# Why are Republicans so obtuse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 2, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412 "2010-02-02T18:04:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/41 "2010-02-02T19:21:40Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Is this simply your opinion, or do you have some actual facts to back this statement up? Or are we to take your word “apparently” as “I have no evidence, but am going to try this excuse on for size”? You can read the “actual facts” backing that statement up in Posts 4 and 10. Perhaps you should have tried that first. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/42 "2010-02-02T19:30:14Z")
There are plenty of people who might claim " I don’t know" however. If you asked me, “Is Obama a citizen?”, my answer is: “If Hillary’s team couldn’t find a smoking gun, it must not exist.” However, if you insisted in a court of law, my answer would be “I have not personally examined his birth certificate.” If you then were allowed to badger the witness, “close enough for government work.” Does Obama hate white folks? I have no idea. I doubt it, but I don’t know the man. I like to mess with pollsters, so I could be one of those people who insists on pleading that “I don’t know” since, well, I don’t KNOW. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/43 "2010-02-02T19:48:09Z")
You shouldn’t ask “Why are Republican’s so obtuse?” You should ask “Why do Republicans like to fuck with pollsters that ask silly questions?” Look, it’s pretty simple. A pollster calls you on the phone, which annoys you right off the bat. Then they ask if you’re a Republican, which annoys you further because you know some condescention is coming. “Is Barack Obama a citizen?” they inquire. _Ah, Christ_ you think, _Not this shit again. I really hate that bastard. He’s tearing this country apart, spending all my money, charming people with that smarmy smile of his. Ugh. Now how can I express my displeasure for him and this pollster?_ “Nope. Definitely Kenyan.” _OK, maybe the next question will be about something substantial, deficit management or something._ “Does Obama hate white people?” _You gotta be fucking kidding me._ “Yeah. He hates white people. All’um. Oh, and gays shouldn’t be teachers or get any benefits either. Good day.”::click:: How do I know this is the case? Because I’ve never met a single Republican with any of these views. If I did, the rest of us would laugh at them. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/44 "2010-02-02T19:48:39Z")
I think this poll is questionable. Why should we do away with birth control? There was a lady lawyer trying to expose that Obama’s birth certificate was fake in California but they threw her out of court. If they wanted to get good info they should have put the poll on SD. Are Republicans Obtuse? Perhaps but Angry… definitely. They picketed him in his own town. That says a lot. [http://lornakismet.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/anti-obama-protest-in-downtown-chicago/](http://lornakismet.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/anti-obama-protest-in-downtown-chicago/) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/45 "2010-02-02T19:57:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You can read the “actual facts” backing that statement up in Posts 4 and 10. Perhaps you should have tried that first. [Here](http://www.gallup.com/poll/118528/gop-losses-span-nearly-demographic-groups.aspx) is the results of a Gallup poll showing the decline in support of the Republican party among various groups, versus 2001. Liberal support is down 8%, moderate support is down 9%, while conservative support is down 1%. Thus if the poll overrepresents conservatives, that is only because that is how the Republican party now looks. I’m not going to bother to look up membership by sex. if men are more conservative than women, perhaps it is reasonable to assume that more men are Republicans? As for the don’t knows, if I had a poll about whether the earth went around the sun, with 40% yes, 30% no, and 30% don’t know, would that make you feel good? What percentage of the people who don’t know whether Obama supports terrorism think he does but are ashamed to say so? It should be a no brainer - anyone who really doesn’t know this, after a year of wiping out terrorist leaders with missiles, really shouldn’t be let out in public. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/46 "2010-02-02T20:04:58Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > I think this poll is questionable. Why should we do away with birth control? > There was a lady lawyer trying to expose that Obama’s birth certificate was fake in California but they threw her out of court. But Oily Taint got lots of coverage on Fox News, and the teabaggers loved her. Judges are a bit smarter than the average teabagger, fortunately. As for the first, the Times had an article a while back how the religious right, especially the Catholic right, were working on outlawing or limiting contraception after they had managed to have abortion outlawed. Their initial strategy is to claim health risks. You are probably too young to remember when condoms were hidden behind the counter at drugstores, and were not available in every grocery. Remember, they were illegal not all that long ago, back in the good old days conservatives love so much. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/47 "2010-02-02T20:13:42Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Republicans are not obtuse; they’re confined to right angles. I’m not sure you guys, I know acute Republican or two. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/48 "2010-02-02T20:19:07Z")
