Why are Bush supporters so dumb, misinformed and loyal?

[Scout1071]

Last night I was waiting with a co-worker for my intern to show up and I saw a car like hers approaching. Then it passed and I noticed it had a "W" sticker. I said, "I hope that's not her with that dumbass "W" sticker." To which my co-worker said "Hey, that's not fair. Not everybody hates him." I said "Name one thing.....just one thing...that he has done well in the last six years." This was followed by a LONG pause and she finally said, "Hmmm, well he didn't do so well on the immigration issue. Well, I'm just not going to get into this with you." I just shook my head and said "Six years and you can't even come up with one positive thing to say about him and yet you still support him like he's done a a great job. I just don't get it." She repeated, rather angrily, that she didn't want to talk, so I left it at that and just shook my head.

Why are they all such complete idiots? And she is your average "W" fan. So stupid. Just flat out ignorant people.

Oh yea, this same co-worker has let loose a couple of slurs at work. I've corrected her and she said she didn't know they were offensive, but that should tell you exactly the type of ignorant ass people that support him. And don't you love that the one thing that pops into her mind is that he can't stop "brown" people from entering the US?

[acmavm]

1. I don't know WHY they're that way but in order to be a W fan, that's the

way that they HAVE to be.

[EstimatedProphet]

2. Because for them it's like watching football

Either politics is so unimportant to them, or football is so important to them...

They back their team out of pride, and they'll back them no matter what. The fact that the country is going to hell in a handbasket makes no different - they're backing their team.

[Scout1071]

4. I can see that....

But, at some point, even the coach and GM get fired.

[Scout1071]

5. I can see that....

But, at some point, even the coach and GM get fired.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. Agreed. Americans not only speak in sports analogies, we think in 'em too.

[Ravy]

16. But when it is fourth and long, somebody has to hit it outta da park (n/t)

[ktlyon]

23. all the time their team is saying it is those other people's fault

"It is all the fault of those Dems, they are ruining our world. Just stay the course."

[Jade Fox]

25. Yes, it's an emotional loyalty......

not a rational one. These people decided at some point (based on god-knows-what) that Bush was their kind of people. So, to take in any criticism of him feels like a criticism of themselves.

It's like when you were a kid, and no matter how awful your mom or dad was you couldn't bear to hear anyone else say bad things about them.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics.shtml

[vi5]

3. I've used this analogy before and I'll use it again...

They are like the idiot who sits on the sidelines of a game or activity and talks trash about how much the people doing the game or activity suck and how much better they can do it (ie. Republicans during the Clinton years). Then finally they get their shot in the game and they whiff. They fail. They fuck it up royally and look like asses. But no matter how obvious it is to everyone else that their trash talk was nothing more than so much hot air, they simply can't admit this and they can't own up to the fact that they weren't as good as they told everyone they were and that their previously yapped about skills were pretty much nonexistent. But then rather than slink away in shame or admitting defeat that person gets even more in your face and more aggressive as if somehow their unlived up to hype and shit talking was somehow everyone ELSE'S fault.

[Glenda]

28. I love this analogy

Thank you, I'm printing it out

:hi:

[bluedog]

6. they don't want to admit that "their" pres.is an idiot

and everything he touches turns to crap............every ides he comes up with is a failure..........they just won't admit they voted for a loser and try to cover his ass and theirs as well!

[Scout1071]

8. That's true. By admitting he is a total failure, they also have to admit

their own severe lack of judgement.

[City Lights]

7. My first guess would have been Jaysus, but since your co-worker

didn't mention religion, I would have to say that some people just hate Democrats more than they hate Queen George. My SIL and her husband absolutely hate Queenie and complain about him all the time, but they voted for him because they hated Kerry even more. :eyes: I will never be able to figure out some people. :shrug:

[Warpy]

9. It goes like this:

"Who'd ya vote for?"

"Bush!"

"Why did you vote for him?"

