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Showing posts with label LGBT rights by country or territory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LGBT rights by country or territory. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Nope. Not Racist.

Make Bruce Bartlett's blog a daily stop. Politically speaking, he and I are of very similar minds. He's been writing about a few things lately that I am definitely going to be commenting on here.

First up is the new Washington Poll on the Tea Party. It's nice to have some aggregate data on their views on race, immigration, and gay rights. Not that this will matter at all to those members of the Cult who believe that 99 percent of the GOP is decidedly not racist. Their assertions, echoed here in comments, remind me of my son with his hand in the cookie jar looking at me with straight face and saying that he is not snitching any cookies.

Let's take a look at the data.
  • 74 percent of respondents think that equal rights are important for blacks and minorities to succeed but it's not the government's job to insure that they do.
  • 78 percent disagree that over the years blacks have gotten less then they deserve.
  • 46 percent think that if blacks tried harder they would be as well off as whites
  • 54 percent think that immigration is changing US culture for the worse.
  • 88 percent approve of the new Arizona law.
  • 23 percent think that welcoming immigrants is a good thing for the US
  • 73 percent disapprove of President Obama's engagement of Muslim countries
  • 63 percent think we should single out Muslims for screening at airports
  • 18 percent think that gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry
  • 52 percent think that gays and lesbians have too much political power.
Bartlett nails it.

They are largely united in being unsympathetic to African Americans, militant in their hostility toward illegal immigrants, and very conservative socially. At a minimum, these data throw cold water on the view that the TPM is essentially libertarian. Based on these data, I would say that TPM members have much more in common with social conservatives that welcome government intervention as long as it’s in support of their agenda.

As Bill Maher said, not all conservatives are racist but if you are a racist, chances are, you're conservative.

I think these numbers accurately reflect the Cult's view on these issues. Before any of my usual readers do their interpretive re-direct dance, answer the polls questions...honestly. And then we can have a discussion about your answers.
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