# Why does this board lean Democrat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 24, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626 "2013-04-24T23:00:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/141 "2013-04-28T14:20:30Z")
As far as hostile comments and mod actions go, barring anyone actually stepping up with data, my personal impression is that pretty much the liberal/progressive contingency and the conservative/libertarian one both have the same fraction of jerks, idiots, and the like. Accepting that more liberals/progressives engage in politically themed debates here then obviously the absolute number of jerky idiotic comments will come from that camp. Basic math peeps. I have seen no bias from mods. **Bricker** there is no liberal groupthink here. Those here who would self-identify as liberal or progressive _often_ very much disagree with each other and argue amongst themselves over well almost everything. What is a “slam-dunk for the right” to you just doesn’t seem that way to many others. And what would a example of such a slam-dunk issue in your mind anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/142 "2013-04-28T14:32:35Z")
Seems to me that most of the posters are young, and the young tend to be “left” leaning. Once they get older, they’ll become right wing. BTW it is possible to be a socialist that wants to tax the rich till they squeak, but be against welfare for bludgers and illegal immigration. Somehow, socialism seems to have been hijacked by bleeding heart liberals that want to give no hopers everything. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/143 "2013-04-28T15:03:19Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Join date 1999 says ii all. I don’t think that’s true anymore. Heck, I joined in 2002, and I’ve still never read any of his stuff nor even heard of him until after I joined. However, like I and others mentioned, that “seeded” the original boards heavily to the liberal side and by itself created a self-selection bias at the outset. By the mid-late 00’s we already had a far greater proportion of conservatives than what would have been expected solely from the newspaper carryover but it was still a minority. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/144 "2013-04-28T16:55:45Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Seems to me that most of the posters are young, and the young tend to be “left” leaning. Once they get older, they’ll become right wing. No, that is absolute crap. It presupposes that the conservative position (which, today, is way to the left of “right wing”) is the sensible, practical approach and the lefties are all full of hippy-dippy fantasies, that they will eventually come around to good sense. I think Churchill was first credited with that comment, to justify being a Tory asshat. I know my mother has drifted leftward in her 8+ decades, and I know I am not less left-ish than I was 30 years ago. I do know that there are complexities to life that make some of my ideals difficult to implement, possibly even unworkable. And I know that I am about as wrong as the next guy, something both liberals and conservatives fail to recognize in themselves. Whatever begets the notion that people move to the right as they age, it is just idiotic. It suggests that conservatism is more pragmatic than liberalism, which has been shown, time and again, to not be the case. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/145 "2013-04-28T17:25:33Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Seems to me that most of the posters are young, and the young tend to be “left” leaning. Once they get older, they’ll become right wing. > > BTW it is possible to be a socialist that wants to tax the rich till they squeak, but be against welfare for bludgers and illegal immigration. > Somehow, socialism seems to have been hijacked by bleeding heart liberals that want to give no hopers everything. I don’t think that’s true: > [@](#): > > Amidst the bipartisan banter of election season, there persists an enduring belief that people get more conservative as they age – making older people more likely to vote for Republican candidates. > > Ongoing research, however, fails to back up the stereotype. While there is some evidence that today’s seniors may be more conservative than today’s youth, that’s not because older folks are more conservative than they use to be. Instead, our modern elders likely came of age at a time when the political situation favored more conservative views. > > In fact, studies show that people may actually get more liberal over time when it comes to certain kinds of beliefs. That suggests that we are not pre-determined to get stodgy, set in our ways or otherwise more inflexible in our retirement years. [http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/voter-conservative-aging-liberal-120119.htm](http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/voter-conservative-aging-liberal-120119.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/146 "2013-04-28T18:36:33Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Seems to me that most of the posters are young, and the young tend to be “left” leaning. Depends what your definition of “young” is. This board doesn’t fit mine. Based on the unscientific polls we have had around here on the topic there appear to be rather more 30- and 40-somethings than 20-somethings and far more 50-70-somethings than teens of any sort. And sorry folks, over 30 no longer gets to go by “young” in my book ;). ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/147 "2013-04-28T18:40:15Z")
I certainly am more ‘liberal’ than I was 30 years ago. I was a stuck-in-the-mud fuddy-duddy who thought he was right about everything. I wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/148 "2013-04-28T22:10:48Z")