"I dunno, I just did."

That's what we're up against, and it's bovine stupidity and they're too damn proud and stubborn to admit they were gullible fools who got bamboozled by the worst gang of conmen in this country's history.

The only thing that gets through this level of dumbfuckery is a disaster that gets personal, and even that isn't 100%.

[Hamlette]

10. it's like a religion to them

they don't want to think, they want someone to tell them what to do, they don't care AT ALL about being a hypocrite or that Bush lies.

Read Dean's Conservatives without Conscience. He says its an identifiable personality and they are 100% GOP.

Many of the religious people I know fit the mold. It's like talking religion to them. If you say "the Bible says you should kill your son if he investigates another religion or your neighbor if he works on Sunday. If you don't believe that, how can you say the Bible is the word of God? Was God wrong?" The answers are much like your coworker. Evasion and then they just say "I won't discuss it with you, you just don't understand." Brick wall. No reason or rational thought. (I know, some religious people are not like that but most are. Opium.)

[Scout1071]

13. Thanks, I'll read the book.

I'm just mystified by the whole thing.

[Hamlette]

37. me too, more so before the book

I honestly thought if I could talk to a Bush supporter, calmly and rationally, I could understand why they support him but there is no rational thought there. It's like being against gay marriage because it will destroy all marriages. Where do they get that? It makes no sense. (Another interesting read is a book (forgot name, I'll go find it if anyone is interested) about gay marriage. What was odd was how the argument against gay marriage changed every few years. It was because the argument completely fell apart on examination. As does the "destroy all marriages" argument. But if you ask someone who is against gay marriage how it will destroy their marriage, they can't answer. It's about religion and the GOP has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Christian Right. Or vice versa. Not sure which.)

[Lost-in-FL]

12. I know many at work like that

And it is a shame they are not only ignorant but racists. On friday one made a comment at work saying that "how come he was the only Amurikan in his section?" We have 3 Puertorricans, 1 Indian-American, 1 African-American and 1 Colombian-American and all of us female (and American citizens for that matter). He didn't comment on being the only male but that he was the only "Amurikan, like being white is a requirement to be Amurikan". I was like ready to jump on his case but thought it wasn't worth it.

My other co-worker (in another section), a freeper, said she wanted to move but the only place she could afford had to many "hispanics". The irony of all this is that her adoptive dad (she never met her real dad) was puertorican . We are both veterans and one day when she found out that I was against the war she say: "but I thought you were so Patriotic!" with this dumb look in her face. I don'r remember what I told her but I noticed everyone including her were silence for a few minutes.

[Scout1071]

21. Oh, but she doesn't think she is racist.

She can't "see the forest for the trees" I guess.

You know the type...they think they are all enlightened and wordly, but still refer to people with such names as "Orientals."

She was looking a picture of my family and pointed at my brother-in-law and said "what's he?" I said "my brother-in-law." To which she said, "no, what nationality?" And I replied "American." She insisted, "no, where is he from?" I said "Kansas City." Then she said "Is he Arab or Mexican?" I said, "well, he's all American, but his mother is from Puerto Rico." She seemed relieved to finally get it out of me. But, you know, he's "brown", so he couldn't possibly be born and raised here just like her. He's still a "foreigner" in her eyes.

We have a small office (5-6 people) and one of my co-workers is black. He has pulled me aside a few times to tell me about comments that she's made to him. Now we just kind of roll our eyes or go out to lunch and laugh about it. I know it's not funny, but we have to make light of it. We do try to call her on it.

But, again, she doesn't think for one second that she is a racist.

[razors edge]

14. Public fool-system has something to do with it.

[blue cat]

15. Funny

My boss at work who still supports Bush has gotten in trouble for saying some stuff that insulted some minorities at work. I think conservatives look down on those less fortunate them them.

[leftofthedial]

17. they have been selectively recruited

and disinformed for two generations now.

