mrshowrules: About seven-in-ten (71%) know that the Republican Party is considered to be the more conservative party.

Really! 50% would have this right by guessing. That means, on the most fundamental political question possible, Americans are marginally more aware than a possum with a head injury.

My take away from this is that Americans are just incredibly ignorant.

/sorry


But todays GOP isn't really conservative.

A fiscal policy that refuses to discuss revenue isn't conservative.
A social policy that restricts the rights of individuals isn't conservative.
A healthcare stance that takes away a states right to regulate itself isn't conservative.

We don't have conservatives and liberals in this country. We have Regressives and Moderates.

I have a hard time understanding the "right" answer to which party is more supportive of small government. I would answer "the Democrats". The GOP pays lip service to smaller government. But in practice they enlarge it more than the Democrats do.

Reagan was famous for saying that he wanted to shrink government to the point where it could be drowned in a small bathtub. But he increased spending faster than any president since World War II.

Now whenever I point this out, someone always pops up and says the spending was the fault of the Democratic congress. But the Democrats always gave Reagan a budget within 2% of his request. And in the case of the 2%, they gave him 2% LESS than he asked for.

So I would be one of those with the "wrong" answer, and therefore "ignorant". But I would claim the person who said the right answer was the GOP is the ignorant one.

I've found conservatives to be far more tolerant and accepting of people that spout racial epithets. Stupid libs just get all judgmental.

The widest gap -- 30 points -- came on a question about which political party is "generally more supportive of reducing the size of federal government." Seventy-six percent of Republicans, but only 46 percent of Democrats, correctly named the GOP.

That's because it's a goddamn lie, and apparently 54% of Democrats know it.

Biased poll is biased.

"conservatives" love reading about how great "conservatives" are.

My only comment on the "unfriending on Facebook" thing is that, in my experience, my liberal friends occasionally post stories and editorials slamming conservatives and conservative policies, whereas my conservative friends obsessively post seething hatred of Obama and everything liberal and nothing else. I would give conservatives some credit for really standing for their principles if their principles weren't just so much derp.

"A March 2012 Pew report, entitled "Social Networking Sites and Politics," found that 28 percent of liberals have "blocked, unfriended or hidden someone" on social-networking sites because of their political postings, compared with 16 percent of conservatives."

I find that my conservative friends on social networking sites tend to post political commentary at a much higher rate than my centralist or liberal friends. Additionally, the conservative commentary tends to be more simplistic, inflammatory and factually incorrect. They're also more likely to engage in flame wars when their views are challenged. Also, I like to engage with people who can form their own opinions and not with people who want to debate whatever opinion they were spoon-fed from Fox News or Rush.

So of course I block their posts. Their political opinions are effing retarded and it clutters up my wall.


"The widest gap -- 30 points -- came on a question about which political party is "generally more supportive of reducing the size of federal government." Seventy-six percent of Republicans, but only 46 percent of Democrats, correctly named the GOP."

Depending on how you classify "size reduction", that may not be a factually correct statement. Slashing 20 or 30 departments doesn't count for much when you continue to increase the size of the DHS and DOD as the GOP has traditionally done. Both could gobble up those savings in a heartbeat.

Personally, I'd answer with "none of the above".


"According to Brooks, conservative-headed households give 30 percent more to charity than liberal-headed households, on average, although liberal families' incomes are higher."

Define "charity". I suspect that their study may be manipulating what constitutes a charity in order to make their numbers look better. Tithing to your church doesn't count IMHO. Of course, they probably exclude my donations to Planned Parenthood, regardless of the number of non-abortion services they provide.

From the article:

Liberals tend to explain policy disagreements by imputing evil motives like selfishness to conservatives, while conservatives (more charitably) tend to view liberals as well-meaning but misguided.

Farking NOPE.

NNNNNNNNNNNNOPE.

