Why is the RW's propaganda machine only effective on half of the public?

[bobweaver]

[chicagojoe]

1. Because they're the fearful, stupid ones.

[mitchtv]

2. cause you can't fool all of the people

all of the time.

[Eric J in MN]

3. A lot of us were raised in Democratic households (nt)

nt

[SteveIrving1]

27. Meany are Born and Raised as democrats

My whole family all vote democrat and has voted democrat since the party was established.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

31. I was raised in a solid Repub. household in a Repub. area.

So even I don't get it. Guess I didn't drink enough koolaid....

[Eric J in MN]

32. were there any liberals in your world? nt

nt

[kerry-is-my-prez]

36. No. I was always a non-conformist/free-thinker who liked the Kennedys.

Even though I was just a kid and couldn't vote for any of them. I also hated Nixon.

[Huckebein the Raven]

4. Because the other half can't think for themselves...n/t

[sportndandy]

5. How come it is so successful? Is half the population gullible?

Actually, I think this is a feature of evolution. A healthy human population will be evenly divided between insightful people and people with their heads rammed up their own asses.

[atommom]

6. At least half of the public doesn't understand the value of logic or

critical thought!

[stray cat]

7. You have to watch his deeds carefully and not his words

You also have to place little stock in the words of the media because they blindly tend to follow Bush's party line.

Many Americans have way too much faith in the words of this administration and the media to catch what is really occuring.

[stepnw1f]

8. Because They Designed it That Way - Divide and Conquer

And while we fight each other they quietly place their weapons in place.

I now wait for Right-Wingers dressed in uniform to come knocking on my door to take away what Freedoms I have left.

Terrorists hate our Freedoms. Yes, right wingers are terrorists.

[MrBenchley]

9. You can fool some of the people all of the time

and all of the people some of the time, but......

Honest Abe knew.

[AndyTiedye]

13. They Didn't Have TV in Abe's Day

Now it seems that they can fool a lot of the people all of the time,
and steal enough votes from the rest of us to win every election.

[MrBenchley]

41. But they had liars and bullshit...

Truth will out....and the longer it takes to come out, the harsher the judgment will be against those who were lying.

[Webster Green]

10. A little less than half actually..........

.....but still hard to figure out. Must be the extra-strength Kool-Aid. I understand the potency has increased dramatically from the Kool-Aid we drank in the 60's.}(

[yurbud]

11. Some people like most blacks know

they are going to get screwed no matter what the message is.

[sandnsea]

12. Values

Because everyone isn't the same and everybody doesn't value the same things. Which has absolutely nothing to do with morals. When you're a logger and your kids are hungry, you value a job more than a tree. When your family has lived on the same piece of ground for 100 years or more, you value your family and community and independence. The right plays on the fears and insecurities of these people and pretend to respect their values. Democrats scoff at them, at least that's what they think.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

16. That's why the Democrats need

to strongly embrace economic populism. I think this is the key to getting the working man back on our side.

[sandnsea]

19. Based on solutions

I am an anti-corporatist, completely. But, a class war won't work and too many people who talk about economic populism want to create a class war. So I would disagree with that. It's got to be something that values people, all people. With solutions and propserity and values and a new 21st century.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

14. I'm not going to rush to blame

the people completely. They face a powerful propaganda machine that's hard to see through. Hopefully someday the media will be retaken and start to report the truth.

[Journeyman]

15. There was a long period where they convinced 90% of the public. . .

that Shrub was both competent and intelligent, the "best man" for the moment to lead in the "war on terror"?

We forget this at our peril.

[Stirk]

17. But it isn't half of the public.

The political system is rigged to offer certain areas and groups a disproportionate amount of influence. The right wing's propaganda machine targets those relatively small groups, because that's all they need.

[orpupilofnature57]

18. It only seems like half.PROPAGANDA wont work unless your

Scared , hungry or uninformed

[cubram]

20. Propaganda

I was just kicked off the the FreeRepublic board for dissenting (in a non-confrontational way. I argued from the classic conservative perspective, and even quoted Pat Buchanan a couple of times. Well, the neo-con fascists didn't like this and revoked my posting privileges.

I'm not sure what the last straw was, it was either a comment about terrorists declaring war on us for our imperialist ways (a Buchanan statement) or that Goldwater is rolling in his grave. Before I left they told me several places I should go, and this was one of them. So here I am. Anyway, I would recommend a visit. If thick skin and an empty stomach it is great fun.