[helderheid]

18. the words "9/11" being repeated over and over can be hypnotising to some.

[rocktivity]

19. Because ADMITTING you've been dumb, misinformed and wrongly loyal

to yourself is SO hard to do.

Some people DON'T know they're being dumb, misinformed and wrongly loyal about Bush and never will. But most people could face up to even the possibility of it if they had enough self-esteem. I guess they have to have a clarifying "hit bottom" moment first, like the alcoholic who raided his kid's piggy bank for booze money, or the gambler who stole his parents' vacation savings to take to Las Vegas. Fortunately, both "saw" they were doing, put the money back, and went for help.

It's no different from trying to free yourself from any other kind of addictive or abusive relationship.

:headbang:
rocknation

[ktlyon]

34. That is why we need the explain to them it is not their fault ,

they were scammed by some very crafty people. Some saying from Texas, maybe they have it Tenn too, should come next about not getting fooled again. Ask them why they aren't upset they were taken advantage of, lied too and deceived about ______, fill in the blank. Give them compassion and hopefully they will be looking harder next time. If they don't want to look more closely at an issue, you can't make them. They have a right in this country to be as ill informed as they want.

[Scout1071]

39. I'm torn.

Right now, part of me says you are absolutely correct. You're approach is probably the best way. BUT, the other part of me is pissed off at how uninformed they are, yet they still have the right to vote and completely fuck up this country.

And I must admit that I rarely provoke as I did in this situation. I was already irritated for other reasons and the "W" sticker was the straw that broke the camels back. I really do hate him. And I understand the gravity of that word, hate.

Deep breaths. I'll be back to the much more enlightened way before you know it. I guess I just need to rant this weekend.

[Totallybushed]

20. Just as a hypothetical question,

what would you have answered in she had said, "Well, he did excellently well on the Alito and Roberts Supreme Court nominations". Or suppose she had said, "Well, we got some needed tax cuts". Or whatever, she thought that Bush had done well.

I mean, people don't vote for Bush because they agree with us, that is progressives, liberals or even moderates, on the issues. They vote for him for exactly the same reasons that we loathe, hate, and fear him. So a better question, in my mind, is why they can't think of that when somebody asks?

On edit: I talk to a lot of conservatives as I am surrounded by them at work. My own, admittedley limited, observations incline me to the view that most of them are not upset with Bush because of mistakes he has made in carrying out his policies, iinternational or domestic, but that those policies are too liberal. I know it's hard to believe.

[Scout1071]

22. Because the tax cuts don't affect her. And never will.

Although, you are right that some think they get the benefits because 5 years ago they got a check back and therefore think they are getting the tax cuts.

And I guarantee that half of them have no idea who Alito or Roberts are. They are horribly uninformed people.

[Totallybushed]

30. No, I didn't

ask whether or not she herself was affected positively. My question is what the answer would be if she approved of these positions and actions. The original question was 'name one thing he did good". She answers with something he's done. Then you stereotype her as dumb and ignorant? You don't have to address her thoughts? Because that's not the way to win her over, IMO. Attack someone's personal worth, and all of a sudden nothing you can say matters to them.

Instead, I prefer to talk to them about their ideas of what the nation whould be like. What policies they think will lead to that state. Who better meets the policy criteria that they, themselves, have set.

If their idea of what America should be like is too different from mine, I go no further with them, at least on that issue. It is beyond my capabilities to change a world-view. But if we agree, more than disagree, I try to show them why my candidate is better than their's. I try to reconcile the remaining disagreements.

I can't say that I've been really successful with this technique. Maybe 2 or 3 over the last 6 years. But that is infinitely more success than I had by just preaching at them.

[Scout1071]

35. Don't judge me on this incident.

I do try to talk about better ways with her. But, you know what? I'm fucking fed up with her.

And I think that I really made her think. I mean, you should have seen the focused, intense look on her face and she tried and tried to think of something positive that he has done. The look was priceless, more so when it dawned on her that she couldn't think of anything and it turned to anger towards me. An angry look I gladly accepted because I knew that, at that moment, she finally got it. Bush is a failure in every way.