That's the baldest faced lie I've seen. They think liberals are Communist Satanists hell bent on raping all white Protestant children because socialism. Well, sure, maybe there's a healthy little chunk of Republicans that think liberals are misguided good guys, but god almighty, DO YOU EVEN WATCH FOX NEWS? They think there's a War on Christmas!

I mean, think about. You and I both know there's no war on Christmas. But what kind of person would outright declare war on Christmas? That's right. That's the kind of person they think liberals are.

Primum:

More liberals delete "conservatives" on FB than the other way around because conservatives' views are so warped by outright lies and are so out of touch from reality these days that they warrant ZERO respect

Q.E.D. I've heard this argument before "Well, we have no respect for (Jews/Blacks) because they (control the banks/breed like vermin) so it's just telling it the way it is, it's not prejudice.

/ Fark you, you ignorant bigot.

Biological Ali: Salt Lick Steady: What was her sample? Because I would have refused to respond to a survey that included such idiotic, biased questions.

I'm guessing all the smart people responded likewise, hence the observed results.

That's more than a little possible.

I answered a call from a "polling organization" last week asking my opinion on state representative candidates. After about ten minutes, I learned that one (R) was an indefatigable supporter of small business and the other (D) somehow managed to fill out the necessary paperwork to get on the ballot. After prefacing several of my responses with "wow, that sounds like a pretty loaded question," I asked the surveyor what organization he represented. When he declined to answer, I thanked him for his call and hung up.

Five minutes later, his supervisor called back and asked if I would complete the "poll." When he declined to tell me what organization he represented and what my responses would be used for, I calmy told him to go fark himself.

There are a lot of stupid people in this country (state/county/city), but I'm not one of them. And if you approach me as though I'm an idiot, you're only going to lose whatever general goodwill I may have initially held for your position.

Certainly helped narrow down my voting options, though.

DarwiOdrade: qorkfiend: DarwiOdrade: Here's a summary of the results from Pew's site:
[www.people-press.org image 405x515]
The biggest differences, not surprisingly, are between the educated & uneducated:
[www.people-press.org image 405x536]
Leave it to a GOP shill to focus on the weaker political correlation and completely ignore the strongest.

I'm still depressed over the 31% of college grads who couldn't identify FDR as a Democrat.

That could easily be explained by Franklin/Teddy confusion.

Still depressing. I mean, Teddy was an extremely capable President, but FDR? I think it's the "Democrats are bad for the economy and bad for national security" line projected backwards; people think "Well, he got us through the Depression and won World War II; there's no way he was a Democrat." Works the other way for Lincoln, too: "Wasn't he against slavery and fought the South? How could he possibly be a Republican?"

PsiChick: 1) This is a repeat. I saw this about a year ago. I remember thinking exactly the same thing, too: "Facebook? Your argument is that liberals are inherently jackasses because of their Facebook habits? Your statistics teacher should be drawn and quartered for letting you out of class that stupid."

It doesn't even manage to prove what it sets out to prove. Liberals unfriend more people than conservatives, so conservatives are more tolerant? How many conservatives lock themselves off in an echo chamber where they never have to even make contact with someone who disagrees with them? These people built their own parallel universe Wikipedia, for fark's sake.

Liberals end up unfriending more people because they allow themselves to be in contact with people they disagree with. Sometimes those interactions don't work out. It's a byproduct of liberals being willing to listen to the opposition instead of blocking them at the door.

I deleted three "friends" on FB.

1. A liberally social for most things but extremely anti-choice Catholic chick. STFU bitoch!
2. Someone who posted a "I'm in the 54%" nonsense. Good for you chuckles.
3. Someone who repeated the "half of Americans pay no tax" canard. Maybe I will try to sell you something you gullible farktard.

More liberals delete "conservatives" on FB than the other way around because conservatives' views are so warped by outright lies and are so out of touch from reality these days that they warrant ZERO respect

LazarusLong42: The Pew study in question.

The conclusion I draw is: On average, self-identified Republicans know more trivia about the two major parties. Which means nothing about how informed someone is. ...


