The Right Freaks Out As GOP Poll Finds 20% Of Republicans May Vote For Obama

Who could imagine, that they'd freak out in Washington, DC....

OK, I'm showing my age and musical taste in the '60s

... if the people you knew
were the plastic that melted
and the chromium, too????

You're the other people too.

Miss him.

R.O.C.K. = Republican, otherwise crazed kook

is no known cure for them.

for making all of the GOP alternatives unelectable.

Problem is that the ugliness of the Republican primary reflects and arises from the ugliness of the Republican philosophy.

The Republican philosophy is heartless and cruel and in one word repugnant. It will take more than a different candidate to save the Republicans. So much the better for us Democrats.

Or, to be more accurate, has jumped into Shit Creek while many of their supporters are standing on the bank, appalled.

The weight of crazy-nasty the 'Lican presidential candidates have been flinging has gotten to be too much for sensible people (even sensible right-of-center people) to put up with. The stink will still be around when the party finally picks a nominee.

Add into that Obama's plan to run as a moderate Republican (much as he's governed), and you have a winning hand for the Dems.

The question now is, how long will his coattails be? Will we get the House and a supermajority in the Senate?

You mean standing knee deep in it.

and eventually a super-majority on the Supreme Court.

Real Moderate Republicans.The kind Romney was In MA before preparing to run for President.Could decide to skip Romney or Santorum and vote Obama.There were such a thing as Obama Republicans back In 2008.

Things have been going well.Yes Republicans will try to spend fortune trying to bash Obama.But,our side can tell from 2004 you have to
be than anitpresident to win.Now while Kerry was much better candiate than Romney the point Is they more than being antiObama
to win.People don't like Romney.Back In 1996 Republicans outspent CLinton and then cried and whined about campagin laws.Back In 1996 Republicans helped Clinton move Into lead and he remained ahead.With Obama his personal popularity Is always better than
His job APprol.And his approvel has gone up to 49 to 51 percent approval depending on the poll.Even RAS has him high.

A replay of 2008 Is possable.We can't take anything for granted.But,Romney Is Mccain or Dole 2.

Which candidate is the nuttiest? That are appealing to that base again. They are also building a very impressive resume. They want to bomb Iran. They don't link non-christians. The belive in pushing their extreme religious beliefs on others even though the constitution says there is supposed to be separation of church and state. They hate minorities, poor people, the middle class, gays and they hate women's rights and don't believe in science. Most importantly, they believe that corporations are people. I think they are going to lose big-time. I remember, McCain was a repulican moderate but was told to appeal to that whacked out base, he picked Palin and the rest is history. I think they do have a good chance of winning if they keep enough people from the poles and cheat like they did for Bush's second term.

Converted to bullet points:

They want to bomb Iran.

They don't like non-Christians.

The believe in pushing their extreme religious beliefs on others even though the constitution says there is supposed to be separation of church and state.

They hate minorities

They hate poor people

They hate the middle class

They hate gays and

They hate women's rights and

They don't believe in science

They believe that corporations are people

she kept the speculation up and still does that she still might run. So we have all these odd people running. Got a Mormon running where there's a large Christian Right thats been killing the Muslim religion, 2 catholics who probably won't get Lutheran votes, one is a nut the other is pro choice. Ron Paul is the only tolerable guy on there.

Hey I don't want to be smarter than the guy I'm voting for. I sure hope he's smarter than I am.


Then the end game here is Republicans went anti union. Which was just stupid. Since unions aren't exactly all left wing. So 20 % of the Republicans likely will vote for whoever is pro union. oops.

If you don't mind bigoted nuts.... which many Repugs don't.


But the monied Repugs will never go for Paul.

