How many MAGAs sincerely believe the Big Lie?

[kentuck]

And how many doubt that it is true but are in deep denial because of their love for Trump?

How many are totally brainwashed and believe that anything that "fake news" reports is false?

Why are so many people willing to believe lies over truth and facts?

Have we seen enough to know that lies are so corrosive that they can destroy our entire system of government?

[Elessar Zappa]

1. There was a recent post

that showed how many people believe the Big Lie and other radical beliefs. It was less than 15% of the population.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

2. Many Republicans have believed conspiracies...

... for several decades, such as the McCarthy accusations about a widespread communist infiltration of our government in the 1950's.

Their gullibility about insane accusations might be at an all-time high now, MAYBE, but I've been eye-rolling about their nonsense over my entire life so far.

I'm not exactly sure what explains their collective mental illness, though.

[Diamond_Dog]

4. It's like being a Republican is a mass psychosis

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. Their party leaders regularly LIE...

... for political gain, so that's part of it.

I'd break away after so many lies, but some people apparently value their old alliances over the truth. (Which another poster mentioned in another reply, below.)

That really might be it. I recently witnessed a right-wing authoritarian woman at work argue in support of a bad cop, whose recorded behavior was deplorable as he killed someone, because her father had been a cop! What kind of logic is that?! So her father was a cop, and that somehow makes ALL cops saintly?

Or like the Republicans who screamed in public demonstrations during the conflict in Vietnam, "My country, right or WRONG!"

They care more about alliances with other people over facts!

[Diamond_Dog]

8. And to get anything done

you have to compromise with these idiots

[Buckeye_Democrat]

9. It's certainly not easy, since objective facts...

... is something that we can all share as common ground. When someone tries to subvert that common ground, by proclaiming that you just need to believe and "join" them without evidence, they're almost certainly up to no good as far as I'm concerned.

[Diamond_Dog]

11. For sure

And I fear for Ohio because you can be sure they are going to make the fair district map issue go away now that Maureen O’Connor will be retiring. I hope some citizen group can get somewhere with a lawsuit. The gerrymandering here is sickening

They don’t want what happened in Michigan to happen in Ohio

[Buckeye_Democrat]

13. Agreed.

Fairness is another thing the GOP doesn't give a damn about, like their contempt for truth when it's inconvenient for them.

[RockRaven]

3. It seems to me answering that question requires a deep dive into what it means to believe things

or at least what people mean when they answer poll questions about believing things.

I suspect a lot of people answer that they believe X when what they really mean is "I know the team that I'm on, and my affiliation is unwavering, no matter what"

People consume and regurgitate bullshit -- even when they know it is bullshit -- while claiming to "believe" it because they want to be on a certain team and have that team win more than they want to be honest while being a free agent or loser.

[erronis]

5. It's all about being part of a tribe or team. It has nothing to do with thinking.

Ask some Joe at a sports bar why such-and-such team is the best - or the worst. It'll be the same garbage as why trump is the messiah or biden is evil.

Ask another person whether xianinity or islamoverall is the best. Same gibberish.

They want to be part of some group. And once they've bought in, good luck having an intelligent conversation going forward.

[Dan]

18. I have found that (football) people can be quite

Objective about the deficiencies of their sports team. Actually, I wish more people would apply the same attention to politics that they apply to their sports team.

[spooky3]

19. University prof here--a student once complained that there was too much

Info to study for the test. I asked him if he could name all of the NFL quarterbacks and make a case for why he ranked his top five as the best.

That ended the discussion.

[paleotn]

6. Some, but that doesn't matter.

They find unity in their hatred.

[Trenzalore]

12. I think there is a differentiation

The rank and file mouth breathers believe any nonsense that comes out of Trump's mouth

The elected officials and their staff and those that run the campaigns with the exception of a few know it is total bullshit.

[GoodRaisin]

14. Most of them. They are a minority of really stupid people. But most R voters aren't MAGA.

They are “not a democrat” voters. That’s why Warnock is in a tight race against a poor candidate like Walker.

[barbtries]

16. very true,

and it fucking pisses me off that the same people who abandoned the Democratic Party over Civil Rights are now so wedded to the Republican party that they'd see the USA become a fascist dictatorship run by fools (they can see that Walker is a fool!) before ever voting for a Democrat.

[barbtries]

15. i don't know.

i don't know.
i don't know, and
hell yes.

my personal thought is that we need some discussion about the abuse of the First Amendment that has brought us to this state of polarization. I've essentially lost family members and loved ones over this shit.

[NewHendoLib]

17. propaganda is powerful and they get huge doses from their media sources

In truth, the word "sincere" is useless with them. They have no ideas of their own.