# Which party supports anti-vaxxing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 25, 2019, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171 "2019-02-25T11:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/41 "2019-02-26T04:06:34Z")
In fact, that article bases its “bothsiderism” claims on a Pew Research study that’s [really really long](http://www.pewresearch.org/science/2015/07/01/chapter-5-public-views-about-biomedical-issues/). The chapter on biomedical issues, though, contains the money quote: > [@](#): > > There are modest differences in views about vaccines along political lines, a difference that emerged since 2009 when Pew Research last polled on this issue. In the 2014 survey, fully 74% of Democrats and independents who lean to the Democratic Party said vaccines should be required, compared with 64% of Republicans and independents who lean to the GOP. By comparison, there was no difference in views on vaccinations along party lines in 2009. The Pew Research analysis using a three-way classification of independents, Republicans and Democrats shows the same pattern. > > There are modest differences by ideology with conservatives more inclined than liberals to say that parents should be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children (33% compared with 25%). > … > Democrats and leaning Democrats are more likely than their Republican counterparts to say that childhood vaccines should be required, controlling for other factors (a difference in the predicted probability between the two groups of 9 percentage points). Political ideology, gender and education are not significant predictors of views on this issue. Race and ethnicity are not significant predictors of opinion, although there is a trend for Hispanics to say vaccines should be required, relative to non-Hispanic whites. However, this is for “should they be required.” Later, they talk about “are they safe,” and in this area, there’s less of a disparity. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/42 "2019-02-26T06:05:06Z")
“Race and ethnicity are not significant predictors of opinion, although there is a trend for Hispanics to say vaccines should be required, relative to non-Hispanic whites.” Probably because a larger percentage of Hispanics are immigrants from or have relatives in countries where people still die from vaccine-preventable diseases. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/43 "2019-02-26T11:31:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > While I appreciate your fighting back against that nonsense, a quick flip for the stats: it’s not that 56% of men are anti-vax, it’s that 56% of anti-vaxxers are men. (I did a double-take when I saw what you’d written and went to the article to check). Important difference! 😃 > … You’re right, of course. Sorry for adding additional nonsense! The point is still right, though – they “typical” anti-vaxxer is male, not female, contrary to the Mouse’s guess. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/44 "2019-02-26T11:38:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > While I appreciate your fighting back against that nonsense, a quick flip for the stats: it’s not that 56% of men are anti-vax, it’s that 56% of anti-vaxxers are men. (I did a double-take when I saw what you’d written and went to the article to check). Important difference! 😃 > > Michael, if you can’t see the sexism in this passage you wrote, I dunno what to tell you: If I said most women are like that, you’d be right. I didn’t think most women are like that but most anti-vaxx people are like that which I may be wrong about. Is it “dim and scaredy”? Plenty of men are dim and scaredy but it often will manifest itself through things other than active opposition to vaccines (like guns and homophobia). “Hyperactive amygdala and hypoactive prefrontal cortex”: That’s a more detailed version of the above statement. “gets pregnant and can’t really keep what little head she has with all the hormonal changes” = [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum\_depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression) includes symptoms like: Persistent anxiousness, inability to be comforted, diminished ability to make decisions and think clearly. Do you see how those symptoms could push someone to espouse anti-vaxx views? If I said that part of the reason young men commit more violence than others, especially women, is because of testosterone and their brain not being fully formed, would it be misandry? It is quite possible that none of those factors are significant and that it all comes down to women being generally more involved when it comes to children as Dseid said. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/45 "2019-02-26T11:41:24Z")
Adding to what others have already said, I haven’t found liberals or conservatives to be more anti-vax than the other. They do crop up in clusters, though, little hotspots here and there, so while _these_ anti-vaxers might be mostly liberal, _those_ anti-vaxers are mostly conservative. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/46 "2019-02-26T20:41:22Z")
Could we draw another distinction to resolve an ambiguity in OP’s question: “Party” could refer to the people who voter for that party, the rank-and-file members, the leadership, the party platform, what the decision makers within/behind the party actually intend to do. I’m pretty sure the Koch brothers don’t believe in anti-vaxx non-sense but they’d gladly use it as a wedge issue to prevent lower income voters from voting for a party that will raise taxes. The GOP has been cooping kooks since the 50s when they started welcoming segregationists like SturmThurmond. Bitching about Dems and anti-vaxx is indeed just a form of what-about-ism. If you were a Republican right now and not a complete piece of shit, wouldn’t there be at least a small part of you that would feel uneasy about your political allies? Now the GOPers think they’ve found a way to say: “No U!” ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/47 "2019-02-26T20:47:35Z")