I think we can all thank the GOP for running such sophomoric candidates. They had a reasonable moderate with consistent views (Huntsman) who could have appealed to moderates, Democrats, and Independents but they ran him off the stage. At this point they're left with a spineless flip flopper, a corrupt former disgraced Speak of the House who everyone hates when they hear him speak for more than 5 minutes, Rick the nutjob Santorum who wants to ban contraceptives, and Ron Paul. I mean to show how garbage this field has been this cycle at various points during the season Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and Michele Bachmann had commanding leads in the polls.

I honestly can name only 1 person of national stature that could be electable - Olympia Snowe. Every other national politician in the Republican Party has baggage, similar to the current crop of clowns. But she's a non-starter with the base.

I think a lot of Democrats perceived Romney as a legitimate threat before the campaign started. He had a reasonably moderate record as MA governor, understood the need for healthcare reform, and hadn't any skeletons in the closet (or so we thought). But the Party base is rejecting Romney. Maybe some of it is due to Bain, but mostly it's the demonization of healthcare and the fact that he ran a bi-partisan government. The only other candidate that remotely comes close is Jeb Bush. Of course his brother has pretty well trashed that franchise....so, who's left?

The problem, as I see it for the Republican Party is a base that demands ideological purity. A purity that is built on social values that don't fit where Americans are today. An ideological purity that a significant majority of voting Americans don't share or find repulsive. The more their candidate might appeal to the Base...the less chance the candidate can win in a general election. Frankly, unless Republicans start running and electing moderates that can appeal to all voters, I don't see them faring much better in 2016 and possibly 2020.

won? Democrats have a history of running folks from New England who lose in the general election. The GOP had the Bushes, but they ran as Texans. You have to go back to JFK for a New England nominee who won. On the GOP side, you have to go back to Calvin Coolidge.

On a policy basis, Snowe would be a good candidate, but politics is still regional. Snowe would be a bad choice for the GOP.

Maybe Kay Bailey Hutcheson?

.... a bigoted 99%er Mormon
a bigoted megalomaniac
a bigoted religious nut
and a bigoted anarchist

he`s going to force the house to pass his employ a vet program. he`ll announce the pull out of afghanistan ending by the first of next year. he`ll counter the republicans by focusing on the bush administration planned naval build up in the south china sea .

the republicans know they can`t block anything to do with the vets and the naval build up. the economy is improving under his programs and i doubt the middle class republicans want to take a chance with the republican car full of half wit clowns.

Talk about some good news to receive on a cold, gloomy evening!

why is it the best President Obama does is 50% against Newt? He gets 60% approval from independents, which would lead you to assume a majority would vote for him, and 20% of Republicans. Is he getting less than a majority of Democrats? Last I knew there were more Democrats than Republicans.

These numbers just don't look right to me.

It's like 50-37 Obama with 13% undecided.

so there could be the landslide.

But I think a 50-50 split is fair.

"wary women, embarrassed evangelicals, mortified moderates, and repulsed independents." Those are the people whose votes defeated McCain by a cheatproof margin -- and the way things are going, they'll either vote for Obama, vote for Obama again, or stay home.


rocktivity

People who are married to their Republican political personna...but, when they are in behind the closed curtain of the voting booth and think about the economic choices in terms of recent economic track records and probable future expectations - they will vote their economic self interest and vote for Obama. These people are probably a little smarter than the average Republican voter and actually know how to read graphs and discount bullshit rhetoric.

I dunno...

I know so many Repugs who just vote as a reflex action.

They hate their Repug reps, and all the candidates, but will just pull that Repug lever because ... they always have. Period. It is simply not an option to vote Democrat.

won't vote at all. I think the Repugs shrill talk about privatizing Social Security is the no. 1 non-starter even for Republicans who are not wealthy like Romney.

Obama gives them generally corporate/conservative policy without needing to worry that their wives and daughters will be forced to undergo unnecessary pelvic exams.

Except at the airport, of course.

You pegged that.

+ infinity

Only 20% of the Republicans have figured out that Obama is one of them.

