30 Million Fundies Missing Last Election Day?

[Loach]

@Gorsnak

If you figure evangelicals to be 25% of the population (all depends on how you define evangelical) and you assume they turned out at the same rate as other groups in 2008, you’d get something like 25 million of 55 million evangelicals staying home. So it’s not a huge distortion; it’s just entirely unremarkable. 40% of all groups stayed home in 2008.

Does that include non-voting age too?

[11811]

@yabob

Look at the subject line.

Yeah, my bad for saying “fundies.” I do realize they’re different. I wonder if the Norrises or their allies conflate the two.

[Mdcastle]

@yabob

On the broadness of “Evangelical” as a term:

Look at the list of denominations which belong to the National Association of Evangelicals:

National Association of Evangelicals - Wikipedia

That “Evangelical” might, in fact, be Presbyterian. The last time I looked, I would hardly consider most Presbys to inhabit the radical fringe.

The Presbyterian group on the list is the Presbyterian Church in America. They’re a lot more conservative than the much larger Presbyterian Church, USA . I’m not that familier with the NAE, but looking at the list is appears to be “conservative Protestant churches” rather than just those traditionally thought of as “Evangelical”. I notice the Assemblies of God is on their too, and they’re usually thought of as pentacostal, not evangelical.

As an Evangelical from churches traditionally thought of as evangelical (Baptist, Evangelical Free, Christian Missionary Alliance) I have to agree that Romney is provoking big yawns from me. Do I vote for a rock or a hard place, or just say screw it and stay home and watch TV.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@Musicat

I would have suspicions about most anything from HuffPo. They are only one step removed from the Weekly World News, where dingos are always hatching human babies. Or eating them. I forget.

Well, that’s a bit harsh. There can be an obvious partisan bias to their stuff, but all in all I find it factual and useful. Hell, they won a Pulitzer earlier this year.

HuffPost

[yabob]

@Mdcastleman

The Presbyterian group on the list is the Presbyterian Church in America. They’re a lot more conservative than the much larger Presbyterian Church, USA . I’m not that familier with the NAE, but looking at the list is appears to be “conservative Protestant churches” rather than just those traditionally thought of as “Evangelical”. I notice the Assemblies of God is on their too, and they’re usually thought of as pentacostal, not evangelical.

As an Evangelical from churches traditionally thought of as evangelical (Baptist, Evangelical Free, Christian Missionary Alliance) I have to agree that Romney is provoking big yawns from me. Do I vote for a rock or a hard place, or just say screw it and stay home and watch TV.

Yeah, I noticed that. I’m not up on the divisions within the Presbyterian Church, but I did notice that they claim 351,000 members and 1771 congregations, and are described as the second largest Presbyterian church body in the US. The NAE list also contains the “Evangelical Presbyterian Church” and the “Evangelical Assembly of Presbyterian Churches”. The organization seems like a good starting point for denominations that at least align themselves with “Evangelical” in some sense, and an explanation as to why you can claim that something on the order of 1/3 of the US population is “Evangelical Christian”.

[Rhythmdvl]

[Life of Brian]

[Derleth]

@Elendil_s_Heir

Well, that’s a bit harsh. There can be an obvious partisan bias to their stuff, but all in all I find it factual and useful.

Then you aren’t looking at their medical or health reporting.

They’re anti-vaxxers, for one thing. They also support homeopathy and other crap.

[Musicat]

@Elendil_s_Heir

Well, that’s a bit harsh. There can be an obvious partisan bias to their stuff, but all in all I find it factual and useful. Hell, they won a Pulitzer earlier this year.

HuffPost - Wikipedia

Sorry to hear that. The haloed Pulitzer ain’t what it used to be (when print media ruled).

[Elendil_s_Heir]

I just read their political/current events stuff, and have no complaints.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@Musicat

Sorry to hear that. The haloed Pulitzer ain’t what it used to be (when print media ruled).

A Pulitzer is normally awarded for one particular news story. (The HuffPo won it for a series on veterans.) A Pulitzer doesn’t now or has ever indicated anything at all beyond that one story. Probably every paper that has ever won a Pulitzer has had some crazy columnist say some crazy things, and that’s all that link takes you to. Maybe if you had clicked through and done some searching you’d have seen that the column in question is three years old and that the writer hasn’t posted on HuffPo in six months.

And while I am firmly pro-vax and anti-homeopathy, I didn’t get a swine flu shot either, because I didn’t think it was necessary.

[Imasquare]

@11811

Huffington Post is running a story

(HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost /)

about Chuck Norris, where he says that an Obama reelection will lead to 1,000 years of darkness. Typical election-year hyperbole, says I. But then comes this:

“Gena [Norris] then cites the statistic that in 2008 more than 30 million Evangelical Christians stayed home on Voting Day and Obama won.”

Is this either a proven fact or a well-known myth? I don’t remember hearing this before.

I would suspect anyone who says what Chuck Norris said to be mentally ill.

[Yllaria]

Good thing I read this before heading for the store. Let’s see. 1000 years of darkness . . . how many batteries should I pick up for the flashlights?

[Imasquare]

@Musicat

I would have suspicions about most anything from HuffPo. They are only one step removed from the Weekly World News, where dingos are always hatching human babies. Or eating them. I forget.

That statement makes je suspect you have never read the Huffington Post. Or you are being political.

[Musicat]

@Imasquare

That statement makes je suspect you have never read the Huffington Post. Or you are being political.

I’m not alone, and I don’t think I need to read much more of this tripe: Don’t vaccinate, says The Huff.

Or Die, HuffPo, DIE! | ScienceBlogs

The HuffPo is once again a source of gross misinformation. Don’t worry about swine flu — it’s benign. If you really must protect yourself, take vitamins, eat garlic, get herbal supplements, and trust in homeopathy.

It’s patent quackery.

Really, people: boycott the HuffPo. I never read that slurry of watery dog crap anymore unless you cruel readers send me a link — it’s not worth it.

(Link courtesy of Derleth.)