In a way, I guess I could see that I have become more _conservative_: when I look at the way things are going today, the 70s sure starts to look like a better time in many ways. Still not without its flaws, but not as fucked up as things have become. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/149 "2013-04-28T23:28:52Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Here’s another plausible explanation. Right-wingers work harder at their jobs. Left-wingers surf the internet. Interesting theory. I’ve posted here 12 years (see? not all republicans are chased off) and have never made a single post at work. I know that’s hardly also true of many posters. It’d make for an interesting poll re: what’s your party and do you post here when you’re supposed to be doing the job you’re paid for? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/150 "2013-04-29T03:31:31Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Look at every conservative in this thread. Not a single one is not trying to make everyone else feel guilty. Not a single one isn’t reacting in anger. My post – two above yours – wasn’t a reaction in anger, and it wasn’t an attempt to make everyone else feel guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/151 "2013-04-29T13:13:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Look at every conservative in this thread. Not a single one is not trying to make everyone else feel guilty. Not a single one isn’t reacting in anger. I can’t tell if you are being ironic here, or not. If not, what you are saying boils down to “those darn conservatives react badly to being called names”. > [@](#): > > I have never found a board where the discussion was sincere, intelligent and accommodating that had obvious right-leaning participants. > [@](#): > > All the conservative people are too busy posting crazy content in the comments sections of online news media. > [@](#): > > The fact that the mods do not instantly ban anyone who doesn’t spout the Republican party line is by itself more than enough to drive off most Republicans. > [@](#): > > I’d generally say there are significant elements of selfishness, intolerance, and bullshit in many of the positions most conservatives - including you - espouse on these matters. > [@](#): > > Is the opposition to immigration amnesty, tax hikes for the wealthy, universal background checks for gun purchases, and abortion ALL “selfish, intolerant bullshit?” > > > [@](#): > > > > Yes. How is that even debatable? > [@](#): > > I just think the Republicans are bullies and liars and I’d like to spit in their eye. _:shrugs:_ Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/152 "2013-04-29T13:24:35Z")
I don’t read the first quote to mean the presence of right-leaning members means the board isn’t all of those things. I read it to mean that there is no such right-leaning board. And I think that’s sadly true, isn’t it? (I’d go one step further: there are no conservative-leaning message boards that are even as accommodating to liberals as this board is to conservatives; however, I’d settle for one that was at least equal.) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/153 "2013-04-29T14:03:08Z")
My original quote from post #14: “Lean Democrat? Fuck them, I just think the Republicans are bullies and liars and I’d like to spit in their eye.” As quoted by **Bricker** in #23, and **BorgHunter** in #26: “I just think the Republicans are bullies and liars and I’d like to spit in their eye.” And **Shodan** in #45: “Fuck them, I just think the Republicans are bullies and liars and I’d like to spit in their eye.” (misquoted (deliberately?) as if by “them” I mean the Republicans) **Shodan** again, in #151: “I just think the Republicans are bullies and liars and I’d like to spit in their eye.” Misquoting and quoting out of context is a form of lying. As for bullying: when starving people break into churches to eat the tallow candles, Conservatives are traditionally the ones troubled by the irreverance, not the starvation. You (Democrat conservatives and also-but-especially Republicans alike) think riots are sparked by people who want to steal TVs, not by handcuffed Black kids being shot by cops. You wanted people with AIDS to die off, not receive subsidised healthcare. You wanted Black people to “go slow” on Civil Rights, blaming their murders as much on they themsleves as the actual killers . You wanted to deny gay people marriage because your touts in the church pulpits think what they do in bed offends their concept of God. I’ve been enduring you for over 50 years, and it’s not me who isn’t welcoming you: it’s the future that hasn’t been welcoming you; because you’ve fought it every step of the way. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/154 "2013-04-29T14:13:50Z")
I am not sure what you are talking about, but you were not misquoted. If you don’t think Republicans are bullies and liars, and you don’t want to spit in their eye, then you should not have said that you think Republicans are bullies and liars and that you would like to spit in their eye. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/155 "2013-04-29T14:18:49Z")
I think a Republican once kicked sand in his face before he started working out and was about to beat that Republican up and win the girl… ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/156 "2013-04-29T14:33:01Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I am not sure what you are talking about, but you were not misquoted. > > If you don’t think Republicans are bullies and liars, and you don’t want to spit in their eye, then you should not have said that you think Republicans are bullies and liars and that you would like to spit in their eye. > > Regards, > Shodan If you’re so cock-sure you have me down to cases, why did you have to cut off the front of my one already short sentence to support your argument? Or do you pay an illegal immigrant under the table to type your posts as well as clean your toilet? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/157 "2013-04-29T14:46:05Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > If you’re so cock-sure you have me down to cases, why did you have to cut off the front of my one already short sentence to support your argument? My “argument” is that you think Republicans are bullies and liars, and that you would like to spit in their eye. Which is what you said. > [@](#): > > Or do you pay an illegal immigrant under the table to type your posts as well as clean your toilet? Actually, as stupid as the above is, it is an example of one of the things that make this place so amusing - the irony of someone using racist stereotypes to condemn conservatives for being bigoted. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/158 "2013-04-29T14:48:39Z")
