Dear media, it's not news that roughly 70% of Republicans believe something insane

[EarlG]

70% of Republicans ARE insane! They're delusional, and if you ask them a question they will only ever pick the most wrong, least truthful option.

Prompted by this thread from today, in which CNN reports that 72% of Republicans believe Trump bears no responsibility for the insurrection, I did a little Googling, and discovered the following:

In December 2020, Newsweek reported that 72% of Republicans don't trust Biden's victory over Trump -- a number that changed little from November 2020, when Politico noted that 70 percent of Republicans now say they don’t believe the 2020 election was free and fair.

Also in December 2020, Forbes reported on a poll in which 71% of Republicans said they would vote for Trump if he were the party's candidate in 2024.

Then in February this year, Newsweek pointed out that 70 percent or Republicans would join or consider joining a Trump-centered party, while CNN reported that 76% of self-identified Republicans believe there was "widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Chris Cilizza breathlessly called this "truly remarkable" and gasped, "Yes, you read that right. Three in every four Republicans in the poll agreed with the idea that there was 'widespread' wrongdoing in last November's election."



Three in four Republicans are nutjobs Chris! How are you only now just figuring this out!

Want more proof? In May of 2021, CNN reported that 70% of Republicans think Biden stole the election. Which is probably why that same month, a McLaughlin and Associates poll found that 73% of Republicans want Trump to run for president again.

Also in May 2021, Yahoo News noted that 73% of Republicans put responsibility for the January 6 insurrection on 'left-wing protesters'. Meanwhile on January 6 itself, the Washington Examiner noted that 73% of Republicans backed a challenge to the Electoral College results.

Or maybe we could go a little earlier than the 2020 election. Back in January 2019, a Pew poll found that 73% of Republicans say the news media don’t understand people like them. Poor dears. Also that month, 72% of Republicans said there’s a crisis of illegal immigration, according to Reuters.

How about March 2019, when The Hill reported that 75% of Republicans said that white Americans are subject to discrimination? Also in March 2019, a Monmouth poll found that 72% of Republicans believe a ‘deep state’ exists.

So to sum up, around 70-75% of Republicans say:

• White people are discriminated against
• The media doesn't understand them
• Illegal immigration is a crisis
• Also, the deep state
• There was widespread fraud in the 2020 election
• The 2020 election was not free and fair
• Biden's victory over Trump can't be trusted
• Biden stole the election
• They supported the Electoral College challenge on January 6
• But the insurrection was the fault of left-wing protesters
• Trump bears no responsibility for the insurrection
• They would vote for Trump if he were the candidate in 2024
• They want Trump to be the candidate in 2024
• They would leave the GOP and join a Trump Party

Seems to me that the media could save a lot of money if they stopped doing polling and just ran with the headline 73% of Republicans are out of their frickin' gourds once a month.

[NewHendoLib]

1. FUBAR

[Bongo Prophet]

38. SNAFU as well, the not-so-new-normal. nt

[Blecht]

2. Newsweek has not been a real news source in years.

[The Roux Comes First]

40. The Era Whrn I Perceived Newsweek to Be Far More Enlightened Than Time

Seems like ancient history.

[Diablo del sol]

3. go back and check out how many pukes don't think Obama was a US Citizen

you won't be surprised.

[fwvinson]

13. Probably the same as watches Faux Snooze religiously nothing else

its on at their workplace 24/7 at the resurants they eat everywhere they go they have Faux on

[Evolve Dammit]

25. Good reality check. It's always attack for Repukes.

[IronLionZion]

35. The same ones believe John McCain and Ted Cruz were born in the US

race determines which country a person is born, according to racists.

To be fair, considering the large number of American born minorities these days, delusional Freepers have updated their deportation wishes to include American born US citizens of foreign born parents ... if nonwhite. So not Trump with his immigrant mother and wife of course.

[malaise]

5. Thank You

Had the same thought - who cares?

[Mr. Ected]

6. Four decades of radio and television mass brainwashing can do wonders for your brand

Once you get these people riled up - and most of these are people that LOVE to be riled up - they don't want to hear a counterpoint much less the truth. Their media plays to their vices and like an alcoholic being handed a drink, it makes no sense for them to turn it down at this point.

[GoodRaisin]

7. Once the Fox News propaganda turned to not trusting any source of news

other than what they heard on Fox News, that was end game for anyone still trying to talk any sense into these individuals.

[certainot]

43. even fox has to pretend to be balanced and it has a much smaller audience than radio

25% of americans say they get much of their news from radio.

fox, internet, social media are part of the free speech spectrum, with free easy alts a click away.

not radio. fox can't lie repeatedly like rw radio blowhards do, without being seen and challenged. media and political analysts watch fox to monitor the GOP and have no clue rw radio exists.

by that time the fox hacks look into the camera and lie they know it has already been or will soon be repeated to 50 mil a week. they depend on the unchallenged repetition only rw radio can do.

if americans want to be rid of fox all they have to do is stop ignoring rw radio until the ad industry has to break up the monopoly.