I know some Republicans who plan to vote for Obama, they are sane moderate/liberal Republicans. They have no point of commonality with the rest of the Republcans, and realized how dangerous Palin was in 2008, and realize how dangerous all of the current crop are.

And I think I know some more who will end up there. Their only hope is Romney and he is busy playing wingnut dress-up in a way that probably offends a lot of "moderates." One of my Republican brothers donated to Hillary last cycle, but then voted for McCain. I think he's ripe for a "change."

very few Democrats have figured it out.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

fewer and fewer people are buying what s/he is catapulting.

The economic and job outlooks are on the upswing. Komen-gate blows up in their face. Santorum scores a primary contest hat trick against favored son R-money. Contraceptive-using Catholics declare war on the "war on religion." Their CPAC convention is putting their ugliness on public display. And now the Rethugs find out that their stranglehold on their extremists is costing them their middle -- all while Planned Parenthood and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation cry all the way to the bank!


rocktivity

Great summary!

Romney isn't even getting 20% in some of these Repug primaries!

Many of these dissatisfied Republicans are likely to be EX-Republicans if their party continues on down the extremist path. The ones who vote Obama that stay Republican will need a special title, along the lines of what used be called "Reagan Democats". So why not "Obama Republicans"? That label alone would be certain to send a whole lot of righties on a one-way trip to the funny farm.

I think there may well be a significant number who like their Republican ID label...just don't like the social/economic policies that the brand is offering today. So I could easily see a class of Obama Republicans existing in the Party today. Probably these 20% referred to in the poll. Maybe after a few election cycles, they 'll finally realize that they aren't really Republicans after all.

I like putting a logo on it.

With a simple 2 word name, many will fall in line... just because they can call themselves something. Repugs like that kind of simple inclusion.


But the name "Obama" may be too much for them. They need something flattering. Like "Sensible Republicans", or "Independent Republicans"... or something

I work with a few, and every single one says if the nomination isn't Paul, they are voting Obama.

As far as the mod and liberal Republicans are concerned, every one of these Republican candidates are this year's model of Palin. And they are right about that

it's like a zombie being sold by corporate media to the people as a real person.

It was called "Citizens United". By taking the lid off of election funding that should be made by individuals and at a capped fixed amount, they've allowed Republicans to survive by becoming dependent on unlimited contributions from corporations and the richest 1%. They don't need to worry about small contributions from the little guy to compete - their legislative interests are captured by the narrow band of very large donors. Without this ruling, they'd be forced to heel to the interests of the bottom 90% for their political survival.

I honestly think this might not be in their best, long term interests, though. It may stave off the funding issues that they were experiencing...but they still need votes to get elected. Pushing a legislative agenda that rewards their investors while stiffing the majority of Americans doesn't seem to be a good longterm strategy. Unless, of course, they can legislatively take away the rights of people to vote them out of office.

candidates for the office of the Presidency, THEY JUST ARE NOT! Come on! No birth control? Girls would have to bear the rapist's baby? Tax cuts for the exceedingly wealthy? These emperors have no clothes! EEEW!

That's not an image I wanted my day to start out with. You owe me a better image!

So little time...

War?
Economy?
1%?
Wall Street?


The beat rolls on!

Cheering executions, saying those without health insurance should die, booing soldiers from Iraq . . . in the Republican party, there are people who have to be ashamed and alienated.

This is funny though, and so ironic. The GOP is in disarray. They're finding they can't beat a "moderate," even after five years of ceaseless propaganda.

We need to win the House back and get past 60 in the Senate to kill the Republican obstructionism.

The GOP will fight like mad to get elected then once elected they do not want government to work. The GOP works hard at not being able to govern. The GOP destroys things that are working and proposes laws that work only to fill their own pockets with money. Look at the recent insider trading law the House GOP passed. The house Republicans neutered their version of the law so that if it passed they can still do insider trading. Why vote for these guys?

