# World Net Daily poll show 20% of Republicans leaning toward Obama. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 10, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366 "2012-02-10T02:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/21 "2012-02-10T16:25:48Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > About a decade ago, I described the WorldNetDaily as “the Weekly World News of op-ed.” Can’t think of a reason to change that - anything the WND says would undoubtedly have more validity in a world dominated by aliens, Bigfoot, and the like. I forget, is Bigfoot a Pub or a Green? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/22 "2012-02-10T16:34:29Z")
> **[Mitt Romney's Struggles Take Republican Angst To New Heights](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitt-romney-republican_n_1266265)** > > Mitt Romney's Struggles Take Republican Angst To New Heights Regarding my “screw the base, the Pubbie leadership rules the Wasteland!” scenario, this from the HuffPo. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/23 "2012-02-10T16:35:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I forget, is Bigfoot a Pub or a Green? Doesn’t matter, polls twenty points behind Bat Boy. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/24 "2012-02-10T17:15:16Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > aka _World Nut Daily_ aka Wing Nut Daily ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/25 "2012-02-10T17:30:57Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Doesn’t matter, polls twenty points behind Bat Boy. :eek: But he’s a **Socialist!** Keep this news in perspective: “This poll indicates that it is more the negativity of the Republican nomination fight and less the small improvement in the economy that has changed the national political landscape.” Unless one of the not-Romneys mounts an independent or third-party campaign, that intraparty negativity presumably ends with the Republican National Convention in August, and then Mitt has until November to work damage control and project nice-guy vibes at all but Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/26 "2012-02-10T18:13:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > This one’s a real gem: I’ve been seeing that a lot lately on the right-wing forums. If a Republican does something wrong, it’s always to be blamed on Democrats. _Always_. If a conservative runs a shady campaign, it’s always “leftist tactics”. I guess it comes from the constant conservative rebranding of the term “Liberal”. Everything a liberal does is bad, so when a conservative does something bad, it’s somehow a liberal’s fault. I swear, it’s like they’ve never actually met a real liberal- all they’ve got is a mental image of one… provided by Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/27 "2012-02-10T18:22:40Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I’ve been seeing that a lot lately on the right-wing forums. If a Republican does something wrong, it’s always to be blamed on Democrats. _Always_. If a conservative runs a shady campaign, it’s always “leftist tactics”. > > I guess it comes from the constant conservative rebranding of the term “Liberal”. Everything a liberal does is bad, so when a conservative does something bad, it’s somehow a liberal’s fault. > > I swear, it’s like they’ve never actually met a real liberal- all they’ve got is a mental image of one… provided by Fox News. Which sometimes identifies a scandal-ridden Pub as a Dem. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/28 "2012-02-10T18:42:23Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > At first glance it seems like he (Wenzel) is a loyal party guy and is well connected to major Ohio Republicans. > > Oh - one of the [testimonials](http://www.wenzelstrategies.com/testimonials/) on the Wenzel Strategies website is from Senator Rand Paul. Apparently Wenzel was his pollster. > > I think it’s safe to say they are hardly a non-partisan pollster. The poll found that more than 20% of Republicans would vote for Obama than every candidate except Ron Paul, where only 19% of Republicans would defect for Obama. The margin of error is 3.44%. It’s possible this is a ploy by Paul/Wenzel to make the Paul campaign look like the only viable candidate, but I think we’d have to meet them more than halfway. On its face it’s a poll showing that none of them are viable. ---
**Author:** ![QuarkChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c5a1d2/32.png) [@QuarkChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuarkChild)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/29 "2012-02-11T21:55:45Z")
It’s really too early for these polls to be meaningful, even if conducted by a reputable source. But I’ll share the following anecdote anyway: My mother, who is pushing 70 and lives in San Diego, is what you might call a “California Republican.” She might be considered liberal in a very conservative state, and would describe herself as “moderate.” She’s registered Republican but doesn’t vote straight-ticket. Her preference in the GOP primary was Huntsman until it became obvious he was a lost cause. She would never vote for Bachmann or Perry but might be persuaded to vote for Romney–I think she’s kind of iffy on him at the moment. Anyway, this is sort of person who might be considered one of the 20% who is Republican but might vote for Obama if the circumstances were right and the GOP candidate turned out be someone really right-wing or simply crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/30 "2012-02-12T01:23:40Z")
> [@QuarkChild](#): > > It’s really too early for these polls to be meaningful, even if conducted by a reputable source. But I’ll share the following anecdote anyway: My mother, who is pushing 70 and lives in San Diego, is what you might call a “California Republican.” She might be considered liberal in a very conservative state, and would describe herself as “moderate.” She’s registered Republican but doesn’t vote straight-ticket. Her preference in the GOP primary was Huntsman until it became obvious he was a lost cause. She would never vote for Bachmann or Perry but might be persuaded to vote for Romney–I think she’s kind of iffy on him at the moment. Not too different from my views from your description actually. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/31 "2012-02-12T01:59:24Z")
