Is it just me, or does the other side currently seem delusional and in denial?

[CoffeeCat]

I have become a crazy connoisseur of political news and I read just about everything.

I am getting quite disturbed by the far right of the Republican party. Has anyone ventured into the messageboards of these tea-party-type types?

They are completely in denial, suggesting that Romney has "momentum" as they cling to right-leaning Rasmussen polls and opinion pieces that are not based in reality. They ignore the majority of polls that show Obama leading in the key swing states, and the Time poll is dismissed due to some creative denial they've got going on.

I read some of the stuff, and I'm truly frightened for these people. The opinion writers do a disservice to these people when they write about Obama having "low turnout at his rallies" (LOL!) or a lack of enthusiasm from the base (LOL again!).

Obama's crowds have been 10,000+ here in my swing state of Iowa and the ground game here is off-the-charts phenomenal. Early voting here in Iowa has registered Dems ahead of registered Republicans by 20 percent. These numbers are reflected in nearly every state.

I don't think the media (or right-wing mouthpieces) are doing these unstable tea partiers any favors. They're keeping them in denial. They are going to unravel at the seams on election night after Obama wins.

[sadbear]

1. What's new?

[CoffeeCat]

9. I guess I've just never seen denial to this extent...

They dismiss the obvious signs that Obama has all of the advantages. They cling to partisan polls and bizarre half truths.

I guess when you really want something--and you can't face the truth--you can convince yourself of anything.

When I approach the election and what is happening--I like to scour all information and find the answers. Of course I want Obama to win, but I'm not an idiot. I wouldn't ignore obvious signals, like the recent Time Ohio poll and all of the other polls that show Obama ahead in Ohio. Common sense would dictate to me that if Romney doesn't win in Ohio, he's done. I find it hard that their conclusion is that Romney is going to win in a landslide because Rasmussen polls said so and because their right-wing mouthpiece of choice told them some anecdotal "stories".

It just seems weird to me.

[sadbear]

11. They don't have much to cling to, do they?

History is leaving them in the dust. It is weird, but it's only going to get weirder once some reliably red states become blue (TX, AZ, etc.)

[hoboken123]

36. All over a certain site is Romney +5 in poll after poll

And the threads start like this:


Ohio isn't even going to be close.
Look for an Obama landslide defeat of historic proportions.


That seems to smack in the face of poll after poll specific to that state. Is it hope or delusion?

[DeschutesRiver]

38. I agree

I've written elsewhere that I've noticed the same thing in my rural community. One local puts out a small magazine out here, and in his editorial column he wrote that "we are just weeks away from a landslide" and goes on to say that once the election is over and the grand experiment has failed, everyone who is living on a handout will just need to get back to reality once it is taken from them, in a nutshell.

A landslide for Romney is just weeks away? Really? No, I mean Really? Our neighbors said that soon we'd be back to having a smart man as president. Yep. They said "Obama is dumb" and that is what is causing our problems. Soon the handouts will end - presumably they mean that what the other guy gets from the .gov is a handout, because when it was pointed out that they are taking .gov payouts for work done to their land, ie free to them & paid for by the rest of us taxpayers, they smiled and said "yep, guess we do it too". Har, har, ha, ha. Talk about a bizarre moment. There are quite a few of these delusional folks out here, thrilled about the coming landslide, believing Romney will leave their .gov payments intact, while slashing those of the "others".

There is nothing I've seen in the totality of the polls that has ever indicated that Romney would win in landslide proportions. It isn't just weird to you, it is weird to me and others as well. I can't explain what these people are thinking, because we get the stupidest answers back when we question people about this landslide win thing.

It seems to be that they can't imagine losing, and so they imagine that Romney has to be winning. And yet everything I see suggests it is highly likely that they will not be taking "their" America back this time either.

[Mr.Bill]

13. I saw a guy on a coservative website

saying that Romney was going to win California. Now that's delusional. He was totally serious, too.

[still_one]

2. Murdock has clarified the true position of the republicans again, and that is going to doom them

[gcomeau]

3. "Currently"? -eom

[gollygee]

4. I've been hearing the same things

They are in complete denial. The Rasmussen poll says he'll win, so obviously he will, right? And I don't think they're bluffing - I think they're just in denial. Nov. 7 will be a difficult day for them to wake up to.

