Poll Shows a Majority of Obama Supporters Were Misinformed
Cross posted on Grizzly Groundswell
A recent poll done by Zogby shows us that Barack Obama supporters were not fully informed about who they were voting for. This comes as no surprise considering the way that the media covered the two candidates.
When Obama supporters were asked questions about some of the negative stories regarding either McCain or Palin they were well informed about them.
Ninety-four percent of Obama voters correctly identified Palin as the candidate with a pregnant teenage daughter, 86% correctly identified Palin as the candidate associated with a $150,000 wardrobe purchased by her political party, and 81% chose McCain as the candidate who was unable to identify the number of houses he owned.
These were a few of the negative stories that were run against the McCain/Palin ticket and Obama supporters were well informed about them. One flaw in this poll appears on the question about which candidate said that Russia was visible from their home.
When asked which candidate said they could “see Russia from their house,” 87% chose Palin, although the quote actually is attributed to Saturday Night Live’s Tina Fey during her portrayal of Palin during the campaign. An answer of “none” or “Palin” was counted as a correct answer on the test, given that the statement was associated with a characterization of Palin.
The only correct answer in my opinion was “none”, how does a satirical portrayal of a candidate count as if it were the candidate who made the comment? I guess they get credit for knowing who the satire was targeting.
But when the questions turned to their own candidate it appears that Obama supporters were much less informed.
83% failed to correctly answer that Obama had won his first election by getting all of his opponents removed from the ballot, and 88% did not correctly associate Obama with his statement that his energy policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry. Most (56%) were also not able to correctly answer that Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of Obama voters did not correctly identify Biden as the candidate who had to quit a previous campaign for President because he was found to have plagiarized a speech, and nearly half (47%) did not know that Biden was the one who predicted Obama would be tested by a generated international crisis during his first six months as President.
I find this to be quite a contrast but again it is not surprising. I don’t find this to be an indictment of the typical Barack Obama supporter but rather an indictment on the media. The negative stories that were run against McCain were splattered all across the television day after day while the only place to find the stories on Obama were talk radio,( which Democrats are ready to shut down), and the blogs run by us angry, racist, radical, bitter gun and God clinging, members of the vast right wing conspiracy that so tortured President Clinton.
The media wanted Barack Obama to win and they got their wish, the coverage was slanted in favor of Obama and it seems to have worked to perfection. The only blame that can be laid at the feet of Obama’s supporters and their lack of information comes from the following question that was asked during the poll.
a question asking which political party controlled both houses of Congress leading up to the election — 57% of Obama voters were unable to correctly answer that Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate.
I used the term “misinformed” in the title of this post, perhaps the correct word would have been “under-informed.” The media willfully didn’t inform the general public about much of Obama’s past and for that I can’t blame Obama supporters. But that last question about which party was in the majority in the house and senate? The lack of knowledge on that question falls directly on Obama supporters. If they didn’t even have the awareness that Democrats controlled both houses of Congress the last two years than perhaps I am putting too much blame on the media and not enough on the voters themselves.
Did Barack Obama Forge his Selective Service Registration?
Automaker Bailout Dead….For Now
Today congressional Republicans and the president have stopped the automakers from receiving taxpayer funded welfare. This is the first bit of good news on the political front that I have heard in a long time.
President Bush has already set aside $25 billion for the automakers, and while that is $25 billion too much, there is no need to give them an additional $25 billion. The $700 million bailout bill was meant to stabilize the economy, (we’ve seen how well that has worked), not to bail out every private company who jumps in line asking, where’s mine? Gimme, gimme, gimme.
The automakers need to file for bankruptcy, reorganize, and then emerge with a plan to once again become prosperous. It is not up for the taxpayer to fund the UAW’s unsupportable demands any longer. It is time for the people who caused this mess to sack up and take the hit that they deserve.
The bailout bill was vile enough with just it’s intended purpose but then expanding it into areas that it wasn’t meant to go is just, well I just can’t come up with a word to describe how vehemently opposed to this idea I am.
Today was a victory for the taxpayers, it was a victory for the anti-socialists, it was a victory for everyday Americans. But it is a fleeting victory, one which will not last long for it was the congressional Republicans who ground this bill to a halt. The same congressional Republicans who stopped the amnesty bill. The same Republicans whose numbers are going to be smaller after January 20th.