[Indiana_Dem]

24. Welcome to DU

:hi:

But I am curious...since you have the courage to state you were a member of the FR board, are you Republican? Or are you third party? Heck, lately we've been yearning for the good 'ole days of paleoconservatism rather than this neocon crap. The neoconservative ideology is a danger to all.

[cubram]

29. FR

I'm progressive, but can identify a lot more with the classic conservative than the current incarnation. I found the board while reading an article about Mel Gibson's latest comments. I joined to try and understand where they are coming from. My conclusion is that they are just plain scary.

I see the Republican party imploding pretty soon under the weight of such hate and viciousness. If Dems can put together a message based on common values: quality of life, liberty, equality, and the pursuit of prosperity, we can take many of the mods that have lost their place in the "R" party.

[Indiana_Dem]

38. I'm probably more liberal than you but

I go to this one dem website that has alot of moderate Dems and some conservative Dems on it. It's www.democrats.us. They even allow Repubs if they aren't too belligerent and make legitimate debate. It's smaller than this forum and your posts don't sink away never to be seen again. If you really want some good in-depth conversation and to be taken seriously without having your views disappear the next day then try that site.

Not to take away from DU because I love all the things on here! I'm literally addicted to DU what with all the links people post and such and have been here almost a year or more. I keep coming back. But democrats.us is a much mellower site that accepts most moderate to conservative views, too.

I come to DU to satisfy my yearning to hear others who think like I do. It makes me feel better. It has more than 60,000 registrations and more information comes from that many people on a forum. I also like the subgroups (DU groups) that interest me. Demopedia is also good. Even the silly stuff in the lounge gives me a good break from all the serious things going on. Check it all out. I guarantee you'll get an education!

[cubram]

44. Thanks for the tips!

[newyawker99]

42. Hi cubram!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[msgadget]

21. They've been paying extra attention to their base -

the middle and southern states - for a long, long time and design their campaigns to blame the left for their fears and frustrations.

[shleonny]

22. money

they have to spend 10 times as much money to do as well as democrats.

[AngryAmish]

23. It only works on the subhumans

RWers are stupid and fail the basic tests of personhood.

[FormerOstrich]

25. I have wondered about this as well.....

my guess is Television. How many DU's watch prime time television? I didn't have a TV for many years. Now that I do have one I average way less than 2 hours of TV a week.

I think it would be an interesting study of the two halves viewing patterns.

[SmartBomb]

26. I've often puzzled over this

Are we just as susceptible to demagogic propaganda as wing-nuts are? On a recent 4 day trip to the bay area, I pretty much had my car radio glued to Air America (we don't get it in LA). I'm not sure why, but I left it there regardless of whether or not the current program was worthy. Was it because the messages were being dispensed from the mouths progressives that I found myself accepting them without scrutiny? I'm pretty convinced that, on balance, liberals are more intelligent, rational, and responsible than conservatives, but I'm not sure we are any more immune to tribalism.

[cubram]

28. Rush

We certainly are better educated as a group. I would say liberals/progressives are susceptible to tribalism, but not to the degree that the conservative masses are. I think many more would digest the rants Rush, Ann Coulter, without question than we would with our few personalities.

[Eric J in MN]

30. For me, it's a question of accuracy.

Is Al Franken more accurate than Rush Limbaugh?

Hell yes!

[cubram]

33. Intellectual honesty

I would agree with that. I think Al is more dilligent with his research. Sometimes I think Rush spouts his BS for ratings rather than a commitment to the idea. Coulter is the same way. Not only is a lot of the content outrageous, but they follow these utterances with a smile, like they've just told a funny joke.

[SmartBomb]

39. Yeah, it's not really a fair comparison is it

AAR at it's worst could never be as bad as right wing radio is at it's best.

[Jackpine Radical]

34. Because only half are below average.

[KayLaw]

35. Not half

A lot of people who voted for Bush had their own reasons. Rich people who can't bear to pay taxes, for example. Immoral maybe, but not wingers.

[NAO]

37. Just consider how stupid the average person is...

...by definition half of them are even stupider than that!

So an accurate percentage of stupid people in America would be:

"the average person" (which is stunningly stupid)= 1% +

"the half of them that are even stupider than that = 50%

Total percentage of stupid people = 51%

The outcome of the 2004 Election actually makes perfect sense, and was accurately predicted to within 1% by this mathematical/statistical model.

[Enraged_Ape]

40. Because 49% of America has below-average intelligence...

and anyone with a hot-tub temperature IQ can see their nonsense for what it is.

[Liberal Veteran]

43. The magical chemtrails don't work on everyone....

LOL