[sadbear]

6. Rasmussen will get it right on November 5 or 6.

[Barack_America]

5. It's the End Times.

[louslobbs]

7. It is not you. The other side is delusional and lives in an alternate universe. The ones in

positions of power and authority scare me the most......those that can actually manipulate and rig the system using this power to pass legislation that forces their will (especially their religious beliefs), on the rest of us.
Lou

[Grammy23]

8. They are simply repeating what the Republican Shills are telling them.

The pundits who bought that line have also been pushing it and so they believe it. Many are naive and will "trust" the messenger as long as it supports what they want. It gives them comfort and eases their stress. And yes, they are in for a serious let down when things don't pan out quite like they've been led to believe they will.

All I can say is Welcome to the Club. A lot of here got burned seriously in 2000 and again in 2004 when Bush was
(s)elected. I walked around in a fog for 3 or 4 days in 2004 and cried for most of that time. So I suspect there will be many tears from the Repubs in the evening hours of Nov. 6, 2012. They have managed to convinced themselves (with the help of Team Romney and Fox News) that they are winning. They will get over it, but the pain is going to be pretty bad for a while.

[CoffeeCat]

12. And yes, 2004 was a great example...

I wanted Bush out more than anything. However, I knew what the reality was. I wasn't, and neither were you, full of delusions and crazy expectations that don't mesh with reality.

Also, like you--I cried a lot in 2004. I felt gobsmacked for several days. We cried, but what will these tea-party types do? They seem very, very angry and they spend most of their time amped up on fear from Glenn Beck, Hannity and other propagandists.

They're angrier and almost strung out--and now they're anesthetized with Rasmussen, right-wing radio and this silly "momentum" meme. What happens when that anesthesia wears off?

It just seems like a long, long way to fall for people who don't seem that sane.

[JI7]

23. but we knew 2000 and 2004 was going to be close, yes, the "losses" hurt but we weren't living

in some fantasy about how we were going to win big.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

10. "But I'm still up 0.1 on RCP!"

That's what Romney's thought balloon will read
as he's giving his concession speech.

[Sheepshank]

14. And it's no wonder that when the election results come through

they are bitter, disillusioned, thinking it's all rigged, angry, joining militias, encourage a blind hatred of Libs, make threats of 2nd amendment remedies, and make overt threats towards elected officials.

[Shrike47]

15. I listen to Rush for awhile every day and he's on and on about how Romney is winning, ahead in the

Polls, aNd only effeminate men support Obama.

I find that last part pretty funny; he's not exactly Mr. Macho.

[RepublicansRZombies]

41. 'Limp': Taking Birth Control Pills Proven to Make Women Choose Effeminate men, who vote for Obama'

Limbaugh: 'It is also proven that women on birth control wear less sexy clothes, stop looking feminine when they take birth control pills.'

I'm not making this up folks, the talking point of the day.

Tomorrow all Republicans will be repeating this talking point. Birth Control Pills make you gay and liberal!

Delusional? In Denial? yes, and also certifiable.

[nichomachus]

16. It's the propaganda

I have it in my family -- and among some acquaintances. They have one thing in common. They limit their sources of information to Fox News, Drudge, The NY Post, and Limbaugh. They have been convinced that these are the only places telling the truth.

After I had moved to the West Coast, I invited my sister and her husband to visit. My BIL's first -- and only -- question was, "Do you get Bill O'Reilly on the TV there?"

If you've watched these shows -- and I've been subjected to Fox from time to time -- you can see how a steady diet of this misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda could seriously delude you. They package it up slickly and carefully craft and deliver the same talking points over and over and over.

This causes the listeners/viewers to construct what is essentially a house of cards. One stiff breeze and their whole world view comes crashing down. So when they encounter the truth from another source, they have to go into denial. If they don't, everything they think falls apart.

My sister was going on about "socialized health care" and how horrible it was. I had just returned from Spain and told her that the health care there was wonderful and how their infant death rate was lower than the US. Her answer was that when the doctors and nurses there see that a newborn is about to die, they take it out of the nursery and put it in a regular room so they don't have to count it as an infant death. And my sister, sadly, is a pretty intelligent person.

How in hell do you counter that?

[CoffeeCat]

27. That is spot on...

A very beautifully written explanation for why this denial exists. Very well done.