What seems pretty obvious to me whenever Pew does this poll and some conservative's self-serving analysis finds its way to the Politics Tab, is that it's not the least bit surprising that more conservatives are informed about FDR and Nancy Pelosi. Those two have been on the conservative media's list of demons for years, so of course almost every regular FNC viewer is going to know who they are. (And yes, both "sides" have their own mythical Pandæmoniums and Pantheons, but the right wing's are especially well-populated.)

This most recent poll has more Democrats than Republicans giving the correct answer about Boehner's party affiliation which suggests my point's valid. Left-leaning pundits and commentators talk about him a lot. If Repubs were truly better-informed they would know who the Speaker of the House is and which party he belongs to.

A better poll would pick different individuals -- let's say replacing FDR with Truman or Coolidge or Eisenhower or Taft, and Pelosi with Kevin McCarthy or Dick Durban.

And quadrupling the number of questions while they're at it.

ArcadianRefugee: Mikey1969: such things ... as WMD in Iraq, a connection between 9/11 and Iraq, a connection between Saddam Hussein and AlQuaeda

Well, to be fair, the title of the survey is "What the Public Knows about the Political Parties", not "What the Public Knows about Politics" or "What the Public Knows about the World".

So, yeah, "Republicans, on average, are better informed than Democrats about political issues" is bullshiat, unless the question is simply "Which party...?"

'Cos, you know, 'who' is the most important aspect of any political issue.

Katherine Kersten, you are a farking twat.

It almost seems like a survey to determine who's more in tune with their party's propaganda.

Wow, this flies directly in the face of all experience that I have had online. Anywhere. Any website.

First off, I constantly hear those representing themselves as conservatives get such things wrong as WMD in Iraq, a connection between 9/11 and Iraq, a connection between Saddam Hussein and AlQuaeda. Looking more recently, it's the Right that spreads the misinformation that the economy is worse then when Obama took over, and that he has reduced oil consumption in the US. I also consistently hear things like TARP blamed on Obama. I also hear false claims regarding ACORN and Planned Parenthood, as well as such things as 'Death Panels' and medical coverage for illegals under Obamacare. And speaking of illegals, it's the Right who keep trying to spread the false claim that there are mass beheadings in the AZ desert.

There are far more instances of these supposedly "informed" people, but these are the main issues today, and the Right is wrong on every single one of them, and they refuse to budge even when shown proof, so I'm not sure where this "research" was done, but I'm pretty sure some trolling was involved.

I also liked this nugget:
A March 2012 Pew report, entitled "Social Networking Sites and Politics," found that 28 percent of liberals have "blocked, unfriended or hidden someone" on social-networking sites because of their political postings, compared with 16 percent of conservatives.

So just because Liberals have decided not to listen to the Derp anymore, they must be "intolerant"? Yeah, it wouldn't have anything to do with the racist, violent or childish statements made by those they they have blocked or uinfriended? Nothing to do with having the same argument over and over with the same person, showing them the same evidence that they are wrong, and having them continue to spread lies? No, if you block someone, it's not because you're tired of pissing into the wind, it must be because you are somehow "intolerant"?

WHat a joke. I would say that this article is a complete fabrication, but I wouldn't be surprised if what they really did was manipulate facts from a bunch of different studies, and mix and match their cut/paste results until it said exactly what they wanted it to.

Lucky LaRue: MayoSlather: I've found conservatives to be far more tolerant and accepting of people that spout racial epithets. Stupid libs just get all judgmental.

Great.. you are doing a fine job of validating the results of that poll: "Some conservatives are racists and hateful, so it's ok to be intolerant of them as a group, because it's not really intolerance if you stereotype racism onto your opponent."

Let's not pretend that racist ideas aren't rampant amongst conservatives. I have lived most of my life in predominantly conservative areas and you don't have to go too far into a conversation before it slips out.