[Caliman73]

8. Interestingly enough, a study in the late 2000's indicated that about 75% of Conservatives...

got their information from one source... Fox News. It was a study that was looking at media consumption trends between Liberals and Conservatives. 75% said one source, Fox and the Liberals identified about 6 sources of information, none of them being a "main" source.

If you extrapolate from that, you get the answer to why Fox was/is winning the ratings for cable news, and why 70% plus of conservatives are so misinformed about your list of grievances. If the majority are getting their "information" from Fox AND the even more insane, lying right wing networks that have popped up as rivals to Fox, then we find Conservatives living in a virtual bubble of misinformation.

[Whiskeytide]

39. FOX has been saying the other news media outlets were untrustworthy since it launched. The ...

… propaganda machine has been operating for a long time to establish those ratings.

[certainot]

44. it's the radio. fox is the visual icing on the talk radio lie turd pie. they hear it during the day

driving, working, or doing chores and then they watch the blond perms and blockheads put a face on the stupidity, llies, and hate at the end of the day.

fox depends heavily on 30 years of limbaugh and sons

[Caliman73]

54. No argument from me.

Radio is definitely the gateway. Right wingers effectively took over all of AM radio and filled it with fundamentalist religion and right wing propaganda.

My point was that within what is considered "News" sources the study showed that over 70% of conservatives listed one source. There is no doubt that most of those same people listened to Rush Limbaugh or Mark Savage, or Hannity, or Laura Ingraham, etc...

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Especially Given The Results Of The Poll Are Dubious

Your point is well made, but I don't believe that 70% number for a second.
So, it's not news because if what you describe, but the number itself is not worthy of presentation.

[wellst0nev0ter]

10. It Is News That Republicans Are Dog Barking Insane

And the news should treat every political story in that context. News that republicans are dangerous radicals should be drilled into the heads of every news consumer at every opportunity.

[pwb]

11. So it is 73% of the 23% who claim to be registered republicans? That

is a very low number they are trying to draw attention from. That 73% equals about 35 million voters. Go Blue wave.

[fwvinson]

15. do you have the site where you got your figures?

I've been seeing more in the mid 30's to low 40's for registered repubs, but I haven't looked up any Republican data in a bit.

[ancianita]

26. The Republican data are out there. It does take some search but I found a site below 2 yrs ago

Below, there is a state by state set of numbers of who are registered, but that was as of 2020.
But one can easily arrive at the 23% number by another route. Just please remember, registered data are big money makers and are held tight to each party's chest as almost classified info.

Here's how I arrived at the 23%. It's based on the 2020 election numbers, first from the AP site and then from Cook Politics. By now I could be off by 5 figures here and there but not enough to change the original percentages.

Total population = 330,000,000 (2010 Census still used by media at that point)

Total actual voting age population 2020 = 246,900,000 ( minus minors 73.1 mil +10 mil undocumenteds)


Total Registereds as of Nov 3 2020 = 213,799,467 = 87% of the total voting age population
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/number-of-registered-voters-by-state

Total registereds who voted in 2020 (parentheses show numbers changed as new votes came in) = (156,511,717) (153,989,429) (158,394,605) 158,397,374

Total voters WHO VOTED FOR TRUMP: 74,223,030

Total voters WHO VOTED BUT DID NOT VOTE TRUMP (Democrats + Independent votes) = 84,174,344


Total US population (ALL Americans) that did not vote for Trump = 255,776,970 = 77.5%, OR, rounded downward...

23% who DID vote for Trump.

Media have totally blown up how 74 million are 40%. It depends on which number category the 74 million are the percent OF.

[SergeStorms]

37. And that 23% believe....

that it is their inalienable right to control everything the vast majority of Americans do, think, and say.

Talk about being delusional!

[ancianita]

49. Yep...

reflected in the way their minority leader and minority party believe they're permanently entitled to be the white supremacy government of the USA in perpetuity.

They intend at federal and state levels to use a Senate minority rule to win minority rule.

They have to be beat down like a rabid dog.

[multigraincracker]

17. That was my first thought too.

May now be more Independents than Re-Publicans. So perhaps 20% of total voters?

[andym]

53. 44% of voters are Republican or lean Republican, but 73% of them is a supermajority

within their own party and they are distributed geographically to give the GOP immense power under the US system. If a supermajority of them (73%) believe nonsense the country is in deep trouble.

Data for 44% lean Republican
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/26/what-the-2020-electorate-looks-like-by-party-race-and-ethnicity-age-education-and-religion/

Btw, 49% are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic party.