I didn't preach at her and I let it go. I have been incredibly patient with this woman.

Edited to note that I was feeling rather irritated at having to wait so long, in the sun, for the intern to show up. I normally do not provoke by bringing up "W."

[Totallybushed]

44. I apologize.

I didn't mean to be judgmental.

It's just that I have a lot of respect for the intelligence of some of the conservatives and Republicans that I know. Others not so much. But my point is that they are not stupid, as a rule. Or ignorant, or uneducated. It is a mistake to think so.

They have a different set of values than we do. The areas where they are upset with Bush are not the same areas that we are. They don't believe Bush stole the 2000 election. They think Gore tried to. We are for affirmative action, they are against it. We think that Bush failed utterly to help in NO. They think, "Why the hell didn't those fools get out of town?" That's a direct quote from an acquaintance, by the way. They think, "Why was the NO city leadership and the Louisiana state government so incompetent?"

We think Bush lied us in Iraq because there were no WMDs. We think we should admit our mistake and withdraw. They think why the hell we get into wars we don't intend to win, and why don't we bomb them back to the 7th century and be done with them?

In short, everything we think is good and right, they think is bad and evil. And we think the same about them.

This is one of several reasons that I am worried about the election. They may not like Bush, but they hate the Democratic party. Will they punish the Republicans and vote Dem? Will they hold their noses and vote R? Will they sit it out? Who knows? Certainly not the pollsters who have been consistently wrong in calling elections lately.

[Scout1071]

45. Nah....

This chick is just stupid.

But I hear what you are saying.

[Lost-in-FL]

31. You got it

They are "morbidly" or "horribly" uninformed. It is like someone said earlier, that they are ashamed to be told they voted for an ignorant and grossly incompetent person.

The one who made the comment about being the "only Amurikan" thinks he has the right to pick on me for being a pagan-librul cause he has a brother-in-law in Eye-raq. He picks on me every once in a while, joking about being librul but I don't want to put him against the wall with the truth. I don't think he would react to that nicely cause like must freepers he seem to be a bully. I know I would lose my head and it would get ugly so when he jokes I look busy or walk away and tell him that I'll be right back.

[Scout1071]

36. Yea, sometimes it's just not worth it.

You have to be safe.

[Lost-in-FL]

42. It is not.

One day he came with the same crappy talk about "don't need govmnt to help me" to what I said "I don't either. For the past 6 years we had the most incompetent administration ever. They can't do anything right, so people shouldn't expect nothing from them". That was the first time I saw "hatred" in his eyes and didn't spoke to me for a few days. He only make comments such as me being one of them "Hillary voters" or the "all libruls are pagan" crap but NO conversations about politics. We do get along but I think because we have not talked politics. I am prepared already and I know he won't like it. I won't be the one bringing up the subject. Forget it. The fact that I bother to talk politics to him is his "privilege". He can stay stupid if he wants but I am not losing my job.

[HamdenRice]

24. Actual quote:"He's a little bit stupid and so am I"-or subliminal signal?

I kid you not. This was the most bizarre and truthful explanation I ever heard from a Bush supporter. She is a local barmaid who stays glued to Fox. When Bush comes on the screen, she screams, "There's my man!" I once asked her why she loved Bush so much and she said, "I just do. Maybe because he's a little stupid and so am I. I just like him."

Unlike many Freepers, however, she has no interest in any other republican figures, only Bush.

When I see her rapturously glued to Bush's TV image, and listen to certain other Freeper types go on about him being a "hero", I honestly think there is some kind of subliminal signal going through the TV directly to certain kinds of defective brains.

[LibDemAlways]

26. I have no use for people who are willfully ignorant.

They can't defend the indefensible, so they pull the "I don't want to discuss it" ploy. I've seen that many times. Makes them look even more foolish, but gives them (in their minds) an out.