No one asks the GOP registered voter why don't you call your GOP politicians out on this?
Notice how it was big news that President Obama said he will now support a Super PAC operation but no one said how about you Republicans shut down your PAC and Super PAC operations right now?

Why should a GOP voter support such GOP corruption?

The rushpublican "dream" is that they'll all be rich if only there wasn't a government or "libruls" or abortions or whatever boogie man is place in front of them. Most have been brainwashed with a lifetime of bumper sticker talking points that are always stretched to fit no matter how others see the hypocrisies. The bottom line is they crave the power...the ability to control others lives and force their conveluted and corrupt ideology on the masses.

You are 100% spot on...the rushpublicans only care to campaign never to govern...and then only to do so for the benefit of their elite...the ones who create and promote the talking points. The only thing that matters here is power and "winning" but in their zeal this corrupt and inept party has backed itself into an ideological corner where no one is pure enough and leading to the party's long expected civil war and ultimate implosion.

Molly Ivins said it best: "Republicans don't want to govern; they want to rule."

The only people who stay with the RepubliCONS are racist, crazy, nut jobs. As more and more disaffected normal RepubliCONS leave the party, the remaining people are mostly die hard crazy nutjob racists. It's like dehydrating a juice. As more and more of the water dries out, the flavor gets more and more concentrated.

And concentrate RepubliCONism tastes really, really bad.

"We also can’t dismiss the wing nut theories that the 20% of Republicans are really Democrats who are being paid by George Soros, and that white guilt is motivating one fifth of Republicans to possibly support the president."

Anti-birth control, pro-war, pro-rich, anti-union, anti-Social Security, anti-safety net, racists. What else? Everything their party stands for is counter to the interests of most working (and unemployed) Americans. Every time a Rethug opens his/her mouth, or is photographed sticking a finger in the President's face, more "moderate Republicans" are alienated. This is what you get not only with the clown car candidates but also with Rethugs like Walker, Brewer, Kasich, and the rest.

This is the logical end result of the Rethugs embrace of the teabaggers.

Bake

you can see why 20 % of Republicans are waking up from their delirium. The excuses some of the 80% make are outlandish!

It's from World Nut Daily.

and a bad joke ensues.

The GOP is just a bad joke.
For a generation, the party has been a freak show of mismatched parts* that has been held together by a glue of fear and ignorance. While it has never been as stable as it looked, it has somehow manage to lurch the nation to the right for years, which is the sick punchline.
However, we are in a new phase; it is the beginning of the end of this ugly beast, it is wounded, pissed, but still dangerous.
Bring out the torches, pitchforks, and one very sharp stake, because we ain't done yet.


* i.e. one of Sid's toys from the movie Toy Story

The Right freaked out in the 1930's and has never recovered.

The only platform they have to offer while Obama is in office is "NO!" and tax cuts for the rich. Go figure. I think Obama went to their caucus a year or so back and told them that their agenda wasn't going to fly. Well, it hasn't . Now, if a majority of voters will vote against the conservanazis, then there will be no government gridlock and things can get done for this country. With the repukes , it's been "our way or none at all". It appeals to the most rabid of the right wing. Then, they believe their own propaganda from Fox Not-the-news and think that it's what a majority of Americans want.
Goodbye to the repuke conservanazis.

This is "good news" for Obama, but lets be clear on why this is happening.

1) The GOP has been going "nuts" for a couple of decades now. As they have pulled both parties to the right, and "expelled" the more moderate republicans, they have shrunk, and they have also had to shift further to the right in order to appear more "pure". It's become a "race to the extreme" for them, with tax pledges and wing nuttery ruling the party. The number of elected GOP officials that felt the necessity to give lip service to the birthers was astounding. But make no mistake, they felt they HAD to.

