A cage match between birthers and truthers
In an effort to gauge “fringe” sentiments, Public Policy Polling added a couple of interesting questions to its recent national poll:
“Do you think Barack Obama was born in the United States?”
“Do you think President Bush intentionally allowed the 9/11 attacks to take place because
he wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East?”
Over at Pollster.com, Brendan Nyhan put the results into a chart, broken down by party affiliation. 
The chart combines those who said “yes” and those who said they were uncertain. For example, 25 percent of Democrats said they believed Bush had allowed the attacks of 9/11 to take place, while another 12 percent said they weren’t sure. Nyhan charts that at 37 percent.
Likewise, 42 percent of Republicans said they believe Obama was not born in the United States, and another 22 percent said they weren’t sure, for a total on the chart of 64 percent.
Personally, I doubt the numbers are that high. In the course of answering a poll, people can tend to treat statements like these as expressions of political loyalty or antipathy. They don’t really believe that Bush allowed Sept. 11 to happen or that Obama isn’t a citizen, but the question gives them a way to voice their more general opposition to those figures.
At least that’s what I keep telling myself, because otherwise I’d have to believe there are a lot of crazy people in this country.
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313 comments Add your comment
mike
September 24th, 2009
1:56 pm
GayGrayGeek –
You are so blinded by your partisanship that you can’t even see your hypcorsity.
Public Option just said “It is just mind boggling amazing to see Republicans like Snowe, Graslly and Ensign arguing to continue to deprive older people of meds they need.”
Please explain either why Public Option is not spreading fear or just admit that you are a hypocrite who is too intolerant of other views to see that fear mongering is a tactic used by both sides.
Also, fear is all you talk about. You even have a stupid tagline that you use for it. How can you possibly say “It’s only you wingnuts who are so incredibly enamoured with the concept of fear”.
Oh wait. I know how. You are a hypocrite.
Normal
September 24th, 2009
2:03 pm
Poor Mike, born with no sense of humor and no idea of what anger is because he/she can’t see it in his/herself. I use his/her because while you use Mike and nom de blog, you “sound” very much like a drama queen. I do believe you are female. Anyway “Mike”, let’s make a deal…
you ignor me and I’ll ignor you…faites comme vous voulez…
Normal
September 24th, 2009
2:05 pm
G3: You are so blinded by your partisanship that you can’t even see your hypcorsity….
I think mike has that tattooed somewhere she/he uses it so much…
mike
September 24th, 2009
2:10 pm
Normal –
“Poor Mike, born with no sense of humor and no idea of what anger is because he/she can’t see it in his/herself.”
LOL. This from the angry guy who went off on a frothing and incoherent statement about “Republican heaven” or some such nonsense. You are a world class hypocrite but you already knew that.
“I do believe you are female.”
Quite the misogyunist arent you. Not surprising.
“let’s make a deal… you ignor me and I’ll ignor you…faites comme vous voulez…”
LOL. You mean you are going to stop whining that I am angry? I could not care less. Your logic is as weak as your hypocrisy is strong and I have grown tired of leaving you sputtering and ducking questions.
mike
September 24th, 2009
2:11 pm
Normal –
“I think mike has that tattooed somewhere she/he uses it so much…”
Kind of like your ceaseless and hypocritical whining that conservatives are angry? LOL. You are a joke.
mike
September 24th, 2009
2:12 pm
Notice that Normal held to his own request that we ignore each other for all of 2 minutes. LOL
Does this guy believe anything that he says?
Del
September 24th, 2009
2:21 pm
Paul, Public Option doesn’t have any sources for anything. He or she is to busy trying to find help for identifying someone to hate, however, I don’t think P.O. really needs any help for that. I think this is the same clown who was telling people on another blog that he or she was a doctor. When you read the P.O. posts there just isn’t isn’t any substance there.
Public Option's Doing Swell
September 24th, 2009
2:33 pm
Mike & Paul–
Congratulations to the new Senator from Massachsetts Paul Kirk, Kennedy’s good friend. He could run in 2010. No law stops him. We have a healthy Senator now showing up to support Senator Kerry’s work.
I don’t deal in fear tactics–I deal in facts. You have any. Have you figures out how to keep yourself from aging or immune from diseases, because I’d be willing to bet a day will come when you get older and you need meds. Do you have any facts besides your mumbly jumble about some other kid on your playground?
Don’t have a lot of time Paul. But do you have a TV? Do you have C-Span 2?
