[jeffkrol]

Thought it was funny..........
Why I Am Not a Republican | Capital Gains and Games

I can only conclude from this new poll of 2003 self-identified Republicans nationwide that between 20% and 50% of the party is either insane or mind-numbingly stupid.

Bruce Bartlett is a columnist for The Fiscal Times, an online newspaper covering the economy, business and personal finance; and for Tax Notes, a weekly magazine for tax policymakers and practitioners. He was previously a columnist for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate. His writing often focuses on the intersection between politics and economics and attempts to inform politicians about economics and economists about the current nature of politics.

Bartlett’s work is informed by many years in government, including service on the staffs of Congressmen Ron Paul and Jack Kemp and Senator Roger Jepsen; as staff director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress; senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House; and deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department during the George H.W. Bush administration.

Bruce is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006). His latest book is The New American Economy: The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).

[GeneV]

Part of this stems from the fact that only about 34% of Americans identify in polls as Republicans or Democrats. Partisan Trends - Rasmussen Reports The country is pretty closely divided between R, D and I.

So, when you poll self-identified Republicans and get 51% agreeing to a stupid proposition or saying they don't know, you are getting the view of the most extreme 17% of the population. For the numerous categories where the absolutely false answer was adopted by 31%, you are talking about the opinion of 10% of the population. These are not a large percentage of the voters, but when those folks run your party, you have a problem.

[newarts]

Part of this stems from the fact that only about 34% of Americans identify in polls as Republicans or Democrats. Partisan Trends - Rasmussen Reports The country is pretty closely divided between R, D and I.

So, when you poll self-identified Republicans and get 51% agreeing to a stupid proposition or saying they don't know, you are getting the view of the most extreme 17% of the population. For the numerous categories where the absolutely false answer was adopted by 31%, you are talking about the opinion of 10% of the population. These are not a large percentage of the voters, but when those folks run your party, you have a problem.

I think 10% is an extremely large number for some of the questions posed. Larger than any rational basis for belief would allow; far outstripping idiocy and ignorance.

[GeneV]

I think 10% is an extremely large number for some of the questions posed. Larger than any rational basis for belief would allow; far outstripping idiocy and ignorance.

Certainly larger than a rational basis would allow, but I think you might be underestimating idiocy and ignorance if you think it is even limited to 10%.

[Nesster]

In defense of Republicans: this poll is from 2010, at the height of Tea Party wackiness and election time mouth-foaming. Surely they have evolved since then?

NB: corrected typo on year. For some reason today I'm 10 years behind the times - I signed something and dated it 2001!

[jeffkrol]

In defense of Republicans: this poll is from 2000, at the height of Tea Party wackiness and election time mouth-foaming. Surely they have evolved since then?

Good one.............

4. Whom would you most like to see at the top of the ticket in the 2012 elections?

12% Former governor Sarah Palin

13% Governor Tim Pawlenty

31% Former governor Mitt Romney

8% Former governor Mike Huckabee

36% None of the above/Other

Notable Write-ins: Ron Paul, David Petraeus, Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels (twice).

5. You've been given the opportunity to nominate the Republican of the Year — a person whose values best reflect your Republican Party. Whom would you choose?

7% Senator Mitch McConnell

11% Representative John Boehner

11% Former vice-president Dick Cheney

8% Rush Limbaugh

64% None of the above/Other

Notable write-ins: John McCain (three times), Sarah Palin (four times), Newt Gingrich (twice), Tom Coburn (twice), Governor Bob McDonnell (twice), Tom Ridge, Eric Cantor, Charlie Crist, "I am offended by these choices."

6. You've been given the opportunity to kick one person out of the party--his or her values simply aren't compatible with the Republican Party as you see it. Whom would you choose?

30% Senator Olympia Snowe

7% Representative Michele Bachmann

15% Colin Powell

12% Glenn Beck

37% None of the above/Other

Notable write-ins: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve King, "We need to grow our tent, not shrink it."

7. Which of the following do you believe to be the number-one threat to America's national security?

45% A nuclear Iran or North Korea

4% A revitalized Russia

35% Violent nonstate actors (i.e., terrorists, pirates, drug traffickers)

16% An ascendant China

8. If you could poach one player from the other team, which of the following Democrats would make a useful addition to the Republican Party?