2) The whole "third way/DLC" schtick was an attempt to pick up the disaffected moderate/Rockefeller republicans that no longer felt "at home" in the GOP. And it was very successful. The Dems have been trending upwards in urban areas, especially from college graduates with advanced degrees. The GOP is becoming the party of uneducated, white, rural voters. Obama has supporters in Buffet and Gates, and significant donations from Wall Street and the banking sector (even if it may still be in the 40% range).

3) Obama has done a great job of portraying the GOP for the wing nuts they are. By moving as far towards the "reasonable right" as he could, he has undercut the vast majority of the criticism from the wing nuts. No one with an ounce of rationality really believes that Obama is a socialist, or a Kenyan colonialist, or a manchurian candidate, or any of the other insanities, including Santorum's recent assertion that we are on our way to beheadings. Even moderate republicans were shaking their heads at the nuts hollering "we don't want government run health care, and keep your hands off our medicare".

Here's the problem. All the reasonable people are on the "left". We can't have reasonable discussions about healthcare policy, or foreign policy, or the social safety net, or economic policies because we end up "arguing with ourselves". The "discussion" is between the wing nuts and the rest of us, which means it tends to "center" well to the right. Polls show us to be much more left leaning than our politics allow. Single payer isn't even part of the conversation because the batshit crazy right goes appapletic. Out town hall meetings are near riots by the "no government health care, leave medicare alone" crowd, without a single payer or medicare for all person in sight. Our foreign policy is dominated by discussion of "what's left on the table" and how much we should use our economic and military policy, with no public discussion AT ALL about if we even SHOULD be using that might.

We can't have a discussion about what kinds of consumer protections we should have, because the wing nuts don't think we should have ANY. We can't have a rational discussion about energy policy because the total discussion is about "drill baby drill".

DU exists to a great extent because many of us wanted to be able to discuss these issue, with out having to engage the nuts. Even within DU we have specialized groups for people who don't want to discuss the premise of a position, but start from the assumption that the premise is true (BOG: Obama is good, Femanists: Women are subjugated, etc.) In our national politics, these discussions don't really occur. The OWS should be a very basic and constant discussion in this country, but the wing nuts won't even accept that there is income disparity or inbalances in our tax code. That's automatically "class warfare".

Yes Obama's chances are looking better everyday. And a significant reason for that is because the GOP is becoming so nutty that even members of the GOP know that. But at the end of the day, is that really something to celebrate? That nuttieness still dominates our politics and prevents rational discussions. It's why we don't have a public option, we do have a mandate, and health care STILL isn't considered a basic right. It's why Gitmo is still open, and a democratic president is comfortable advocating for indefinite detentions without trial and extra-judicial killings of American Citizens.

I'm sorry, I just can't see that as something to celebrate.

Save the "third way/DLC" thing. That faction never appealed to anyone except to high end donors. They are not really a 'moderate group' and do not represent Rockefeller republicans. Thse sort of republicans were in favor of social safety nets and spending on such programs. The DLC is to the right of this sort in that respect as they are typically against "entitlements" (and even use that term when describing such programs).


But yes, other than this I completely agree with you.

The DLC was to the right of rockfeller republicans in many ways. Heck, Obama is to the right of Eisenhower in many ways. Our politics have move way right, even while our population has not.

"What's the matter with Kansas" was a fairly good tome about how the Democratic party under the auspices of appeasing conservatives ceded populist economic issues time and time again and it resulted in wiping out the Democratic party in many regions.

Without a strong populist progressive economic stance the Republicans had a very easy time of appealing to peoples basest concerns.

Agree- there is nothing to celebrate here. A Democrat who accepts the right-wing framing of issues and benefits from the dysfunctional opposition is not our savior. He is only a less repulsive symptom of the ills of our democracy.

For many Americans, far less ideological than the DU/FR types, party registration isn't hugely important. In an Obama-Romney contest, I wouldn't be surprised to see a big chunk of registered Dems (perhaps in the 20% vicinity) voting for Romney.

