Obama Derangement Syndrome—pathological hatred of the president posing as patriotism—has infected the Republican Party. Here’s new data to prove it:
- 67 percent of Republicans (and 40 percent of Americans overall) believe that Obama is a socialist.
- 57 percent of Republicans (32 percent overall) believe that Obama is a Muslim
- 45 percent of Republicans (25 percent overall) agree with the Birthers in their belief that Obama was “not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president”
- 38 percent of Republicans (20 percent overall) say that Obama is “doing many of the things that Hitler did”
- Scariest of all, 24 percent of Republicans (14 percent overall) say that Obama “may be the Antichrist.”
The poll, which surveyed 2,230 people right at the height of the health-care reform debate, also clearly shows that education is a barrier to extremism. Respondents without a college education are vastly more likely to believe such claims, while Americans with college degrees or better are less easily duped. It’s a reminder of what the 19th-century educator Horace Mann once too-loftily said: “Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up the vacancies of the soul that are unoccupied by the verities of knowledge.”
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
Tons of problems with this kind of polling and here is one response to the problems with this particular one.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2010/03/polling-on-presidential-pejoratives-.html
Thanks for sharing that, Bearman!
I think even those who do polling admit they can get the results they want by the wording of the questions. Some pollsters are more reliable than others and make every effort to ask questions in ways that might elicit the most reliable results — but I have no idea which ones those are.
I do see a great deal of incivility, a great deal of misinformation, and people who are sore losers to the point they seem not to be able to get on with their lives. Here in Kansas it’s difficult to not run into the types this poll says are out there!
True but you can bet you will have problems with online polls that get their participants via sites that offer prizes or cash for filling out surveys or taking part in other offers.
POLITICO says — Passing health care may have been a victory for Dems, but it came at a large price. Around 10 House Democrats have reported being threatened with violence and even death upon return to their districts because of their support for health-care reform, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. The FBI, Capitol Police, and sergeant at arms gave the imperiled lawmakers a briefing Wednesday, reportedly offering extra security detail after some Democratic campaign offices were vandalized. Hoyer also suggested that Republicans have not been forceful enough in their condemnation. “I would hope that we would join together jointly and make it very clear that none of us condone this kind of activity,” he said.
From the day Obama was elected, there has been a constant attack by Republicans to denigrade and denounce him as anything but what he really is – an American black man that had the audacity to beat them at their own game.
I suspect that is really what is at the core of their hatred and anger.
What we do know is their behavior reflects poorly on them, not on anyone else. When your numbers have dwindled and you’re only a regional party irrelevant at the national level, you need to attract new members, not repulse them.
Birds of a feather flock together – so those that see these rude, obnoxious people as anything but what they really are – sore losers – then I think they deserve what they get.
Unfortunately, most of these people are so dense they could not see the truth if it hit them in the face.
I often look back with as much bewilderment as I do shame, why was it I accepted so much bad about Clinton without prove or logic? I try to make evaluation in my thought process find proof before conclusions.
Except for when it came to President Clinton and then just a wisp of a hint and it was proof.
I am so seeing the same things happening today with President Obama so much so that it is causing the feeling that it is a need to fight for the future of the country. Yet I know that none if it is the truth or factual.
The other day while in Wichita a took the chance to visit with one of my best friends.
It did not go well, he has became so diluted with the falsehood and no reasoning can get through.
Even pointing to the student loan being a Government attempt to take over the people and control them!
I once was a financial aid officer for the Computer programming school I had attended.
I at least knew something about the subject and tried to explain why it is for the best for the Federal Government to take back the responsibility for the operation and sponsoring of the loans.
The Government pays banks to operate and administrate those loan with the guarantee of if there is a lost then the Feds will make good on any loan that fails. 100 % risk free for the banks and 100 % risk for the tax payers.
It takes more effort to find the truth, some people just wanna go with their gut (remember bush?).
I completely understand what you’re saying about how you felt about Clinton. We heard so much about his morals and his failures, little about his successes. And there were many of both but the ‘news’ didn’t carry what wasn’t scandalous. Scandal sells and they all have sponsors who want lots of viewers / listeners / readers.
Since the Republicans have their own ‘news’ network, they don’t have to hear about all that stuff that might cause them to think. They’ve made up their minds and facts don’t fit their mindset.
The poll may or may not be faulty, but I have been hearing from people that say these things, and more, for some time now.
There is a large contingent of gun-owning, ammunition-buying, angry citizens in this country. They say they have a large portion of the military behind them and some believe that they have God on their side. They are serious when they talk about “taking the country back.”
This is unlike those from the other side that I talked to during the Bush years that talked about taking the country back in no concrete terms. The only plan they had was protest. The people we are all discusssing now are talking armed revolt, not protest. There is a difference between civil disobedience and civil unrest.
We should take the threats seriously, from those that threaten and they should be punished to the full extent of the law. Maybe then they will understand why so many were upset at the changes in the laws under Bush, because they will find out that the government has increased powers of surveillance, seizure, interrogation and that habeus corpus has been set aside. Perhaps they will then learn to appreciate the civil liberties that the ACLU has been fighting to keep for all of us.
A long time ago — back in the spring or summer of 2007, before even the recession was publicly acknowledged — 6176 voiced his opinion that we were probably already in recession and headed for possible depression. He also voiced concern with regard to civil disobedience and the angry mob mentality.
I so miss 6176 voicing his opinions. He is wise.
I miss 6176 too. Hope all is well and perhaps he will be visiting again soon.
This is his busy season (taxes and estates…). His wife’s death, his own illness (separated by only a few months) have dealt him some setbacks so I would guess he is taking on everything he can handle this ‘season.’
He can tell us some stories about the inadequacies of health care in America!
I think he will rejoin us as his time allows. Anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Check out all these stupid videos and you wonder what ever happened to intelligent debate:
This is scary.
None of that is debate. It’s all propaganda.
What point was made? None.
What allegation was made? None.
What inference was backed up with evidence? None.
Debate includes points, allegations supported by fact and evidence.
Propaganda utilizes iconic photographs, pictures and images, nationalistic themes, religious themes, stirring music and carefully considered words and phrases to plant an idea in the mind of the viewer.
Sorry that we have so many practiced propagandists in our country. Just goes to show the state of the nation.
Sad to say, this is another example of the dumbing down of America has obviously been successful.
An internal battle is brewing between Washington state’s governor and attorney general over a plan to join a challenge to the constitutionality of a national health care overhaul bill passed by Congress.
Wow! I LIKE her!! She is sharp. She was on point, she was well-informed and her tone was confident and serious with controlled anger that inferred a no-nonsense plan of action on the issue. She sure sounded like she was going to fix HIS wagon!!
No wonder she’s the Governor. She makes more sense than a lot of male govs I’ve heard.
Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania was on RAchel Maddow’s show and was talking about his AG joining that lawsuit against health care.
I think Mr. Rendell put it quite nicely when he said that his AG was a nice guy but he is too good of a lawyer to be involved with this type of lawsuit.
That about sums it up – some of these people know fullwell there is no legal standing to their lawsuit – they just want to appear to their fellow Rabid Republicans that they are going to fight. No reason or hope of reversing it – just to fight.
Rabid Republicans are just like a pack of rabid dogs – destruction looking for a place to land.