Just sayin. It's not isolated or hard to find, so you can drop the few bad apples act.

cryinoutloud: Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

Do we now have to give our political affiliation when we donate blood? If I work at the community garage sale, do I have to announce my political leanings? Where on earth would you even GET numbers like this? (out of her ass) is not a valid answer. Unless it is.

Self-reporting when polled, a.k.a. lying. Honestly, I didn't know why, whenever a poll asks "Do you donate time and give blood?" the answer isn't always 99% "YES YES GOD YES!"

/Conservatives give more to charity. Cool story, bro. Ask why we make so many Americans dependent on charity? What are you, some kind of commie?

Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

Do we now have to give our political affiliation when we donate blood? If I work at the community garage sale, do I have to announce my political leanings? Where on earth would you even GET numbers like this? (out of her ass) is not a valid answer. Unless it is.

You have to hand it to conservatives. They're great at framing the debate in their favor by removing context or focusing on one sub-sub-sub issue of a larger debate.

Conservatives: they won't block you on facebook because they're so tolerant, but they will prevent you from getting married if you're gay. Conservatives: they know if a member of congress has a D following their name, but they think Obama is a secret muslim, socialist, commie. Conservatives: they're more open minded than liberals unless you're a minority or muslim or gay or atheist or anything that's not a WASP.

Lucky LaRue: MayoSlather: I've found conservatives to be far more tolerant and accepting of people that spout racial epithets. Stupid libs just get all judgmental.

Great.. you are doing a fine job of validating the results of that poll: "Some conservatives are racists and hateful, so it's ok to be intolerant of them as a group, because it's not really intolerance if you stereotype racism onto your opponent."

Normally I'm right there with you. It's typically wrong to stereotype any group--especially the two biggest political ideology groups in the country. But looking at the rhetoric over the past four years...I've had enough. There's been enough bigotry, ignorance, intolerance and petulance coming from Conservatives--and in such great variety--that any sanity I've heard from them at the same time falls well inside any reasonable "margin of error."

It was only a few months ago that we were seriously discussing whether we should make poor school kids janitors and whether using birth control made women sluts.

Gotta self-identify as something else. Your politics is always a choice: that's what makes stereotyping ideologies less "harmful" than stereotyping race or gender.

DubyaHater: So, this "author" is posting the results of a survey question in which the answer is an opinion of the person being surveyed? And she's posting the results as proof that conservatives are generally better informed? WTF?

Wasn't there a similar poll like this after the 2008 election where some butthurt "think tank" went around asking people Free Republic-style questions like, "Which candidate was a socialist: Obama or McCain?" "Which party wants to take away your freedoms? The Liberals or the GOP?" and then used the results as IRREFUTABLE PROOF~! that Right Rulz and Left Droolz?

Can't be bothered to find it now, but the point is: any "poll" that shows Republicans are more informed about anything is most certainly based on a reality that can only be provided by our friends at conservapedia.com.

actualhuman: fillahbuster: I know Farkers like to think all Democrats are 20-26 year old hip liberal college students that watch The Daily Show, read articles Thinkprogress and DailyKos and know whats up, and Republicans are barely functioning inbreed retards but a sizable portion of Democrats are made up of these folks:
[www.funfunblog.com image 600x480]

Dyslexic blah people?

/And I was unaware that "I Have A Dream" was a partisan message.

It's a photoshop.

The widest gap -- 30 points -- came on a question about which political party is "generally more supportive of reducing the size of federal government." Seventy-six percent of Republicans, but only 46 percent of Democrats, correctly named the GOP.



So, this "author" is posting the results of a survey question in which the answer is an opinion of the person being surveyed? And she's posting the results as proof that conservatives are generally better informed? WTF?

Wait, haven't we already had this thread twice? Or was that a different article on the same idiocy?

/If Republicans were tolerant, it wouldn't be illegal for my partner and I to marry and adopt.
//QED.