Like you, I know people who are deluded by Fox, Glenn Beck and the right-wing propagandists.

I often wonder how that grip is held so firmly tight. It is very bizarre to watch people argue vociferously, against their own interests. Do they realize that their talking points benefit the Koch Brothers and the top one percent of this country, which has complete disdain for everyone--including Fox News viewers?

I have come to the conclusion that they've done it by stoking the egos of these people. They are told that the MSM is biased and not reporting the facts. Fox News is positioned as the choice of smart people who want the truth! They are coddled and told that they can see through the baloney--and just look at those poor schmucks listening to ABC, CBS, NPR and other sources--they aren't as smart as you! You get it. They don't!

So, believing Fox News becomes intertwined with being wise and smarter than most people in the world. They're incentivized to believe that Obama is a socialist, that national healthcare will destroy the nation and that voucherizing Medicare will save it. Those are the *smart* ideas--and you want to be smart...don't you?

As you said, it becomes impossible for them to entertain the notion that ANYTHING they've heard on Fox News is wrong. Because, if they admit that some things are wrong--then they have to admit that Fox and other right-wing programs aren't the smartest outlets giving it to them straight.

So they put blinders on.

It becomes a referendum on their egos. If Fox News is a farce, then I am wrong. I am not wise. I am not better than everyone else--and also, I've been played. They're psychologically married to all of it. That's how Fox News gets them on board with crazier theories and beliefs. They can't turn back now, with so much emotionally invested in it all being true.

It's fostering dysfunction in people, in my opinion.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

32. +1000

Two wonderfully crafted explanations of a mind set alive and well in a brother and a sister in my (7 of us) family. We are Latino. The thing they have in common is they are born again Christians and watch Fox News.

[RepublicansRZombies]

40. And Limbaugh says every day "Don't question me" so they don't, easier to do what you are told

This is why we need to take back our public airwaves from these greedy self serving assholes.

[MsUnderstood]

17. what if our side is the one in denial?

the deal is with us democrats (and I hate to stereotype) is that we become a bit lazy and think "we're fine"

Case and point, California 2008 had the vote sealed for Obama. Also allowed prop 8 (anti gay marriage prop) to pass. And some say "well not all democrats support gay marriage" but the truth is that
1) Many democrats chose not to vote because california had been decided for Obama long ago
2) Many democrats who did vote on prop 8 voted wrong because of the misleading ads and their lack of information.

So we should be diligent and keep telling everyone IGNORE THE POLLS and go vote and not sit back and mock the republicans (who are even now continuing to push voter suppression in the swing states).

The worry I have is that the election unfolds this way:
mainstream media says "too close to call" and "romney ahead slightly" for the next two weeks
Voter suppression occurs in swing states
Democrats don't vote because "we got this"
Voter fraud (by republicans) occur in the government (as in Florida ignoring votes, Ohio destroying votes, etc).
Romney wins by these deceptive means
Democrats are ignored because "Romney was ahead"

So don't get lazy, don't get cocky, dont think the other side is crazy because we thought that when Al Gore "lost" and we thought that when John Kerry "lost" and Californians thought that when Obama won.

[JI7]

18. we were not in denial about Prop 8 and the polls showing Romney with leads after first debate

we didn't think Obama was leading in places like Texas as they seem to think Romney is leading in michigan and other crazy shit.

i saw one non political forum which had a thread on the election some dumb shit saying Romney was going to win big like Reagan did in 84.

[CoffeeCat]

25. We're not the ones ignoring the facts. But you make a good point...

We are not the ones ignoring facts. We get sad when the polls show that we're down. We don't develop algorithms and pie charts that show why all the polls are wrong.

These people love to bend facts.

But you make a point that is terrific and so true. We need to behave as if we are behind by ten. Yes, there is a lot of voter suppression out there. We should all be dragging 10+ other people to the polls--whether we're driving them, doing volunteer calling or other efforts. It's obvious, from all of the crimes that they've been caught doing (dumping registrations in the trash, trying to suppress early voting, giving people wrong info) that this will affect the outcome.

We should NOT assume that we are safe. Absolutely not!

You're right...we can't get lazy or cocky. I agree.

And I don't mean to mock the other side. I actually feel sorry for them. My concern is that these people are being fed total nonsense, and they are very angry, unstable types--and the reality just may hit them in very stark ways on election night.