[appleannie1]

12. Sounds like my brother and sister and her husband.

[cynical_idealist]

14. garbage in, garbage out

Like with a computer, if you feed it bad data all the time, there's no way it can provide valid output.

All these "brainwashed" people have been fed constant lies most of their lives, how can they possibly
understand reality?

Dems need a massive massive information campaign on all media with simple facts
to get through to those that aren't beyond redemption.

[fwvinson]

19. We tried that. Radio is what got us Rachel Maddow, Al Frankin, Chris Hayes. All on AM radio, then

to FM, with Air America. Back in the 90's. I was driving a big truck OTR back then. Lots of radio use, well before XM. Listened to Faux Noose for less than 1 min. Said what the hell and never listened again, ever.

[certainot]

42. it's past thinking we can compete with rw radio, like mom and pop vs wall mart. it has to be destroy

destroyed.

there are still some great liberal talk shows but as long as they're not free and easy like rw radio....

every advertiser, ad agency, university, and sports team owner share responsibility for this disaster and they need to be protested and boycotted until the ad industry is forced to break up that monopoly. then stations will open up and the thom hartmans, randi rhodes, etc can really compete

[OMGWTF]

46. Dems need to start advertising on Spanish-speaking radio stations

[certainot]

48. dems need to investigate rw radio use by russians here and around the world. expose it and stop

it. they're using it to create migration surges, for instance.

they've been using it here since at least 2008. manchin is enabled by the talk radio constituencies that limbaugh created from a russian hack in 2009 - 'climategate'. maybe he'd have a lot less leverage if it was widely known he's serving putin as well as the kochs.

[mahina]

51. That's really true.

There’s a story on NPR a few weeks back about how right wing Radiohead taken over Hispanic radio stations in the south and made a big swing among older voters. Younger members of their own family can’t seem to persuade them at the crazy talk is BS

If they can be taught to think lies are true they have to be able to consider that the wingers want to tale their Social Security and Medicare.

[reACTIONary]

16. A Trump centered party? I'm hoping...

Then in February this year, Newsweek pointed out that 70 percent or Republicans would join or consider joining a Trump-centered party

A new, third party, devoted to tfg! I hope they do it! A 70 / 30 split in the gop would be awesome!

[jmbar2]

18. A lot of them just lie on polls to "own the libs" and the media

Salon had an interesting article on that in October

Like their hero, Donald Trump, Trump voters know full well that the 2020 election wasn't stolen. They just repeat the lie, like a bunch of trolls. It's a useful cover for their true agenda, which is seizing power in 2022 and 2024 by any means necessary — even if doing so requires cheating.

As Greg Sargent of the Washington Post noted on Twitter Thursday morning, "Their collective agreement to pretend the lies about 1/6 and 2020 are true is best understood as a collective unshackling of themselves from any obligation to abide by future election losses -- the precondition to overturning them by whatever means are necessary."

https://www.salon.com/2021/10/28/do-actually-believe-big-lie-about-rigged-elections-they-dont-act-like-they-do/

[Snackshack]

20. When & If...

There is ever a time when historians review this period they will count the “news” organizations as equally responsible for what has happened.

There is no “news” anymore at least not in the sense that many of us associate that word with. Trustworthy, factual and stripped of any opinion (mostly) delivered by Cronkite or Reasoner or Walters. That’s not what we have. We have a hybrid of Jerry Springer + Entertainment Tonight in a reality tv packaging.

The “news” could have and should have shut DT down like Twitter & Facebook long long ago but they didn’t. They decided to give a man accused by 20+ women of sexual assault, allowed a virus to kill 840,000+ Americans because he wanted to “play it down”…then attempt a coup, the news gives him daily time on their broadcast to continue causing damage.

[BlueJac]

21. No kidding!

[Alexander Of Assyria]

22. Truly all of concern. You link to another DU thread but that thread has no link to the

CNN poll quoted.

Is that available to add directly to your post?

[pecosbob]

23. The bi-annual Cletus safaris have gotten a bit old.

Bottom line is that it's yellow journalism, whatever their motivation.

[Bucky]

24. Do you accuse the party of voodoo Reaganomics of being easy dupes?

Really? The party that believed in Sadaam Hussein's massive WMD stockpiles and imminent nuclear program and yet doubted Obama's birth certificate... you think they can be easily bamboozled?

[Artistree22]

27. Propaganda works!

Like Certainot and some others here have been saying over the years-

it's the dominance of right wing radio and limpbagh that has been preaching divisiveness, fear and hate for 30 +years.

Fox was the icing on the cake.
I once could have lively debates with conservatives but now most just go into attack mode, gaslight or try to use fox talking points. It's useless to have debate and we yet we need debate to show how little that they actually have to offer. They never offer any good policy - they just attack the Other side, true dividers that they are.

