Last night on Politico's live-stream election show, Politico editor-in-chief John Harris highlighted a provocative Politico story about "stupid voters."
The Politico article by reporter Alexander Burns examines poll numbers from voters who still think Obama might be a Muslim, believe that the president can change gas prices, and appear to have conflicting opinions about the war in Afghanistan.
The article quotes Tom Jensen of the Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling who admits, “The first lesson you learn as a pollster is that people are stupid. . . I tell a client trying to make sense of numbers on a poll that are inherently contradictory that at least once a week.”
Harris said the story grew out of one of his "personal rants" sparking debate in the newsroom with the editors over the headline, which Harris said he wanted to be "provocative."
"They didn't want the sharpest headline -- 'Are voters stupid?' or switch to the order of the verb 'Voters are stupid., Harris said, "I think we want something a little more neutral. . .the debate was whether to go with the sharpest possible headline or a more muted one."
Harris added that voters were "expressing their opinions in a context of ignorance" which means that pollsters get results that "seem stupid even have the voters themselves actually aren't stupid."
The headline for the piece ended up being, "How much do voters know?" and featured a picture of Forrest Gump.
"I felt I won this debate in part because we did get a picture of Forrest Gump to accompany the story," Harris said. "Forrest Gump in this case representing the sort of ignorant voters who are saying these wacky things in polls."
Harris was clear enjoying his onscreen rant, and afterwards read his email address (jharris@politico.com) on the air so that people could respond.
The sad part is that I agree with him. Too many people just want to be led by the nose and bury their heads in the sand. They can't do their own research on the candidates and issues before they vote. We get the government we deserve because we vote them in. Choose wisely.
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10:38 AM
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dratts Member
Posts: 8373 From: Coeur d' alene Idaho USA Registered: Apr 2001
There are Poor people who vote for republican candidates because they think that the republican party represents their interests. I know that the democratic party is crooked too, but the republican party is definitely the party of the rich. Yes, voters are stupid. Anybody who votes against their own interests is either stupid or easily led.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 03-16-2012).]
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10:52 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
There are people who believe Obamacare will save money and provide "free" health insurance. There are people who believe the president's actions will have no effect on market prices. There are people who believe anything good was their guy, and anything bad was the other guy. There are people who believe a person's wealth should be taxed instead of their income. Yes, voters are stupid.
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10:57 AM
TheDigitalAlchemist Member
Posts: 12468 From: Long Island, NY Registered: Jan 2012
Ignorant. Stupid. Two different words. Are voters "stupid"? are people 'stupid"?
Everyone is ignorant to the "ultimate truth" (if you protest this fact, you are stupid!!!! )
Most are ignorant about most things on the Micro level,(how things work from top to bottom) but some may be quite knowledgable, and know things 'soup to nuts'...
Some people ARE stupid, but most people aren't as stupid as they act.
It's sometimes easier to be ''stupid''(or remain ignorant). You don't need to think as much.
but sometimes, you ''need'' to remain ignorant to a certain level of things in order to function/excel on another.(larger scale, higher,level etc. )
You risk getting mentally 'bogged down' by the details...
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10:59 AM
Toddster Member
Posts: 20871 From: Roswell, Georgia Registered: May 2001
I disagree. I think many voters are ignorant. I think many are apathetic. But I do not think they are stupid. Certainly some are and those people will vote for the "popular kids" every time. But when you get voters who care deciding not to vote because they do not like EITHER candidate, we end up with Obama.
What we need is to reinstate civics classes in schools again to teach our kids the value of their right to vote and to motivate them to make a priority out of carefully weighing the pros and cons of participating in their greatest freedom. The right to vote. And damnit, lets teach them interpolative skills so they know how to vote for God's sake!
I disagree. I think many voters are ignorant. I think many are apathetic. But I do not think they are stupid. Certainly some are and those people will vote for the "popular kids" every time. But when you get voters who care deciding not to vote because they do not like EITHER candidate, we end up with Obama.
What we need is to reinstate civics classes in schools again to teach our kids the value of their right to vote and to motivate them to make a priority out of carefully weighing the pros and cons of participating in their greatest freedom. The right to vote. And damnit, lets teach them interpolative skills so they know how to vote for God's sake!
Not a political insight, but I notice that you like to use the phrase "popular kids" a lot to refer to those that don't agree with you. You must have had a very rough time in high school.
While I'm sure many voters are stupid, I would bet that more accurately, most are just uninformed at best, and brainwashed at worst. Compound that with the fact that many are "single issue voters" who will vote for someone simply because they think that candidate will represent their cause. And all too often, that assumption is based entirely on party affiliation, and not any real knowledge of the candidate. My sister is a huge advocate for gay rights. She voted for Obama ONLY because she *thought* that since he's a democrat, that he would help their cause. She was completely oblivious to any of his actual policies, she just made that assumption, and was totally unwilling to listen to any facts about him. She even admitted that she knew nothing of politics and didn't care and nothing else mattered but that one issue, and even on that she was GUESSING about his positions. Now, my sister isn't stupid by any stretch, but she acted stupid about that, and it was because she was operating on emotion, not logic. At least she's smart enough to see that Obama is nothing like what she had convinced herself he was, and she won't be voting for him again. At least she learned, I doubt most do.
Not a political insight, but I notice that you like to use the phrase "popular kids" a lot to refer to those that don't agree with you. You must have had a very rough time in high school.
No, its (probably) because he doesn't want to call the the Smart Kids lol
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02:48 PM
Doug85GT Member
Posts: 9483 From: Sacramento CA USA Registered: May 2003
Seems to me that Democrats/Liberals, like John Harris, are too stupid to know the difference. Voters didn't seem to be so stupid then, did they. Or maybe they just don't wish to tell the truth! Imagine THAT!
WASHINGTON — President Bush has set a record he'd presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll.
In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing; 69% disapprove. The approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for any president since Franklin Roosevelt.
The previous record of 67% was reached by Harry Truman in January 1952, when the United States was enmeshed in the Korean War.
Bush's rating has worsened amid "collapsing optimism about the economy," says Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies presidential approval. Record gas prices and a wave of home foreclosures have fueled voter angst.................
There are Poor people who vote for republican candidates because they think that the republican party represents their interests. I know that the democratic party is crooked too, but the republican party is definitely the party of the rich. Yes, voters are stupid.
I wholeheartedly disagree. 100%.
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05:07 PM
lurker Member
Posts: 12351 From: salisbury nc usa Registered: Feb 2002
Not a political insight, but I notice that you like to use the phrase "popular kids" a lot to refer to those that don't agree with you. You must have had a very rough time in high school.
Actually I was elected to student governemt, something you should have been able to guess if you have been paying attention. But I got there on a mandate to work hard and do good. Others I knew got there on a mandate to party down. Obama is clearly not in the former camp...ergo...
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02:05 PM
dratts Member
Posts: 8373 From: Coeur d' alene Idaho USA Registered: Apr 2001
I added a sentence to my post. Do you dissagree with the entire post, including the part that I said that the democratic party is crooked?
No, I don't disagree that both sides are crooked, but I completely disagree that the Republican party is the party of the rich. I do not believe that the Republican party is against any interests of poor people. In fact, I believe Republican policies to be in the best interest for poor people.
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