[JI7]

19. well,it goes back to so many things, from the War in Iraq, Reagan ending Cold War, Republican House

getting credit for economy during Clinton years etc.

[War Horse]

20. I venture onto sites that have turned into RW echo chambers on occasion

(I've been on these here interwebs for quite some time, I'd be surprised to find even a gardening site that hasn't turned into us vs. them). It seems to vary between a close race and a landslide for Romney. They are... um... quite 'selective' regarding polls.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

33. +1

[woo me with science]

21. Both sides are in denial.

A steady diet of mainstream news that completely ignores the growing corporate fascism in this country will do that to you.

But, yes, the air is a little bit thinner on Bullshit Mountain.

[TheKentuckian]

42. PREACH

Everyone might not believe the same bullshit, or as much, or as intensely but the vast majority is in denial.

Hell, we probably are too but just are in the more shallow end so we can get our heads above it from time to time but I'm sure we hold on to some dangerous delusions or swallow a little bullshit due to lack of rational options.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

22. Wait until November 7th

Enjoy this. This is actually the calm before the storm, they are utterly convinced they are winning. Wait until they get the actual results. Then the dangerously unhinged right will know no bounds.

[lolamio]

24. Delusional is the best way to describe it...

I lurked at free republic for the first time in a long time yesterday. It was really bizarre and striking how thoroughly convinced they are that Romney is winning. My husband also tells me he hears the same on right wing radio. He is a democrat like me but he listens to keep up on the talking points.

Anyway, yeah it's Bizarro World!

[RepublicansRZombies]

39. They are definitely convinced, so if they are unable to steal it for Romney, or if fraud is exposed

They will accuse Dems of trying to steal it for Obama.

The media lied in 2000. They told everyone the votes had been counted and counted and counted...so they had Republicans convinced that Al Gore was trying to steal it from them and boy were they angry about it!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

26. Yes.

[justiceischeap]

28. The problem as I see it is what they consider "news" sources.

And I'm not just talking about Fox. They think that some lonely blogger in his basement spewing whatever wingnut theory he has is an actual news source. I've been seeing it all over twitter. (If you use twitter, the hash tag tcot has all the conservative loonies). So far, in the last week since I've discovered this hash tag, the left is planning to riot should RMoney win and they keep passing around a link that gives them preparedness tips for when we all go to DC and burn it down. They are convinced President Obama is using Benghazi as a cover to sell weapons to Al Qaeda. They are convinced that President Obama is the liar, not Mitt Romney (though that one isn't new). They keep talking about how it was Democrats/Liberals who were in favor of keeping slavery and Jim Crowe laws (which the Democrat part is right but not the liberal part). They have also convinced themselves that when Pres. Obama said we use "fewer" horse and bayonets, he said none. Oh, and the best is that Romney is going to win in a landslide. They also claim they aren't racist and then today, all complained that the only reason Powell endorsed the President again is because of his skin color.

They are so far off the rails, it isn't even funny. You're right, it's downright frightening how deluded they have become and continue to allow themselves to become. I can only imagine this may be what it's like for families to watch a relative be indoctrinated by a cult.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. To a point it is 2004 all over again, but in reverse.

And yes I read blogs from both sides.

[UncleYoder]

30. Shhhhhhhhh. Leave them alone.

Let them cry themselves to sleep Nov. 7th. It's better for them.

[krawhitham]

31. Something about a pot, kettle, and the color black

Have you seen this place, people go ape shit when a poll trends the wrong way.

The poll is always wrong, ALWAYS

[Alekei_Firebird]

34. Demographically speaking, this is their last (or next to last) chance

Soon, the GOP will have to expand beyond just placating anxious white people. And once they do, the modern GOP will cease to exist.

This decade is probably the last gasp of the White Christian GOP.

[Marr]

35. Yep. Conservatives live in a media bubble that only tells them what they want to hear.

I think it used to just be propaganda for the rubes. But over time, even their own leadership seems to have come to believe it. It's an alternate reality.

[RepublicansRZombies]

37. news on the hour, every hour, claiming Romney is winning

It might be us that are delusional and in denial that these people are going to steal it, they do not play fair.

They seem to be preparing both sides for civil war, when we should all be joining forces to go after the top 1% and their talking heads at the corporate 'news'.