I divide chimp supporters into several different categories. The wealthy know he's an ass, but he's given them tax breaks and that seems to trump all. Their kids aren't headed for Iraq anyway, so what do they care.

The religious nutcases have been duped into believing he's one of them - in spite of all evidence to the contrary. You'd think they might be a little suspicious of a guy who rarely sets foot inside a church, surrounds himself with the likes of Cheney, starts wars of aggression, and clearly doesn't give a shit about his fellow man - witness Katrina. But they still think he's a "Godly" man. Pass the kool-aid please.

The last category is pretty large and includes people like your co-worker who isn't very good at hiding her bigotry. Not all are bigots, though. These are people who vote against their own self-interest because they've been listening to Rush or Hannity or even the corporate whores who constantly send out the message that Dems are bad and repukes good. They aren't just drinking the kool-aid. They're drowning in it. Your co-worker is for all intents and purposes braindead.

[tridim]

27. I can't figure out the "loyal" part

They're 100% loyal to politicians who lie to their face on a daily basis. Maybe it's some kind of subconscious brain-control tone broadcast on Faux?

It's obvious why they're dumb and misinformed.

[buff2]

29. 4 things

Gays
Abortion rights
race
wars


They hate gays
They are against a woman's right for choice
they hate anyone who isn't white
they love wars

These idiots will vote against their own interests because of their hate,bigotry,people having a choice, and war mongering. It's crazy,but that is it in a nut shell.

[Scout1071]

33. Yea, racism seems to be a common element.

Even if it's the subtle racism as I describe in a post above.

They are scared of "brown" people.

In all fairness, my co-worker was raised in a Midwestern town of 73,000, surrounded by rural area. She says there was one black person at her high school. Twenty years later, I know she still carries the stigmas and fears she learned in an all white, relatively rural community.

So, I do somewhat understand where her ignorance is rooted. But, it still doesn't mean that I have to like her or be sympathetic toward her. Frankly, she repulses me.

[earth mom]

32. Answer: Hero Worship and Brainwashing.

Yup, that's right, they hero worship the guy to the loss of all common sense and have been additionally brainwashed by the assholes on Faux to continue to do so. I know this first hand because I used to post on a mixed board and you should have seen the shit they posted about the guy that wasn't even true! It was unreal! Those idiots over there could not post one good thing he had done either when challenged to do so, but at least he was a guy you could have a beer with! :wtf:

Wouldn't it be better to have a someone in office who could first speak the language, understand the constitution and it's relevance and meaning and oh yeah, care enough about the citizens of this country before any other country or corporation???!!! Nut cases all of them! :banghead:

[Arugula Latte]

38. One factor: our crappy educational system.

Too often, it fails to produce a person who is able to think critically.

[guinivere]

40. Their loyalty has nothing to do with the shrub's

performance as president. They are just loyal to him personally. That and the fact that they will never, ever say that they are wrong. It sounds like some of the bush bots are having a harder and harder time defending their 'man'. Jumbo sized cracks are appearing in their facade.

[Scout1071]

41. That's it. I've maintained for some time that

this last 25-30% is just plain stubborn. Just can never admit they were wrong.

[Beelzebud]

43. Because they target the lowest common denominator.

[Justice Is Comin]

46. Look at their pictures.

They wouldn't know the prices in a Dollar Store.

[retread]

47. Because they drank the kool aid? n/t

[ComerPerro]

48. they are proud of their ignorance, some are even arrogant about it

but there are some who, for some idiotic reason, actualy have the audacity to assume it is they who are informed, and that the ones who are actually stupid are the ones too dumb to see how great Bush is.

Limbaugh listeners, especially, have this trait.

They brag about how smart they are and how they really know what's going on, and still they loathe intellectuals.