With a president in favor of this bailout and a smaller nuber of Republicans to oppose the bailout it will only be a matter of time before the UAW thugs and the automakers get their way. President-elect Obama is indebted to the unions and he will aquiese to their every whim. And there will be no Republicans to stop him.
Today was a victory, a small victory, but I am going to savor it. It is probably the last victory I will see for the next four years.
Senator Inhofe Wants to Freeze the Bailout Money
While Nancy Peloci and Harry Reid want to extend the bailout bill and bail out the automakers there is one senator who is not only opposed to this idea but he wants to take back what is left of the bail out money.
Sen. Jim Inhofe finds it outrageous that Henry Paulson was given a $700 billion blank check and nobody knows exactly where the money has gone. He even claims that Paulson may have given money to his friends. He wants to put a freeze on the rest of the bailout money. Finally we have someone asking the questions that need to be asked. Jim Inhofe is exactly right.
Under Inhofe’s proposal the remaining bailout money would be frozen and he would need congress to approve giving him more money. It seems unlikely that he will be able to gain any support for this plan. He is using the premise that since Paulson has changed the way he will distribute the bailout money that congress should now step in to stop him.
Last week the Treasury secretary announced he was abandoning his plan to free up the nation’s credit system by buying up toxic assets from troubled financial institutions. Instead, Paulson wants to take a more direct action on the consumer credit front.
“He was able to get this authority from Congress predicated on what he was going to do, and then he didn’t do it,” Inhofe said.
“So that’s enough reason right there.”
One of the things that made me leery about the bailout bill was the fact that we kept hearing how something had to be done right away, that there was no time to waste. Here is what Jim Inhofe had to say about that logic.
“I have learned a long time ago. When they come up and say this has to be done and has to be done immediately, there is no other way of doing it, you have to sit back and take a deep breath and nine times out of 10 they are not telling the truth,” he said.
“And this is one of those nine times.”
This bill was hurried through congress and signed by the president. 75% of the American people were against it but this bill was fast tracked so the question remains, why?
As the bailout money is now probably going to be used to bailout the automakers and the government prepares to stake partial ownership in another private company we at least have one senator who says enough is enough.
In response to concerns expressed by some that allowing even one of the big automakers to fail would be too much of an economic hit for the nation, Inhofe said reality must be accepted.
“If we keep on nursing a broken system, then we can’t expect to have a different result come later on,” he said.
“I just think we have to draw the line someplace, and the time is here.”
I would have preferred that we drew the line and never passed this bill in the first place but at least we have one senator who is willing to say enough is enough.
Does Obama Plan to Tax us For Driving?
Note: This post is from November, if you wish to read the latest on this issue please click here.
I just have one question for the people who voted for Barack Obama. You didn’t really think that he was only going to tax the richest Americans, did you? Everybody knew that that claim was bullshit, right? If you didn’t at first than you should have started to question him when the claim that he would only tax those making over $250,000 was dropped to $150,000 and then dropped again to $120,000. The number kept falling, it should have been a clue.
The truth is that Barack obama is going to tax everybody. There will be no 95% of Americans getting a tax break. If you STILL believe that you are going to have your taxes cut you might want to take a look at this article about Barack Obama’s plan to tax drivers per mile that they drive.
Obama’s team contacted Jack Opiola who was hired by the British government to create a “congestion charging program” to tax drivers in the UK for driving during peak hours. Obama’s team wanted more information on the plan. Barack Obama also recently backed New York City major Bloomberg’s plan to tax drivers for the crime of driving into Manhattan during the day. So there is interest on his behalf to tax drivers.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials submitted a plan that they hope Obama takes into consideration. It includes taxing drivers on a per mile driven basis.
Hoping to fill the gap with specifics, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) last month submitted a detailed $544 billion transportation reauthorization proposal designed to encourage the new administration to shore up the domestic economy with heavy spending on infrastructure projects. The new programs would be paid for with massive new tax hikes, including a per-mile driving tax that would begin with “proof of concept” trials as early as 2010. The tax would initially be one cent per mile and generate $32.4 billion a year. An extra one cent per gallon in the federal gasoline tax would generate another $1.8 billion, and a national sales tax on cars of one percent would generate $7.6 billion
Who do you think that a tax per mile driven will hurt the most? Who will an increase in the gas tax hurt the most? Who will a national sales tax on automobiles hurt the most? It won’t hurt the rich, it will hurt the middle class the most. The same group of people whom Obama promised would get tax relief.