> [@QuarkChild](#): > > . . . She might be considered liberal in a very conservative state, and would describe herself as “moderate.” She’s registered Republican but doesn’t vote straight-ticket. . . . God in Heaven, I wish there were many, many, many more just like her! That would be the basis for a GREAT “Grand Old Party.” ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/32 "2012-02-12T05:21:10Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’m also not sure it would be %20, but even on this MB there are some folks who are still registered Republicans who just never got around to changing their registration in the past 15-20 years, or are still hoping for a sane candidate. Mitt Romney is impressively sane. Not only is he a decent candidate _for a Republican_, but he’s a decent candidate in general. He’s the Republican Obama, closer to the middle than to the rest of his party. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/33 "2012-02-12T16:52:37Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > God in Heaven, I wish there were many, many, many more just like her! That would be the basis for a GREAT “Grand Old Party.” If we had the conditions for a multiparty system ([PR,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation) [IRV,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting) [electoral fusion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_fusion)), it is conceivable that centrist Dems and Pubs could get together and form a Moderate-Centrist Party, which would, allying/voting with the Lefty-Green-Commie-Moonbat-Progressive Party or the Right-Wingnut-Clobbertarian-Troglodyte Party at the MCP’s discretion as the situation arises, hold the balance of power at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/34 "2012-02-13T00:12:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > If we had the conditions for a multiparty system ([PR,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation) [IRV,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting) [electoral fusion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_fusion)), it is conceivable that centrist Dems and Pubs could get together and form a Moderate-Centrist Party, which would, allying/voting with the Lefty-Green-Commie-Moonbat-Progressive Party or the Right-Wingnut-Clobbertarian-Troglodyte Party at the MCP’s discretion as the situation arises, hold the balance of power at all times. Sort of like the Christian Democrats in Italy? Although that didn’t turn out particularly well… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/35 "2012-02-13T01:24:59Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Sort of like the Christian Democrats in Italy? Although that didn’t turn out particularly well… Nothing political in Italy ever does . . . But, the Christian Democrats in Germany have done well enough. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/36 "2012-02-13T02:18:14Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > About a decade ago, I described the WorldNetDaily as “the Weekly World News of op-ed.” Can’t think of a reason to change that - anything the WND says would undoubtedly have more validity in a world dominated by aliens, Bigfoot, and the like. I get them mixed up, honestly. People talk about the former, and I think it’s in the latter, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/37 "2012-02-15T21:32:06Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Mitt Romney is impressively sane. Not only is he a decent candidate _for a Republican_, but he’s a decent candidate in general. He’s the Republican Obama, closer to the middle than to the rest of his party. The problem is, it doesn’t matter that Romney is _personally_ sane at this point. He has already moved so far to the right to try to appease his right wingnut base, and owes so much to the big money interests backing him that he will not be able to act sane in office. Obama has had the fortitude to stand up against his own party in order to achieve longterm gains along a moderate path, while the liberals, me included, have been alternating between screaming and gasping in shock and horror. He’s had to do that to get anything done, and he is by nature a temperate but firm moderate. Romney doesn’t show anything like that strength of character. He is by nature a weak moderate who will bow to the loudest screams in the room. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/38 "2012-02-15T23:05:00Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > The problem is, it doesn’t matter that Romney is _personally_ sane at this point. He has already moved so far to the right to try to appease his right wingnut base, and owes so much to the big money interests backing him that he will not be able to act sane in office. > > Obama has had the fortitude to stand up against his own party in order to achieve longterm gains along a moderate path, while the liberals, me included, have been alternating between screaming and gasping in shock and horror. He’s had to do that to get anything done, and he is by nature a temperate but firm moderate. Romney doesn’t show anything like that strength of character. He is by nature a weak moderate who will bow to the loudest screams in the room. Then if worse comes to worst, we’ll just have to make sure the loudest screams come from the left, and that the left is in the room. Focus on Congress, guys, Congress! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/39 "2012-02-15T23:41:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Focus on Congress, guys, Congress! This is the critical issue, IMO. Obama will probably win a second term, but without a majority in the House, or more of one in the Senate, it’ll just be four more years of obstruction, in which case, what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366/40 "2012-02-16T00:06:30Z")
And comparing, say, OWS to the Tea Party, I think the left can beat the right 'round the block in the loudest-screams category if we have to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-net-daily-poll-show-20-of-republicans-leaning-toward-obama/612366.md?page=3)