34% Warren Buffett

0% David Axelrod

5% Hillary Clinton

5% Oprah Winfrey

55% No, thanks. You can keep 'em.

9. Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have become controversial figures in our national dialogue. In your opinion, they should:

71% Keep talking. They're speaking for millions of Americans who feel frustrated with the government's current policies.

23% Tone it down a little. They're smart entertainers, but some of their rhetoric risks alienating moderate and independent voters.

6% Shut up. They don't speak for mainstream Republicans, and they're scaring people.

Republican Party Survey - Future of Republican Party - Esquire

Republican Survey (?) | Idiot Politics

Today a received from the Republican National Committee, what they call a “2011 Obama Agenda Survey.” As an Independent, I would expect to see a genuine survey with legitimate choices designed so that the Republican Party can better understand those who actually consider their position on the issues when deciding how to cast their votes instead of accepting party dogma. But instead, I get this set of loaded, insulting questions that, I would assume, are designed to prove to me that President Obama is a bad person, and that the only source of salvation is the Republic Party. Of course, at the end of the questionnaire, we come to the real insult, the request for a campaign contribution. Some survey.

[wildman]

"7. Which of the following do you believe to be the number-one threat to America's national security?

45% A nuclear Iran or North Korea

4% A revitalized Russia

35% Violent nonstate actors (i.e., terrorists, pirates, drug traffickers)

16% An ascendant China"

Notice that a national security threat is always (and necessarily?) from without never from within - it's always some foreigner wearing a black hat.

Naive, Primitive, simple-minded world view.

[newarts]

"7. Which of the following do you believe to be the number-one threat to America's national security?

45% A nuclear Iran or North Korea

4% A revitalized Russia

35% Violent nonstate actors (i.e., terrorists, pirates, drug traffickers)

16% An ascendant China"

Notice that a national security threat is always (and necessarily?) from without never from within - it's always some foreigner wearing a black hat.

Naive, Primitive, simple-minded world view.

Yes. They left off things like "internal economic collapse."

[wasser]

Part of this stems from the fact that only about 34% of Americans identify in polls as Republicans or Democrats.

Actually, the greater part of it stems from that fact that this poll was very likely fabricated.

Daily Kos hired Research 2000 to do the poll mentioned by Mr Bartlett. Kos accused them of fraud in their polling methods and sued them.

Daily Kos vs. Research 2000 Lawsuit Settled

[Parallax]

Yes. They left off things like "internal economic collapse."

...or "Congress".

[Nesster]

...or "Republican Party"

[Parallax]

...or "Republican Party"

Up until a year or so ago, I would have argued with that.

[larryinlc]

...or "Republican Party"

I'm a bit confused at the direction the Republican Party is taking. As I listen to the more moderate Republicans such as former Gov's Arnie Carlson and Tommy Thompson, they too seem to be shaking their heads. But then they can speak their minds because they're no longer in the fold and aren't trying to get back in the fold. Holding office or running for office requires a certain allegiance. Politicans are basically a bunch of suck-ups anyway, but it would be nice if they'd pay a little more attention to the majority of us regular folks.

And by the way, I voted for Tommy Thompson because he was a decent guy. I didn't care which party he belonged to.

But, when he was totally out of office, he did manage to pull off a stinker or two. He was hired on as a high paid management guy for a local firm here (Logistics Health) to procure a government contract. He managed to get a full 100 million more of taxpayers money over ten years than the next legitimate bidder. So much for fiscal responsibility.

Larry

[Parallax]

..... So much for fiscal responsibility.

Larry

Politics is about power and money. Time was when public service, and the greater good, were at least secondary; but in recent years they have been relegated to the "irrelevant" category.

[GeneV]

Actually, the greater part of it stems from that fact that this poll was very likely fabricated.

Daily Kos hired Research 2000 to do the poll mentioned by Mr Bartlett. Kos accused them of fraud in their polling methods and sued them.

Daily Kos vs. Research 2000 Lawsuit Settled

Perhaps, but the results are consistent with or maybe not even as bad for Republicans as other polls. For example, CNN polling found that 41% of Republicans don't believe the President was born in this country. 41% of Republicans: President Obama foreign-born - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com In the poll cited by Bartlett, that number is 36%. The Obama as a socialist statement is also widely believed and quoted in other polls, and it gets posted on boards like this quite often. If you spend a little time on Google, you can go down that list and find another source for just about each of the entries.