As the economy slows and people are hurting for money Barack Obama may be planning to charge you to go to the store to buy groceries. Remember the infomercial that Barack Obama ran during the World Series that delayed the beginning of a game? In that infomercial there was a woman who said that every week she had to decide whether she could afford a whole gallon of milk or whether she would have to buy a half gallon of milk. Under this plan Obama has made her choice just a little easier by taking even more money out of her pocket just for driving to the store for that milk. It looks like a half gallon for her.
If Obama adopts these recommendations he will be taxing the same 95% of Americans that he promised tax relief to.
Jim DeMint on John McCain; “He Betrayed Republican Principles”
Now that the campaign is over and the Republican turncoat, illegal alien amnesty granting, free speech infringing senator from Arizona has failed miserably Republicans are starting to turn on him. It is only fitting in my book considering he shit on conservatives for the last eight years and then wanted our vote even as he courted Democrats during the election.
Jim DeMint is the first high profile Republican to break the silence regarding John McCain.
“McCain, who is proponent of campaign finance reform that weakened party organizations and basically put George Soros in the driver’s seat,” DeMint said. “His proposal for amnesty for illegals. His support of global warming, cap-and-trade programs that will put another burden on our economy. And of course, his embrace of the bailout right before the election was probably the nail in our coffin this last election. And he has been an opponent of drilling in ANWR, at a time when energy is so important. It really didn’t fit the label, but he was our package.”
“Americans do prefer a traditional conservative government,” he said. “They just did not believe Republicans were going to give it to them.”
He is exactly right about this, John McCain is not a conservative and he didn’t campaign as a conservative. John McCain abandoned conservatives years ago and even during the campaign he was more interested in winning the votes of moderates and liberals than he was of shoring up the Republican base. He knew that conservatives had nowhere to go so he didn’t even bother to try to win them over. I saw one poll result that showed that 19% of people who consider themselves conservative voted for Obama. I know how hard that is to believe but it shows a fatal flaw that McCain made. He abandoned conservatives and them we he needed them the most conservatives abandoned him.
It is time for conservative Republicans to get back to their roots. It is time for Republicans to get back to smaller government and less spending, 180 degrees from the Bush administrations policies. If conservatives run as conservatives and not as liberals, as John McCain did, it is possible to start the ball in motion and take back our country. If Republicans continue to “re-brand” conservatism than we are doomed to fail and fail again.
John McCain is living proof of that.
Former New Hampshire Governor on John Lynch; “He’s the Worst Ever”
Former governor of New Hampshire John Sununu, (not to be confused with his son John Sununu who just lost his senate seat to Jeanne Shaheen), had some harsh words to say about our current governor. During a Seacoast Federated Republican Women meeting he called John Lynch the worst governor that New Hampshire has ever had.
When asked to clarify his comments later instead of backing down he re-enforced what he said earlier.
Later, explaining his opinion to a reporter, Sununu cited a $250 million state budget deficit; what he called the erosion of family values in the last legislative session; and Lynch’s failure to persuade lawmakers from his own party to vote for his constitutional amendment on education.
It is about time that the GOP starts fighting back in this state, we have let the Democrats continue to make gains and continue to push their nanny state legislation and their tax and spend policies and New Hampshire is on the brink of financial collapse.
He also claimed that John Lynch has been able to keep his approval ratings up because the GOP hasn’t run a serious challenger against him. This is something that I touched on in this post when I asked the question, how does Governor Sununu sound? I was speculating that the former governor’s son should run for governor in two years because he will have the name recognition and the funds to compete, something the last two Republican candidates did not have. Especially if John Lynch does as I think he will, run for senate in two years.
It now appears as though I am not the only one out here with that thought, speculation is growing that John Sununu will run for governor in two years. There were also rumors that he may be up for the chairmanship of the national RNC although it now appears that Michael Steele will be getting the chairmanship. It’s just as well, as proud as I would be to see a New Hampshirite rise to national prominence in that role I would just assume keep him here to straighten out our state first.
Poll: Should the Government Bail Out the Automakers?
Today the United States army promoted Ann E. Dunwoody to the rank of four star general. She is the first woman ever to rise to the rank of four star general. I would like to take this time to offer my congratulations to General Dunwoody. She is proof that through hard work and determination anything can be accomplished with the right attitude in America.