Which national Democratic leader is anti-vax? Both sides have their kooks - Republicans just chose to elect one of theirs to the Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/48 "2019-02-26T23:28:29Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Legislatively, though, do we see much from Democrats **today** in favor of opt-out laws? The recent measles outbreak in Oregon and Washington is the result of robust opt-out provisions in Democratic controlled states. The [law](https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/states-with-arbitrary-vaccine-exemptions-facing-measles-outbreaks/1736609436) currently allows opt-out without any justification other than not wanting the vaccine. We’ll see if they manage to pass stricter laws in response to the outbreak. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/49 "2019-02-28T00:15:59Z")
I admit I shouldn’t have jumped to that conclusion. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/50 "2019-02-28T00:59:31Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Both sides have their kooks - Republicans just chose to elect one of theirs to the Presidency. Republicans seem to elect more kooks than Dems. There’s one in the Texas legislature who wants to make it easier for parents to opt-out of vaccinations. He claims that measles is not a problem because we have antibiotics.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/51 "2019-02-28T01:07:07Z")
Here’s my take on it. There certainly many Dems who live in the fact-free zone, but virtually all Reps live there. Ducks.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/52 "2019-03-01T00:57:29Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > While I appreciate your fighting back against that nonsense, a quick flip for the stats: it’s not that 56% of men are anti-vax, it’s that 56% of anti-vaxxers are men. (I did a double-take when I saw what you’d written and went to the article to check). Important difference! 😃 > > Michael, if you can’t see the sexism in this passage you wrote, I dunno what to tell you: To be fair, he did say he based that on online experience. The vast majority of online anti vaxxing does come from women. So they are just louder about it. > **['Vast Majority' of Online Anti-Vaxxers Are Women](https://www.livescience.com/61305-most-online-anti-vaxxers-are-women.html)** > > Anti-vaxxer Facebook communities are largely driven by women and conspiracy thinking, a new study finds. Also interestingly, twice as many young people do support it. As you’ll see in links already cited. So having his perspective was actually quite understandable. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/53 "2019-03-14T20:21:34Z")
According to [this new poll](https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/434107-polls-show-emerging-ideological-divide-over-childhood), support for mandatory childhood vaccinations is becoming a left-right issue. 70% of liberals support mandatory vaccinations, while only 54% of conservatives do. > [@](#): > > While some prominent Democrats, such as Robert Kennedy Jr., have promoted unscientific claims that vaccines damage children, Republican elected officials have been more likely to be skeptical. Those concerns seem to be filtering down to GOP voters, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll. > … > Broken down by party affiliation, similar trends are apparent with 54 percent of Republicans favoring vaccine requirements along with 59 percent of independents and 68 percent of Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/54 "2019-03-14T22:20:52Z")
Liberal with an ultra-conservative conspiracy theorist landlord checking in. My landlord is fairly _vehemently_ anti-vaxx. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/55 "2019-03-14T23:24:15Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > According to [this new poll](https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/434107-polls-show-emerging-ideological-divide-over-childhood), support for mandatory childhood vaccinations is becoming a left-right issue. 70% of liberals support mandatory vaccinations, while only 54% of conservatives do. Keeping track of things like this, I do remember seeing a few years ago that there were similar number of liberals and conservatives that were antivaxxers, with slightly more liberals against them, very low numbers though. But now that [leaders in the Republican party are coming as anti vaccine or “concerned”](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-anti-vaxxer-disease-is-now-a-republican-epidemic) it is clear to me that we are seeing yet another issue that was **not** supposed to be a partizan one becoming one, and at a furious and harmful pace. My theory is that the Republicans embrace more anti science, or conspiracies geared to seed distrust of science. The [crank magnetism](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Crank_magnetism)seen mostly among right wing conspiracy minded people, is causing many to encounter more of those conspiracies and they are not content with only one conspiracy, they adopt more thanks to their dependency on their sources. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171/56 "2019-03-14T23:41:50Z")
> [@](#): > > But now that leaders in the Republican party are coming as anti vaccine or “concerned” it is clear to me that we are seeing yet another issue that was not supposed to be a partizan one becoming one, and at a furious and harmful pace. Agreed. This absolutely should not be partisan issue - neither should any science, really. And it’s very problematic to me that it’s becoming one. I can say at least “my” side is on the right with this one (there are some other anti-science things the tend prevalent on the left), but I shouldn’t say that. It shouldn’t matter. But I have no idea what can be done to stop polarization happening/furthering on this matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-supports-anti-vaxxing/830171.md?page=2)