Proof positive that we're absolutely nuts

[babylonsister]

http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2007/03/proof_positive_.html

Proof positive that we're absolutely nuts

If you're in the mood for reading the most disjointed, disconnected, cognitive-dissonant political poll ever produced, just take a look at this one from the New York Times/CBS News. It would take a PhD in social psychology -- or better yet, abnormal psychology -- to unravel its bundle of contradictions and otherworldly discombobulations.

Should the 1,362 adults surveyed prove to be truly reflective of the greater electorate, then we're in even bigger trouble than I thought when their participating numbers expand to the power of ten in the 2008 elections. Surely the poll couldn't be, could it? If it is, it means frighteningly large segments of likely voters have learned absolutely nothing after six years of this country's worst president and twelve years of the worst Congresses ever, hands down. The poll is, quite simply, a study in witlessness.

First the mixed good news, what little of it there is. "Just 34 percent of all respondents said they had a favorable view of the Republican Party, and that is the lowest it has been since December 1998" -- after which voters returned these known nincompoops to three more congressional terms and two presidential ones.

"By contrast, 47 percent of respondents said they had a positive view of the Democratic Party" -- which I suppose says more about the party's message-bungling than it does voters. But still, less than half have switched brands after all the GOP-product liability of lo these many years? Pathetic.

And that was the good news.

Now try this on: "The poll found that Republican voters remain largely loyal to Mr. Bush and his positions on the issues. Among Republicans, 75 percent approve of his job performance, and by overwhelming numbers they approve of his handling of foreign policy, the war in Iraq and the management of the economy."

more...

[crim son]

1. This has been my fear for years. Fixed elections? Maybe.

What is certain is that at least one third of the American population is a different species than the rest of us. They cannot be informed by events or by reasoning, period. What to do?

[whistle]

2. Uhmmm.....

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[necso]

3. The neocon cult

has unconditional loyalty (to higher-ups) as a major tenet. (And w's version has unconditional loyalty (to him) as its supreme tenet.)

And this feeds into (and on) the sort of blind, unquestioning, unevolving faith (and practice) that is a major part of many people's lives.

Accountability (especially personal accountability) threatens to go the way of the dodo. Heaven forfend that people should meaningfully recognize and admit mistakes, take the consequences of their failures (without which accountability is just a word, mouthed by hypocrites and poseurs), and try to do better.

And heaven forfend that people should be open-minded and realistic about themselves and their own, the actual effects of their acts, and what is happening in the world around them.