Within the last week there were two milestones reached in this country, if that is the right word. First Barack Obama became the first black man to become president, in my opposition to Obama and all of his policies, and everything that he stands for I neglected to acknowledge the historic aspect of his campaign and victory. I do so now. Barack Obama has proved that America has moved past race. And now we have the first woman ever to reach the rank of four star general.
Both of these are examples of how America truly is the land of opportunity.
You can read more about General Dunwoody here.
Senate to Debate Bailing Out the Automakers on Monday
The senate is going to debate bailing out the automakers on Monday. Once again the taxpayers will be on the hook for billions of dollars, this time to save a private company that should be left on it’s own to either succeed of fail.
By now readers here understand that I have stood against this bailout bill and the president on this issue from day one. It sucks and it isn’t our responsibility to save the banks, the mortgage brokers, or Wall Street, and it sure as hell isn’t up to us to bailout the big three automakers from their own failings.
But I am not going to use this post to bitch and moan about the senate and the fact that they are going to debate, and let’s face it, pass a bailout of the automakers. I want to use this post instead to bitch and moan about the Republicans who seem more than willing to go along with this journey into socialism.
Republicans are still licking their wounds from another defeat at the polls. They are confused and have lost their way. They are spinning in circles while trying to figure what went wrong. In their daze they look at the Democrat’s gains and figure that in order to win they must become more like them. Republicans have forgotten that John McCain was one of them, that is why they had no shot at winning. There was no Republican, even the biggest RINO of the all (John McCain) tried to out-Democrat a Democrat, and he couldn’t do it. Republicans would have been better off offering an alternative to liberal Democrat policies instead of trying to embrace them.
That being said it appears to me that Republicans still haven’t learned their lesson. Maybe the haze that surrounds them from their defeat is still clouding their vision. It amazes me that a number of Republicans may be willing to end the free market economy and sell America into socialism.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a letter to Reid and Pelosi that any bailout should “include restrictions on executive salaries, compensation packages, and excessive internal spending,” along with commitments from the carmakers to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Yes that is an “R” after Grassley’s name although you wouldn’t know it by his statement that he believes the government should set limits on how much a private company can pay a person.
Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said through a spokesman that he would review the proposal, noting that he had backed a similar program for Chrysler in 1979 only with taxpayer protections and “serious concessions from the company, its dealers and the United Auto Workers.”
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., told The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., that he was “prepared to consider it,” but wanted answers on “whether the situation is so precarious that it would take more than what is proposed” to save the auto companies.
Bond, a conservative, said he was putting aside his distaste for federal intervention in the interest of his constituents.
“The idea of the government getting involved in the free market is very troublesome and potentially dangerous to the health of our system, but we have to act in unique times of crisis when tens of thousands of Missouri workers are in danger of losing their jobs,” he said in a statement.
Seventy percent of Americans were against the bailout bill from the beginning, and yet these Republicans think that the answer to their problems is going along with the socialization of America? Republicans are becoming more and more like Democrat every day and it starts with the president and his “compassionate conservative” bullshit.
The Republicans need to get back to their conservative roots if they want to have any chance of winning any elections. They have to show that they are different from the tax and spend liberals if they want a chance to win again.
This bailout bullshit gives them the perfect opportunity to do so but they are going to fall in line with the Democrats and sell us down the river. I still think that one of the biggest reasons that John McCain lost was because he campaigned as a reformer, he said he would veto any bills that contained earmarks and that he would make the authors famous. But then along came the bailout bill that seventy percent of Americans disagreed with and what did John McCain do. He suspended his campaign and went to Washington to sign a bill that was filled with earmarks. He lost the campaign right then and there.
Now Republicans are following John McCain sown the same path. The path to their own ruination. Why would voters vote for faux Democrats when they can vote for the real deal.
It is time for conservatives to unite under a new leader, it is time to stand up and fight, it is time to make our positions known, to run on our ideas, and to stop trying to act like Democrats. We must present the American people with a true choice and then if they decide that they reject our ideas we must continue to define ourselves, not redefine ourselves as Democrats. At least if we lose it will be as conservatives and not as faux Democrats. We must show America that we offer an alternative. Sadly that doesn’t appear to be the path the current leadership is willing to take.