[Hedweb Buddha]

49. energy act of 2005

He did pass the energy act of 2005, which was a step in the right direction. He has also tried to rebuild international consensus after Iraq. His handling of N. Korea was based on 'the entire world speaking with one voice'. So he isn't all bad.

Read something by George Lakoff to see why partisanship occurs. He is an excellent writer.

[Scout1071]

50. Wow. You use your first post to say he did a great job with North Korea?

What planet do you live on? North Korea has developed nukes under his watch.

You point to the Energy Act of 2005, while he denies that Global Warming is even occurring?

[EstimatedProphet]

51. Denis Leary said it best...

Folks, I'd like to sing a song about the American dream.
About me, about you, about the way our American hearts beat way down
in the bottom of our chests. About the special feeling we get in the
cockles of our hearts, maybe below the cockles, maybe in the subcockle
area. Maybe in the liver. Maybe in the kidneys. Maybe even in the
colon, we don't know.

I'm just a regular Joe with a regular job.
I'm your average white suburbanite slob.
I like football and porno and books about war.
I've got an average house with a nice hardwood floor.

My wife and my job, my kids and my car.
My feet on my table and a cuban cigar.

But sometimes that just ain't enough to keep a man like me interested
(oh no) no way (uh-uh)
No, I've gotta go out and have fun at someone else's expense
(oh yeah) Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I drive really slow in the ultra-fast lane,
While people behind me are going insane.

I'm an asshole (He's an asshole, what an asshole)
I'm an asshole (He's an asshole, such an asshole)
I use public toilets and piss on the seat,
I walk around in the summertime saying "How about this heat?"
I'm an asshole (He's an asshole, what an asshole)
I'm an asshole (He's the world's biggest asshole)
Sometimes I park in handicapped spaces,
While handicapped people make handicapped faces.
I'm an asshole (He's an asshole, what an asshole)
I'm an asshole (He's a real fucking asshole)

Maybe I shouldn't be singing this song
Ranting and raving and carrying on
Maybe they're right when they tell me I'm wrong
NAAAAH!

I'm an asshole (he's an asshole, what an asshole)
I'm an asshole (he's the world's biggest asshole)

Know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna get myself a 1967 Cadillac El Dorado,
hot-fuckin'-pink, with whaleskin hubcaps and all-leather cow interior and big
brown baby seal eyes for headlights... yeah! And I'm gonna drive around in
that baby doing 115 miles an hour, getting 1 mile per gallon, suckin' down
quarter pound cheeseburgers from McDonald's in the old-fashioned non-
biodegradable styrofoam containers... yeah! And when I'm done suckin' down
those greaseball burgers I'm gonna toss the styrofoam containers right out the
side, and there ain't a goddamn thing anybody can do about it. You know why?
Because we got the bombs, that's why... yeah! Two words--nuclear fuckin'
weapons, OK? Russia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, they can have all the democracy
they want...they can have a democracy cakewalk right through the middle of
Tienamen Square and it won't make a lick of fuckin' difference, because we got
the bombs, OK? John Wayne's not dead--he's frozen! And when we find a cure for
cancer, we're gonna thaw out the Duke and he's gonna be pretty pissed off. You
know why? You ever taken a cold shower? Well, multiply that by 15 million
times--that's how pissed off the Duke's gonna be. I'm gonna get the Duke and
John Casavetti and Sam Peckinpaw and a case of fuckin' whisky and drive...

(Hey, hey, hey, hey, you know you really are an asshole?)

Why don't you shut up and sing the song, Chris. I thought I was the
asshole... all the time it was him... what an asshole!

(Sung)
I'm an asshole (I'm an asshole, he's an asshole)
I'm an asshole (He's the world's biggest asshole)
A S-S H-O L-E
Everybody, A S-S H-O L-E
Ay Ay-Ay Ay-Ay Ay-Ay
A-thoom A-thoom-thoom A-thoom-thoom A-thoom-thoom
Oooooooo

(Spoken)
I'm an asshole and I'm proud of it!