The only thing suspicious about this poll is that some of the questions seem to be crafted as gotcha type questions. Otherwise, I don’t think that Research 2000 is biased. I checked one question, about gay marriage, against the data on [PollingReport.com](http://PollingReport.com) and while it was on the low end, it was not out of whack. The CBS poll showed support by Republicans at 6-18%, depending on when the poll was taken over the last year. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/49 "2010-02-02T20:20:19Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > You shouldn’t ask “Why are Republican’s so obtuse?” > > You should ask “Why do Republicans like to fuck with pollsters that ask silly questions?” Look, it’s pretty simple. A pollster calls you on the phone, which annoys you right off the bat. Then they ask if you’re a Republican, which annoys you further because you know some condescention is coming. Really? Fox News doesn’t run polls? > [@](#): > > “Is Barack Obama a citizen?” they inquire. > > _Ah, Christ_ you think, _Not this shit again. I really hate that bastard. He’s tearing this country apart, spending all my money, charming people with that smarmy smile of his. Ugh. Now how can I express my displeasure for him and this pollster?_ > > “Nope. Definitely Kenyan.” _OK, maybe the next question will be about something substantial, deficit management or something._ How many times do you think the average person gets polled? How many average people (of whatever party) are just waiting to engage in a detailed discussion of federal budgeting? 30%? I doubt even 30% of Dopers would, and we aren’t a great representative sample. > [@](#): > > How do I know this is the case? Because I’ve never met a single Republican with any of these views. If I did, the rest of us would laugh at them. So, the teabaggers are either not Republican or they are lying about their beliefs? ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/50 "2010-02-02T20:21:30Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > You shouldn’t ask “Why are Republican’s so obtuse?” > > You should ask “Why do Republicans like to fuck with pollsters that ask silly questions?” Look, it’s pretty simple. A pollster calls you on the phone, which annoys you right off the bat. Then they ask if you’re a Republican, which annoys you further because you know some condescention is coming. > > “Is Barack Obama a citizen?” they inquire. > > _Ah, Christ_ you think, _Not this shit again. I really hate that bastard. He’s tearing this country apart, spending all my money, charming people with that smarmy smile of his. Ugh. Now how can I express my displeasure for him and this pollster?_ > > “Nope. Definitely Kenyan.” _OK, maybe the next question will be about something substantial, deficit management or something._ > > “Does Obama hate white people?” _You gotta be fucking kidding me._ > “Yeah. He hates white people. All’um. Oh, and gays shouldn’t be teachers or get any benefits either. Good day.”::click:: > > How do I know this is the case? Because I’ve never met a single Republican with any of these views. If I did, the rest of us would laugh at them. I’ve actually done this with some pollsters that wouldn’t leave me alone. I had a firearm owner ID card when I owned a rifle and kept getting calls from the NRA. I told them to leave me alone but they wouldn’t stop. I finally went from giving serious answers to screwing with them. One time I would respond like I was an ultra pacifist who believed all guns should be melted down and made into statues, the next time I was such a gun nut that militia members were afraid of me. I’m the reason why they invented the margin of error. No republican I know has these views. Sure there are the wackos that call in to Michael Savage or watch Beck but I’ve never actually met one of them. I live in a pretty conservative, semi-rural area and the craziest thing I ever heard someone say about Obama is that he used meth. I told him that Obama admitted to using coke but never said anything about meth. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/51 "2010-02-02T20:28:46Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > Oh, come on! A poll about what Republicans think by The Daily Kos? What’s next? A poll about what Democrats think by Fox News? > > Consider the source and discard the information as useless. It’s not by the Daily Kos, it’s by Research 2000. It was only commissioned by Kos. I don’t think people understand that these media organizations commission polls from professional polling companies, They don’t run them themselves. The methodology, numbers and questions are freely available, so trying to deny the credibility of the poll is a non-starter. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/52 "2010-02-02T20:30:32Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > The funny thing is that I’m sure there would be a similar list of ‘ridiculous’ things that liberals believed about Bush if you crafted the poll in a similar way. [Here are the exact questions](http://www.dailykos.com/statepoll/2010/1/31/US/437). What do you think is crafted unfairly? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/53 "2010-02-02T20:37:31Z")
