Republican Poll

[sleigh]

The Daily Kos engaged the polling company Research 2000 to poll self-identifying Republicans on various issues. Below are a few selected tidbits, but you really should go read the entire poll.

A few selected results:

Do you think Barack Obama is a socialist?
Yes: 63%
No: 21%
Not sure: 16%
"I don't think that word means what you think it means."

Do you believe Barack Obama is a racist who hates White people?
Yes: 31%
No: 36%
Not sure: 33%
The closeness of this one is frightening. And a third of respondents aren't sure?

Should openly gay men and women be allowed to serve in the military?
Yes: 26%
No: 55%
Not sure: 19%
Actually, the 26% in Yes is higher than I thought it would be...

Should same sex couples be allowed to marry?
Yes: 7%
No: 77%
Not sure: 16%
No surprise here, I suppose.

Should openly gay men and women be allowed to teach in public schools?
Yes: 8%
No: 73%
Not sure: 19%
Again, no surprise. Just a sad sigh... and boy, they'd really hate my university.

Should public school students be taught that the book of Genesis in the Bible explains how God created the world?
Yes: 77%
No: 15%
Not sure: 8%
Good grief. Let's make our students really stupid.

I found the poll interesting, in a sad sort of way -- though in fairness, a few of the results somewhat surprised me...

Do you believe the birth control pill is abortion?
Yes: 34%
No: 48%
Not sure: 18%
I really thought more would hold to the view that a birth control method that some contend prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus is the equivalent of an early abortion. Nearly half are saying "No"

Are marriages equal partnerships, or are men the leaders of their households?
Men: 13%
Equal Partnerships: 76%
Not sure: 11%
Again, I expected a higher percentage of patriarch proponents here. Glad that 76% actually contend it's an equal partnership, but I'm sorry for the 13% and wonder why 11% can't make up their minds... But this question should have been rephrased to say "Are marriages equal partnerships, are men the leaders of their households, or are women the leaders of their households?" I'd have found that to be more interesting.

Should women work outside the home?
Yes: 86%
No: 4%
Not sure: 10%
That's pleasingly overwhelming -- as I expect it would also be if self-identifying Democrats were polled. It's good to see we've made some progress in the last century.

*********

It'd be interesting to see results of the same poll with self-identifying Democrats, and then with self-identifying independents. I suspect the latter poll could conceivably be chaotic -- but that's the one in which I'd really be interested, since Independents are a large bloc of the voting population (that's where I place myself.) It might answer the question as to whether those who don't self-identify with one party or the other lean significantly left or right, or whether they're just all over the map.

Comments

Re: it would be really interesting

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

The only two options are "man" or "woman", but the numbers are broken out that way on the link. There are some questions where there's a significant difference: for instance, on "Do you believe Barack Obama is a racist who hates White people?", 34% of the men say yes, as compared to 27% of the women. But usually the difference in percentage seems to be relatively small.

Re: pretty odd that 34 percent of those guys

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

:-)

[the-corbie.livejournal.com]

Surely this:

Should public school students be taught that the book of Genesis in the Bible explains how God created the world?

is just an appallingly badly worded question? I mean, Genesis is an account of how God created the world, so in that sense the question can be seen as a no-brainer. The issue is whether it should be taught as a credible or even literal account of how the world actually came into being, a matter the question as written (wrongly in my view) assumes as implicit.

I could see how respondents could be confused by that question. I certainly don't think it's sound enough to draw any conclusions from the responses.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I don't know that I agree. To me (at least) it's clear that what's meant is that Genesis should be taught as the explanation for our world and universe. Still, yeah, could it have been re-worded to make it crystalline clear? Yep.

I would agree with you that I think Genesis should be taught, as should all the various creation myths. But I'd also add that if it's taught, it should be in a religion and mythology class, and absolutely not in a science class.

[the-corbie.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'd rather creation myths and indeed all religious education were *not* taught in schools, except in a sort of anthropological context: but realistically that's not going to happen even here in atheistic old Europe. ;)

I can read the question both ways, but the point is that even if only a quarter of respondents or less read it wrongly, the figures would be much different. Still awfully depressing, but different.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Too many on the far right are clinically insane.

This is not new; many on the right (then the Dems) used the Bible to justify slavery in the early 1800s. What's new is the percentage. The conservative news media has helped create a generation of utter morons.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

I really thought more would hold to the view that a birth control method that some contend prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus is the equivalent of an early abortion. Nearly half are saying "No"

-->Because they're probably mostly Protestants, not Catholics or radical fundies. Protestants are allowed to use birth control in general, so would naturally have a more moderate take on the ramifications. Catholics, by contrast, are indoctrinated with all sorts of foolishness. (Though of course plenty of Catholics do use birth control.)


Again, I expected a higher percentage of patriarch proponents here. Glad that 76% actually contend it's an equal partnership,

-->There is a big difference between thinking it is an equal partnership and actually having an equal partnership.



That's pleasingly overwhelming -- as I expect it would also be if self-identifying Democrats were polled. It's good to see we've made some progress in the last century.

-->Motivated by an increased belief that women are capable of working, or by an increased need for two incomes in the household? Women going to work may have initially been motivated by the then-radical and liberal belief that women are entitled to work outside the house if they choose, but I'm sure that a certain percentage of conservative men saw their friends living richer with the second income and that was a big motivator to relinquishing their old prejudices.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Good point on that last one. Economics is always a huge motivator, and it can conquer lots of prejudices.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Oh, and you're almost certainly right on the first point as well -- it's largely the Catholic Church that seems to think birth control pills = abortion.