Dude, you weren’t misquoted. And your accusations that Republicans want people to die of AIDS, not to mention your opinion on what illegal immigrants are good for, show more hostility than any conservative in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/159 "2013-04-29T15:17:47Z")
Just a quick observation. I did a very dirty search of SDMB looking for the words “democrat” or “republican” in the title for the past 6 months. There was no way in hell I was going to search on posts. The servers would have crashed. I was looking for titles that were either explicitly negative towards the party in question or pointed towards a negative opinion. These were titles where you looked at them and could tell immediately that the OP was casting the group in question in a disparaging light. I excluded titles that appeared to be generic, benign questions. My results: Democrat in title 1. [Fucking Stupid Democrat Fraudulent Voters](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=683078&highlight=Democrat) Republican in title 2. [Stupid Republican idea of the day](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=511831&highlight=Republican) 3. [Rand Paul: Great White Hunter tries to educate students at Howard U. about Republican Party](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=687985&highlight=Republican) 4. [Obama should target Republican districts with the consequences of the sequester](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=682419&highlight=Republican) 5. [Is Republican noise about Susan Rice just a ploy to get Scott Brown back into the Senate?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=673544&highlight=Republican) 6. [Being a gay Republican in 2013 - How can they be part of a party that despises them?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=681177&highlight=Republican) 7. [NOW will the Republican Party finally deal with Rush Limbaugh?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=673086&highlight=Republican) 8. [Wichita, Kansas, the Kansas State Republican Party and FLAMING IDIOCY`](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=671570&highlight=Republican) I also did a title search on liberal vs conservative for the past 6 months: Liberal 1. [Stupid liberal idea of the day](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=605448&highlight=liberal) 2. [Liberal Tax Myths](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=683543&highlight=liberal) 3. [CBS pre-game show still doing their Liberal whining about not enough minoirty coaches being hired](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=679658&highlight=liberal) 4. [When did CNN become so liberal?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=679219&highlight=liberal) 5. [Resolved - Liberal Men are Douchebag Weeinies](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=679125&highlight=liberal) Conservative 1. [Give Me an Example of Conservative Political Fiction](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678092&highlight=conservative) 2. [Bad tipping AND conservative nonsense? Straight Dopers, assemble!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678135&highlight=conservative) 3. [“Liberty Movement” (Ron Paul followers) asserts that it’s in the conservative driver’s seat](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675009&highlight=conservative) 4. [Latest conservative grievance - polls “oversample” Democrats](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=666493&highlight=conservative) 5. [The Conflict between Conservative “Facts” and Reality](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=671544&highlight=conservative) 6. [Were conservative media outlets trying to make it sound like Romney was winning the popular vote](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=672000&highlight=conservative) 7. [“Romney not conservative enough”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=671552&highlight=conservative) You can run your own searches to check the results. Maybe you’ll think I excluded ones from this list. In any case, take this dirty sampling with a grain of salt and interpret as you will. I see a serious left/liberal/Demorat leaning here that shows a disdain for right/conservative/Republicans. It’s pretty sad that people who take great pride in their tolerance and acceptance can be so hate-filled. There also appears to be a tendency on this board to view the people on the right, including board members, as narrow-minded, intolerant, ignorant and bigoted. Well, pot, the kettle has something to say to you. ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626/160 "2013-04-29T15:43:53Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Oh, wow :smack: thank you for that bit of insight. I mean it is so obvious, we all know that conservatives are honest, hardworking, salt-of-the-earth folk, while liberals are all lazy, layabout leeches bent on destroying America. The scales have fallen from my eyes, praise be. > > :rolleyes: You said it, not him. > [@Slypork](#): > > Just a quick observation. I did a very dirty search of SDMB looking for the words “democrat” or “republican” in the title for the past 6 months. > I also did a title search on liberal vs conservative for the past 6 months: > You can run your own searches to check the results. Maybe you’ll think I excluded ones from this list. You mean that liberals cry and moan more? You didn’t need to look for patterns in search results for that - you knew it already. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-board-lean-democrat/656626.md?page=9)