Jesus, 77% of these cretins think that Genesis should be taught as fact. We are fucked as a society. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/54 "2010-02-02T20:44:47Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > _snort_ Just keep telling yourself that. I’ve heard conservatives say that ‘Reality has a conservative bias’ as well. Frankly, I think that both sides are delusional. Reality has a moderate bias. 😛 > > -XT Not by an American standard of “moderate,” it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/55 "2010-02-02T20:57:30Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > But Oily Taint got lots of coverage on Fox News, and the teabaggers loved her. Judges are a bit smarter than the average teabagger, fortunately. > > As for the first, the Times had an article a while back how the religious right, especially the Catholic right, were working on outlawing or limiting contraception after they had managed to have abortion outlawed. Their initial strategy is to claim health risks. You are probably too young to remember when condoms were hidden behind the counter at drugstores, and were not available in every grocery. Remember, they were illegal not all that long ago, back in the good old days conservatives love so much. Ok, Now I get it. Birth control is looked at in some religions as the same as an abortion. Still I wonder why Obama refuses to have his birth certificate unsealed in Hawaii? What is the big deal… We all have them unless we are not born in America. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/56 "2010-02-02T21:00:59Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Really? Fox News doesn’t run polls? > > How many times do you think the average person gets polled? How many average people (of whatever party) are just waiting to engage in a detailed discussion of federal budgeting? 30%? I doubt even 30% of Dopers would, and we aren’t a great representative sample. > So, the teabaggers are either not Republican or they are lying about their beliefs? First, where did I say that Fox News doesn’t run polls? Do you mean how do I know some condescention is coming? Because that’s what we get nowadays. On here and in real life. Second, the average person hardly ever gets polled. That’s my point. At first, you’re like “Fuck, the phone’s ringing while I’m eating dinner.” But then you realize it’s a poll, so it might not be that bad (or maybe it is, depending on the individual). At least you’ll finally get to express your opinion, right? Wrong. They don’t ask you “Do you approve of the job the President is doing?”, they don’t ask “What’s the biggest issue facing the nation right now?”, they don’t ask “Is this nation on the right track?” No. They ask you, essentially, “Are you retarded?” This offends people. So they do one of two things: 1. Pretend that the question _is_ one of the big ones. They say “No, I disapprove of the job the president is doing”, and in order to express that, they say “No, he’s not a citizen.” It doesn’t matter what the question is. You can ask “Does Obama eat babies for breakfast?” and you’ll get his enemies to say “…with relish!” because what they really mean is “I disapprove of his policies.” 2. Fuck with the poll out of annoyance. No matter what question you ask, if it’s something a simpleton could get right, they’ll give you the stupid answer just to jerk around the numbers. It’s a data point in the shape of the middle finger. Ask people if grass is green and you’ll get 35% saying “Nope. It’s red.” because they’re offended that you’ve bothered them over such a stupid question. I’m betting that it’s more 1 than 2. If I really want to diss the president, but you only give me the choice between “Is a citizen” and “isn’t a citizen”, then I’ll take the negative one just to take a swipe at my political enemy. It’s a “Go team!” type of response. I mean, I don’t _actually think_ that WVU graduates are inbred hicks, but hey, you’re the one asking a Pitt alumnus. What do you expect me to say? Third, the teabaggers are a tiny, tiny minority of Republicans. _Everyone else_ is lying about their beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/57 "2010-02-02T21:03:43Z")
RNATB, our discussion has been a bit confusing. Do you really think that the people selected to participate in this poll were selected from voter rolls? If so, why? My position is that we have no info about how participants were selected other than that they identified themselves as Republicans. The list could have been created from those that voluntarily filled out a survey online. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/58 "2010-02-02T21:09:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Jesus, 77% of these cretins think that Genesis should be taught as fact. We are fucked as a society. I don’t see why as we are a Christian nation, that children can’t be taught all the theories. I remember being taught the Big Bang Theory right along side the others. Since 70 percent voted they believe in Jesus Christ it only makes sense to teach Genesis. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/59 "2010-02-02T21:11:02Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > Ok, Now I get it. Birth control is looked at in some religions as the same as an abortion. > > Still I wonder why Obama refuses to have his birth certificate unsealed in Hawaii? What is the big deal… We all have them unless we are not born in America. Wait, what??? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412/60 "2010-02-02T21:19:05Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > I don’t see why as we are a Christian nation, that children can’t be taught all the theories. Creationism isn’t a theory, it’s a tale. > [@](#): > > I remember being taught the Big Bang Theory right along side the others. Since 70 percent voted they believe in Jesus Christ it only makes sense to teach Genesis. No, it doesn’t. It makes no sense to teach fables as fact at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-so-obtuse/527412.md?page=4)