This is a hugely important part of health reform and it cuts into the pharmaceutical profit not your tax money. I don’t know why in the world a conservative would be against closing donut unless you are a pharmaceutical executive. Many pharmacists I know are for closing donut because it’s agonizing for them to see seniors at the counter who can’t buy what they know they need because they’ve been their customers for years.
Here’s the skinny. I don’t know where you’re getting your info. There are FIVE bills. There are several amendments to close the donut hole, and more specifically to correct the Senate Finance pharma hooker provision. The pharma hooker provision by your Republicans is to give a huge bonanza to the pharmaceutical companies and keep the White House absurd deal to pharma that allows an $85 billion agreement over 10 years for pharma through their lobbyist after millions paid to the hookers.
In return the hookers on SF would agree not to allow competition for Medicare Part D drug bidding. This would keep the donut open and keep Medicare aka CMS on the road to being in the red not bankruptsy as the lying Repubozos say.
What I want to happen is to close the donut and allow Medicare Part D bidding. If you turn on your TV (I’m having to DVR it) you will see that every Republican is trying to honor their johns and turn the trick for which they were paid hundreds of thousands over the summer.
So far, best I can follow, one amendment was voted down by the Blue Dogs who don’t want the same competition that Emory and Piedmont and Northside enjoy when their pharmacists buy drugs. They buy them via consortium with other large tertiary medical centers and private hospitals, and the leverage greatly reduces drug costs (all drugs pills, capsules, IVs lotions whatever).
Pharmaceutical doesn’t want this. That’s why Billy Tauzin made the deal with Rahm who does not speak for Congress and frankly has ticked off (polite word) a lot of people in Congress particularly progressive dems.
Obama iwill never talk about these deals. You’ll never see Air Brushed Ensign come out and talk about these deals. Grassley lies and says he wasn’t at the table. Rahm refused to talk about them on Charlie Rose the other night. The meetings were in the West Wing; the Senate Finance Six was at the table, as were Biden and his lawyers on his staff; and I’ll be damned if I know why Obama was dumb enough to let the Senate Finance Six futz around for months to come up with nothing and a bill that is getting gutted this week and next.
Public Option's Doing Swell
September 24th, 2009
2:35 pm
Del–
Once in a while I see patients as dumb as you but not often. I link sources almost 90% of my posts and I’m not interested in the personalities of other posts like the Katy Abram ignorant whackjobs. If the shoe fits where it.
Del I haven’t seen one fact from you on point to healthcare. Cat got your tongue there?
Public Option's Doing Swell
September 24th, 2009
2:36 pm
In fact Del, when I get a brea’k I’ll source you out the wazoo, but you won’t have any facts or sources–history has shown that. I love making a fool out of repubozos who blow hot air like yourself.
Neoconservative
September 24th, 2009
2:51 pm
Neoconservative
1 : a former liberal espousing political conservatism
2 : a conservative who advocates the assertive promotion of democracy and United States national interest in international affairs including through military means
I see there are many candidates here to become a neoconservative. First, we debunk the “global wariming ideology” which is happening now world wide.
Next, the birthers deserve to see a birth certificate! What if the people in Hawaii are liberal progressives determined to make our country socialist? Would not they fabricated a birth certificate? You know that is as prudent as Bush causing or allowing 9/11 in his first eight months of office. I guess FDR allowed the attack on Pearle Harbor so he could help out his friends in Europe.
What about starving an oil based economy of oil by speculating green energy is the cureall which cost billions of dollars to citizens and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
YEP SOMEONE DOING THAT SHOULD SHOW ME A BIRTH CERTIFICATE!
Del
September 24th, 2009
2:51 pm
P.O. I’m really glad that I made you P.O.’d. Well…I thought this blog dealt with some kind of a birther/truther poll. As for healthcare I believe the best source is the American majority opinion and you lose there, so you really don’t stack up. I’ll let you get back to your umm let’s see, oh, your patients LOL, so you don’t need to worry about “wazoo sourcing”
N.J.
September 24th, 2009
4:31 pm
A better poll is the recent one comparing possible Republican candidates against Obama. Obama basically creams any Republican potential candidate:
2012 President
Obama 50%, Bush 37%
Obama 48%, Huckabee 41%
Obama 53%, Palin 38%
Obama 48%, Romney 39%
http://www.pollster.com/blogs/us_2012_pres_ppp_91821.php