks spend time wondering whether the president of the United States actually wants the terrorists to win, or weighing the pros and cons of their state seceding from the Union.
Fox News certainly encourages such narratives, but contrary to perception, nobody really watches Fox News. The top Fox shows, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck, only get around 3 milion viewers a night. By contrast, American Idol gets 30 million viewers; Two and a Half Men gets 17 million (seriously?); Repeats of “House” get 8 million viewers.
Finally, this poll was of self-identified Republicans, and a WaPo/ABC poll from 3 months ago found only 20% of Americans self-identify as Republicans. We’re talking about a fringe of a fringe here. Or as Lindsey Graham says, not a party, but a club. A crazy racist homophobic Jesus club, but a club nonetheless.
0 Response to “Putting Crazy Polls in Perspective, A Little Bit”