Three of Four Bush Supporters Still Believe in Iraqi WMD

[sampsonblk]

Three of Four Bush Supporters Still Believe in Iraqi WMD, al Qaeda Ties

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/oneworld/20041022/wl_oneworld/4536965431098444910&cid=655&ncid=1473

“To support the president and to accept that he took the U.S. to war based on mistaken assumptions,” said Kull, “likely creates substantial cognitive dissonance and leads Bush supporters to suppress awareness of unsettling information about pre-war Iraq.”
...
“The roots of the Bush supporters’ resistance to information very likely lie in the traumatic experience of 9/11 and equally into the near pitch-perfect leadership that President Bush (news - web sites) showed in its immediate wake,” he said.

“This appears to have created a powerful bond between Bush and his supporters – and an idealized image of the President that makes it difficult for his supporters to imagine that he could have made incorrect judgments before the war, that world public opinion would be critical of his policies or that the president could hold foreign-policy positions that are at odds with his supporters.”
--/-/--

They are stupid, but I don't blame them. We let this happen.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

1. You're very generous

Not all are just stupid; a lot believe this nonsense because THEY WANT TO. That's even worse.

[oasis]

2. Ignorance is bliss. Most of them get their cue from Pillboy Rush Limpwad.

:dunce:

[wtmusic]

3. I do blame them for being stupid

The comfortable, lazy "let's kill them and play it safe" attitude that is abhorrent.

[sampsonblk]

6. A pair of dumb anecdotes

I have talked a lot of people out of supporting Bush only to have them come back the next time even more in love with the guy. Maybe you're right. There's no excuse for being stupid once you've had a chance to know the truth.

I talked to one guy who insisted that Abu Ghraib was "just a few guys letting off steam." Once I got him to the point where he saw that it was widespread, I left the subject alone. Next time I saw the guy, he said "Well if they are terrorists then its not really torture." WTF??? I gave up at that point, of course.

[wtmusic]

10. A frightening trend

your anecdotes parallel some that I've experienced.

John Adams, from his autobiography:

“This is the established order of things, when a nation has grown to such an height of power as to become dangerous to mankind, she never fails to loose her wisdom, her justice and her moderation.”

[krkaufman]

4. Wow. Great quote from the article....

“The current election is unique in that Bush supporters and Kerry supporters have profoundly different perceptions of reality. In the face of a stream of high-level assessments about pre-war Iraq, Bush supporters cling to the refuted beliefs that Iraq had WMD or supported al Qaeda.”

Chuckle. Bush supporters are insane.

[tigereye]

7. that is what I was going to say

serious reality distortion, despite REAL EVIDENCE to the contrary. Where I come from, that is known as psychosis. ( or at least a reality distortion field!)

[FrankenforMN]

5. You do not blame them?

The information is there for anyone to read, they just choose to be stubborn idiots. I have talked to so many republicans about Iraq, and I hear the same rhetoric that has been spewed from Rove's lips: Bush is a "strong leader", and Kerry is inconsistent (I refuse to use that other term) and he does not support the troops. Nevermind the fact that Bush has had THREE positions on UBL: 1. "Wanted Dead" or Alive. 2. "I'm Honestly Not That Worried About Him" 3. "Gee I'm not sure I ever said that I'm not worried about Usama Bin Laden. That's one of those exagerations."

Democracy fails when ignorance takes over. As Plato argued, tyranny soon follows. I am sorry, but I blame their ignorance for A LOT of things that are wrong with this country. *end rant*

[sampsonblk]

8. Our side hasn't pressed the issues

Yeah they are stupid. No question. But where is the voice of reason on our side? I don't recall any important Dem officeholders even supporting F-9/11. They voted for the IWR. They were mostly silent while the Cheney admin put out this complete garbage. Not one of them called Bush a liar, even though he lies and misrepresents things constantly. (Maybe Dean did, I don't remember.) The Repubs have a symphony of lies. We have had no symphony of truth for the past few years.

Its kinda late for us to educate the public now. We have 11 days. So we just gotta turn out our vote 100% and hope for the best.

[FrankenforMN]

9. see: Howard Dean Campaign :)

I think Kerry has tried his best to point out how Bush has mislead us into a war based on ideology, and that the connections between Iraq and Al-Quaeda are misrepresentations of the truth. These are just two of the talking points I hear when I listen to Kerry's speeches.

I think democrats in general have done a good job of pointing these things out, without resorting to ad hominem attacks. I see where you are coming from, but the people voting for Bush would not change their vote no matter what (I'm speaking from experience). Let's hold on the second guessing until after we win the election. :)

[Supersedeas]

11. pitch-perfect like a used car saleman--still in denial about the lemon

[Mountainman]

12. substantial cognitive dissonance = exploding heads

Freeps trying to protect their heads from exploding. Sooner or later they have to face the truth because to much denial also causes exploding heads. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Poor little fweepers!

[yardwork]

13. Most of the Bush supporters I know have serious problems

This is a profile of the people I know who support Bush:

- Meth addict struggling to stay clean, lives in trailer with boyfriend, has grown child from previous boyfriend, said child is constantly in trouble, family has no health insurance.

- Crack addict struggling to stay clean, lives in trailer with boyfriend, has teen child from previous boyfriend, child constantly in trouble, no health insurance.

- Alcoholic in her 50s with two years of sobriety, recent remarriage, struggling to get college degree, no health insurance.

- Alcoholic in her 50s, not sober, recent remarriage, gambling addict, appears to be drinking herself to death.

- Man in mid-40s, former Navy who quit because he had trouble getting along with his chain of command, many serious health problems including overweight, hypertension, blood clots, GI tract problems, and severe anxiety. Is currently employed with health insurance but his anxiety over losing his job prevents him from seeking mental health care (he fears the stigma). Gets all his news from Rush and Fox News and believes we should "nuke them all," despite devout Catholicism. Also hates gays.

- Woman in her mid-50s, married to work-aholic husband, never had a job, never had children, is lonely and spends a lot of time online or chatting with other Stepford Wives in her upscale neighborhood. Does not know how to access news online. Watches Fox and occasionally scans the headlines of USA Today.

- Woman in her mid-40s, fundamentalist Christian, believes that her right-wing husband knows best, home-schools her three children, told by her male pastor that the chimp is a "godly man," therefore must vote for chimp despite disagreeing with most of his policies and behavior. Can't vote for Kerry due to deep fear that to do so would deny her entrance to heaven (I'm not kidding).

And so forth. I've given up arguing with these folks. Their personal problems interfere with any ability to think logically.