,,,, and why don't college students stand against their universities airing football games and such on these right wing station??? - Maybe it's because their faces are in their phones and they are removed from the idea of radio having influence anymore. I guess - and the damage is probably already done at this point.

Thanks EarlG for all that you do.


love n peace

[OMGWTF]

47. In September of 2016 I did a driving/train trip through the Midwest and South

staying in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Memphis, Nashville, and NOLA. I made a study of the radio stations in each town, and it was overwhelmingly Reicht-wing hate radio, followed by Christian hate radio, followed by country music and oldies. I also read the local papers wherever I could, and the editorial boards skewed to the Reicht. There were Trump signs literally everywhere we went. I didn't see one Hillary sign until we got to NOLA. These people are so brainwashed -- rinse and repeat.

[uponit7771]

28. Don't Look Up !!!

[Tommymac]

29. And that 70% doesn't care 'bout Democracy. They only want to own da Libs.

That is why they are planning another coup as we speak.

That minority of the overall population is MORE then enough to make a well planned and run coup a real threat.

Lenin toppled a monarchy and took over a country of millions with only a few hundred loyal hardcore followers.

Hitler was a minority party leader who leveraged a few small dissatisfied military autocrats and the flaws of the Weimar Republic to gain control of a country of millions.

Mao used his relatively weak and small group of communist guerillas to gain control of the most populous nation on Earth by making friends with the peasants in small areas of the country.

Most coups are won by small groups that topple large majority governments because of an apathetic majority.

Apathetic Majority. Apathetic Majority. Apathetic Majority.

Let that sink in.

[highplainsdem]

30. K&R! What a great OP, especially this:

Seems to me that the media could save a lot of money if they stopped doing polling and just ran with the headline 73% of Republicans are out of their frickin' gourds once a month.

[Blue Owl]

31. Waiting for that Newsweek edition on Authoritarianism to hit the stands

[lpbk2713]

32. This is enlightening.

I knew they were bat shit crazy but I didn't know they were this bad.

Thanks.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

33. Republicans are like some really wrong turn onto a dead end road in the process of human evolution.

Over 91% Democrats vaccinated, while only 60% Republicans have taken one shot, data reveals

New data analysis has revealed that if US Democratic voters were to make up their own country, it would have one of the world’s most vaccinated populations, with more than 91% of adults having received at least one shot.

Meanwhile, approximately 60% of Republican adults have received their first shot, according to data research by the New York Times.

And the gap in Covid’s death toll between “blue” states that vote mostly Democratic and “red” states that vote mostly Republican this fall widened more quickly than at any previous point of the pandemic.

A total of 25 out of every 100,000 residents in counties that voted for Donald Trump died of Covid in October, compared with the 7.8 per 100,000 in counties that voted heavily for Biden, according to the data analysis from the Times.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/17/counties-voted-trump-higher-covid-death-rate

Yep, they are out of their frickin' gourds.

So many Darwin Awards, so little time. Always stay as far away from Republicans as you possibly can, they are the primary breeding grounds of Covid in the US.

[Maeve]

34. What percentage of Americans are Republicians? Important but neglected point

Party Affiliation | Gallup Historical Trends
https://news.gallup.com › poll › party-affiliation
Republicans Independents Democrats

2021 Nov 1‑16 31 41 27
2021 Oct 1‑19 26 44 26

[Ohioboy]

36. Some things to add to the crazy list:

Republicans are more likely to be the ones waiting for JFK Junior to come back from the dead.

Republicans are more likely to disrupt school board meetings over CRT that is not being taught to K through 12.

[pandr32]

41. Spot on

They are insane but delusional about it. We all have to deal with them in some way every bloody day. I miss the days they weren't so loud and proud, but instead grumbled.

[Slammer]

50. the uninformed

It might not fit the definition of "new" in the word "news".

But it is certainly noteworthy.

Political junkies are well aware of what Republicans by-and-large believe.

But most of the public aren't news junkies and have no idea.

Even if the news posted stories about it every day in a row for two months, you'd still have millions of American adults who have no idea because they only pay attention to the news once every three months or less.

[andym]

52. What your headline should say is that a controlling majority of the GOP, a US major party, is gaslit

which suggests that America itself is in DEEP trouble. Republicans have been manipulated into believing a lot of nonsense. Look how many are needlessly dying because they actually believe the distortions about Covid-19. Then some, including their influencers are surprised that they get sick and some die.

But it is the USA will suffer, because like it or not, the GOP has immense political power in this country.

[applegrove]

55. Hopefully come election time, 30% will be so grossed out by the delusions

and coocookery of the MAGAs that they'll stay home.

[Rhiannon12866]

56. It's become a daily horror show, gets more frightening every day

We continue to hope against hope that those who are blatantly guilty of crimes will be prosecuted and removed from positions of power, but therein lies the problem.