Scary new GOP poll

[Despanan]

Damn. This is some crazy shit. Though I suppose it's not the most impartial article:

Originally Posted by The Daily Beast by way of Yahoo News

NEW YORK – On the heels of health care, a new Harris poll reveals Republican attitudes about Obama: Two-thirds think he's a socialist, 57 percent a Muslim—and 24 percent say "he may be the Antichrist."

To anyone who thinks the end of the health-care vote means a return to civility, wake up.

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.

The belief that Obama is a “domestic enemy” is widely held—a sign of trouble yet to come.

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." These numbers all come from a brand-new Louis Harris poll, inspired in part by my new book Wingnuts. It demonstrates the cost of the campaign of fear and hate that has been pumped up in the service of hyper-partisanship over the past 15 months. We are playing with dynamite by demonizing our president and dividing the United States in the process. What might be good for ratings is bad for the country.

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."

The full results of the poll, which will be released in greater detail tomorrow, are even more frightening: including news that high percentages of Republicans—and Americans overall—believe that President Obama is "racist," "anti-American" "wants the terrorists to win" and "wants to turn over the sovereignty of the United States to a one-world government." The "Hatriot" belief that Obama is a "domestic enemy" as set forth in the Constitution is also widely held—a sign of trouble yet to come. It's the same claim made by Marine Lance Corporal Kody Brittingham in his letter of intent to assassinate the President Obama.

This poll is the latest and most detailed evidence of the extent to which Wingnuts are hijacking our politics. It should be a wakeup call to all Americans and a collective reminder, as we move past health-care reform, that we need to stand up to extremism.

John Avlon's new book Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America is available now by Beast Books both on the Web and in paperback. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.

[Ben Lahnger]

I helped a good friend moving a freezer from one apartment to another on Sunday. As we were carting it out of the first apartment, his wife text messaged him to say the HCR bill had passed. He said, "I wish someone would just hurry up and shoot Obama sooner rather than later." I was shocked. I really didn't expect that kind of statement from him.

I said, (ignoring the bigger picture of wanting a person shot), "You don't mean that? You wouldn't want nationwide race wars would you? Because the first thing that happens after he gets shot is there's violent riots in Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Atlanta, who knows where else. You don't mean that, do you?"

He said he was just joking, just expressing his frustration that he didn't think Obama represented him or a majority of Americans.

I let it go, because I was stunned. But I also recognized he didn't just come to this opinion and me telling him the facts about the last election or the real status of Americans position on HCR was going to sway him one bit.

He's a relatively moderate kind of guy, not prone to either extremist rhetoric or racism, so that leads me to believe that there's more of this out there than we might think.

And before anyone tells me I should have straightened him out, he's married to my SO's daughter, so I'm not making waves while standing in this boat.

[Mariner]

Where on earth did that whole thing about Obama not being a U.S. citizen even start? Sadly my father is letting this extremism form his opinion of the health care bill, if only he knew how ridiculous some of the things he says sound.

[CptSternn]

I was so going to post this article, but kudos for Despanan on beating me to it.

Whats really sad is a majority of people who were out fighting against the bill are the very people the bill is going to help.

[Entropic]

Honestly, this type of stuff only makes itself worse.

When the Republicans believe and actively campaign for this, people everywhere else tend to view Americans as even more ignorant than they already did.

Then, the Republicans claim that the rest of the world is looking down on America, and voice their contentions even louder.

Then, the rest of the world views the Americans as even more ignorant, and we begin to fall down in to this bottomless pit.

[vindicatedxjin]

Americans are what they are.

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by vindicatedxjin

Americans are what they are.

Thank you for contributing nothing to the discussion.

Why bother posting?

[Luv2H8]

I don't really see why everybody is so crazy about this.
I'm willing to pay a little extra if it means free health.
I don't think the doctors are too glad about it, though...

[vindicatedxjin]

Originally Posted by Despanan

Thank you for contributing nothing to the discussion.

Your Welcome

Why bother posting?

Because I can. ^_^

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Luv2H8

I don't really see why everybody is so crazy about this.
I'm willing to pay a little extra if it means free health.
I don't think the doctors are too glad about it, though...

Depends upon the doctor. The AMA supports it, but doctors tend to be wealthy and thus can get conscerned about tax hikes.

My dad is a doc. and a republican. He's kind of ambivalent.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Entropic

Honestly, this type of stuff only makes itself worse.

When the Republicans believe and actively campaign for this, people everywhere else tend to view Americans as even more ignorant than they already did.

Then, the Republicans claim that the rest of the world is looking down on America, and voice their contentions even louder.

Then, the rest of the world views the Americans as even more ignorant, and we begin to fall down in to this bottomless pit.

Yeah, America is the only industrialized country without universal healthcare, we're looking down on you because you don't have it and its absolutely insane that people die because they can't get proper care.

To make a point, Amnesty International put out a report on maternal death, and America is worse than 40 other countries, nearly all of the other industrial nations. A woman pregnant in America is five times more likely to die in childbirth than a woman in Greece. You guys have outstanding medical technology, but the poor and uninsured (especially when it comes to minorities) cannot often get the care they need.

And Sternn's right, its insane that so many people who will benefit from this tiny tiny reform are against it because people who make more money than they do might have to pay more in taxes. Its insane and I can't understand how one of the most powerful nations in the world in this day and age would rather kill itself than save its poor.

[CptSternn]

Whats really funny is that the people who are complaining the most right now are the very people who will be benefiting from the changes.

The people who make under $30,000 a year, which is most of those flag waving truck driving imbeciles, will be the ones who under the new legislation will get free medicare.

I'm just wondering how long they will continue to bitch once they find out they are the ones getting free medical services for the rest of their lives. I'm betting around flu season next year we will start seeing many of them change their tune.