But that always happens. I don't think that it often happens that 20% of registered Republicans vote for the Democratic president. The Republicans can't win the presidency with numbers like that.

And proof that Obama is really a Republican.

Sid

I am someone who is often critical of Obama and even I think these whiners are annoying!

I have already taken it to sites where repugs and their valiant foes hang out!

If 20% of Republicans are considering voting for the Democrat, then the Republican Party's problem isn't that their candidates aren't conservative enough. But the never let logic stand in the way of profit motive.

I'm worried that once the vicious lying Superpac ads start hitting the gap will close, though. I think that this is going to be a battle.

There are a lot of dirty tricks and outrageous lies taken seriously in store for us over the next few months.

The Orc foundry is working overtime right now to create them, you can bet.

love the visual Klook. Big LOTR fan.
SG

So appropo.

Schadenfreude for breakfast. My favorite!

They only got half way.

This is nothing more than a stunt to remind R's they must get out the vote. Enthusiasm for their guy is lacking, but bolstering hate for Obama is a much much easier process...That's why the likes of WND are willing to post these types of articles against their own apparent best interests.

Read it again this morning and got a big laugh. Maybe a few of the republicans are returning to sanity.

"... Most of their blame is being directed at Mitt Romney, as they use this poll to call for more conservative non-Romney candidate. "

This is right wing extremist logic. Romney is percieved as not being conservative enough. The poll suggests that a lot of republicans are gonna bolt and vote Obama who is less conservative, so the only possible answer is to find someone More conservative than Romney?

I think the tea-party ultra right wing is looking for any excuse in a rain storm to still be relevant after their funding evaporated. Meanwhile those kids in OWS are doing fine since they are an authentic grass roots movement.

Naw, they'd never admit the economy is improving. What they're saying is that the liberal media is lying about the economy, trying to make it look better than it is in order to get their preferred candidate re-elected.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/02/07/media-orgasmic-over-83-unemployment-2012-suicidal-56-2004
(Warning: contains nuts)

the lunatic fringe.

The Flurry With The Fringe On The Top. That's what I call the Republican Party these days.

Obama for his part seems ready to campaign as a populist liberal. I don't see many repubs suddenly seeing the light after fox and the blowhards on the right have whipped them up into a frenzy . At best many of them won't vote at all but crossing the isle in November feels like a stretch for for them.

Doing the Happy Dance in front of my computer. And the good news just keeps 'a comin".
SG

October 28, 2008 (a week before the election):

(Senator) Obama's really got his shit together, and very well may be a two-term President....

I think there is a chance that Obama can win some of those authoritarians, by forcing them to redefine the majority of which they are a part to include a bad motherfucker like Obama and themselves. It won't make them responsible voters, but it might make them happier, less fearful, and less hateful.

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7634539&mesg_id=7635491

The lesson the wing-nuts won't ever learn is that if you swing far enough to the right and go over the cliff, chances are at least middling that some of their fellow Republicans won't remain seated and buckled in for the ride.

I feel no compassion whatsoever for self-styled "conservative" reactionaries. After what the Radical Right put this country through for the last couple of decades, I hope and pray that the electorate will give them their long-overdue come-uppance. I'd like to see some of the less-psychotic among the right to see 2012 election results and see them have to face the bitter truth that they and their politicking caused their party to lose.

World Nut Daily - the comments are priceless
http://www.wnd.com/2012/02/20-of-republicans-leaning-to-obama/

lol

when your enemy is busy diggin his own grave, for heavens sake don`t interrupt..

uless it`s to give him a bigger shovel..

The GOP is in full melt down mode and the bright ones know it.

It1s Clockwork Orange time in GOP land. The inmates are runnig the asylum.

About him. He's the anti-newtromneysantrum choice.

His poll numbers will go down in flames, too, once people get past his dormitory libertarian rhetoric.

...the current crop of puke candidates are a bunch of morans.

was taken down regarding this poll.