"FIX OLD NO NEW" is not an opposing political viewpoint

Why are there no cites of polling results such as:

1) Republicans believe Saddam Hussein was behind the 9/11 attacks.
2) Republican believe Obama is not a US citizen.

Oh, and because liberals are less tolerant of intolerance and ignorance, then.... they're more intolerant? These dumbasses are taking a page out of the Derrida handbook and don't even realize it.

/French deconstructionist sympathizers!!

HeartBurnKid: Biased poll is biased.

"bias"? skewing the results is a bias. Flat out asserting that the opposite of reality is the "correct" answer is instead evidence of a "farking liar", "propaganda-spreading asshole", or possibly some variation on "sociopath".

It's such a blatantly-obvious bit of propaganda that I'd actually call this one of the better examples of Push Polling that I've ever seen.

Smart people are more likely to block stupid people on social media sites than the other way around?

I suspect when Republicans were asked "have you ever blocked someone with an opposing political view on a social media site?" the most common answer was "can you do that?"

Fart_Machine: Katherine Kersten is a senior fellow at the Center of the American Experiment.

Yeah, this looks legit.

Love the picture of the woman having an orgasm with an American flag.

The Center of the American Experiment is a conservative free market think tank in Minnesota, USA. Its founder and President is Michael Pearlstein, a former Reagan appointee.

Totally legit.

Regurgitating right-wing talking points should not be confused with "informed" and/or "knowledge".

A March 2012 Pew report, entitled "Social Networking Sites and Politics," found that 28 percent of liberals have "blocked, unfriended or hidden someone" on social-networking sites because of their political postings, compared with 16 percent of conservatives.

Looking at my Facebook news feed, that's because a huge percentage of my liberal friends post things about not liking indefinite detention, SOPA, and admonishing the attacks on women and abortion. A huge percentage of my conservative friends make snide comments about stupid people voting for Obama and that liberals are just childish people who have never paid their own bills before.

Yes, yes...both sides are bad. But, the republicans I see are just plain mean. They openly call liberals stupid and just repeat things over and over until I want to not look at it anymore.

To add, the only person I blocked from Facebook was a college roommate that started posting comments 10-20 times a day that bashed liberals for ruining America. Feel free to be crazy, but I only want small doses from people I barely talk to anymore.

mrshowrules: Lumpmoose: mrshowrules: About seven-in-ten (71%) know that the Republican Party is considered to be the more conservative party.

Really! 50% would have this right by guessing. That means, on the most fundamental political question possible, Americans are marginally more aware than a possum with a head injury.

My take away from this is that Americans are just incredibly ignorant.

/sorry

Well, to expand on sammyk's point, it's arguable if some of radical positions recently taken by the GOP presidential candidates could be called "conservative" by any stretch of the imagination.

Good point. That didn't occur to me. I could see some of the more clever people indicating that Liberals are indeed the more fiscally conservative party. My comment might be a little unfair upon further consideration.

Yeah, a lot of the questions they're trumpeting as demonstrating political ignorance just demonstrate a different opinion than the survey writers'.

So Republicans/conservatives are more knowledgeable about political parties... that doesn't mean they have any idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
This is almost comparable to saying that the mechanics that work on ambulances know more about how they work than the EMTs/Paramedics that work out of them... that doesn't mean you'd prefer your life in a mechanic's hands.

Also, Kersten likes to use arguments such as:

"If the issue isn't black and white, why is it presented as black text on white paper?"

FWIW, Kersten (article's author) is Michelle Bachmann's significantly less informed, less talented, less genuine, more derpy counterpart.

sammyk: The widest gap -- 30 points -- came on a question about which political party is "generally more supportive of reducing the size of federal government." Seventy-six percent of Republicans, but only 46 percent of Democrats, correctly named the GOP.

The only thing this proves is that the left knows the difference between reality and preception and teh right swallows any old BS they are fed. As noted by many a farker, the republicans talk a good game about small government but their actions tell a completely different story.

This, over and over and over again.