Pew Poll shows conservatives think the Supreme Court is actually liberal.

[pampango]

There continue to be wide partisan and ideological differences in opinions about the Supreme Court’s ideological leanings. A majority of liberal Democrats (56%) say the court is conservative; just 12% of conservative Republicans say the same. Nearly half of conservative Republicans (48%) see the court as liberal, compared with 8% of liberal Democrats. About four-in-ten conservative Republicans (38%) and 31% of liberal Democrats say the court is middle of the road.

http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/20/views-of-supreme-court-little-changed-as-major-rulings-loom/

At least the poll showed that the majority of liberal Democrats correctly understand the true nature of the Court.

[Surya Gayatri]

1. Cognitive dissonance? Only way to explain the disconnect.

[Rex]

2. That's because the GOPukers and their brain dead followers believe whatever Foxnews tells them.

Some very very stupid people in this country.

[Journeyman]

3. Paul Simon said it best in 'The Boxer': "All lies and jests still a man hears what he wants to hear. . .

and disregards the rest."

[bullwinkle428]

4. Right-wingers are still butt-hurt over "Brown vs. Board of Education"!

[hifiguy]

13. Truth. nt

[Agnosticsherbet]

5. This shows what the Right really wants from the courts.

They want a court that follows a rigid, narrow ideological right wing ideal.

If we think the court is right wing now, imagine what it can be with a Republican in the White House.

[justiceischeap]

6. I have a neighbor who thinks the democratic party is further left than

it's ever been and he grew up in the 60s. So, yeah, this doesn't surprise me.

[Cosmic Kitten]

7. Are the Hillary polls misguided as well?

If the public is so stupid
can we believe any poll results?

IS every Hillary poll equally suspect?
Or only the right-wing ones

[pampango]

12. Conservatives are misguided in this poll, not the poll itself. It is an accurate view of the muddled

brains of conservatives and the more perceptive view of liberals. That's really all you can ask of a poll.

If the public is so stupid
can we believe any poll results?

The public is not 'stupid', though many people are (particularly on the conservative side of the spectrum). That would be a very un-democratic view. The whole democratic idea of self-government is at odds with a belief that people are too stupid to govern themselves and need 'enlightened' leaders who are selected in some manner that does not involve the public.

A poll can reflect the opinions and preferences of stupid people as accurately as it does those of intelligent people.

IS every Hillary poll equally suspect?
Or only the right-wing ones?

I doubt that every Hillary poll is suspect, though some of them may be. It depends on who is doing the polling and how it is done. The question "If the election was today would you vote for Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush?" is pretty straightforward and as subjective as some poll questions can be. Of course, how they select the people who are being polled is key. And, of course, any poll done today only applies to today's attitudes, not tomorrow's or next year's.

When you say 'right-wing polls, do you mean like those conducted by FOX? If so, unless they present the methodology of the poll and it is sound (highly unlikely), they yes I would generally put more credence in polls done by reputable organizations like Pew than I would in right-wing polls.

Sometimes I don't like the results of well-done polls, but I try to resist the urge to ignore them. Conservatives can ignore polls, evidence and science that they don't agree with and go on believing that they are right and the whole world agrees with them. Not me.

[Cosmic Kitten]

20. Why do you assume Democratic respondents are less muddled?

How do you know the intelligence
or muddledness of those
who respond to telephone polls?

Your opinion seems condescending?
As though some people's perceptions
are more valid or accurate than others?

Every protagonist is another's antagonist.
What you consider conservative may be
another's centrism.

Without core values, right-left is arbitrary.

When you say 'right-wing polls, do you mean like those conducted by FOX?

I mean polls reflecting
right-wing views, such as the OP.

I trust NO polls as they are
twisted and used as propaganda
to support any given agenda.

Seventy-Two Percent of Americans Support War Against Iraq

Seventy-two percent of Americans interviewed in a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Saturday and Sunday favor the war against Iraq, while 25% are opposed. Roughly the same number approve of the job President George W. Bush is doing.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-americans-support-war-against-iraq.aspx

Were those people wrong?
Was that poll misleading or inaccurate?
If the poll said 72% approve of war with Iraq
surely it was the right thing to do, right?

If 72% say Hillary is a strong, qualified leader
does that prove she is those things?

[pampango]

27. They view the Supreme Court as conservative. Do you not think that is less "muddled" than

thinking the Court is liberal.

How do you know the intelligence
or muddledness of those
who respond to telephone polls?

You are the one who said: "... the public is so stupid", not me.

I have as much right to an opinion of conservatives' "muddled thinking" as they have to their opinion in the first place. Do you not think that conservatives are often guilty of 'muddled thinking'?

Your opinion seems condescending?
As though some people's perceptions
are more valid or accurate than others?

Of course everyone is entitled to an opinion. Do you judge the opinions of conservatives as equally well-thought-out as those of liberals?

If you believe that thinking that the Court is liberal is not 'muddled' you are entitled to your opinion.

I mean polls reflecting
right-wing views, such as the OP.

How does this poll reflect right-wing views? By pointing out that conservatives incorrectly (unless you agree with them) believe that the Court is liberal?

Were those people wrong?
Was that poll misleading or inaccurate?
If the poll said 72% approve of war with Iraq
surely it was the right thing to do, right?

Of course not. A poll just shows what people think. It does not make them right or wrong. Of course, in a poll that shows the partisan differences in opinions we are free to compare and contrast the opinions of liberals and conservatives.

Is it possible that conservatives are 'right' that the Court is liberal? Since that is a matter of judgment rather than 'right' or 'wrong', I will leave that up to you. For me it would be much easier to make the case that the Court has been quite conservative in its rulings rather than liberal, but to some conservatives I suppose the Court has not been conservative enough - which, in their 'muddled' minds, must mean it is liberal.

[Cosmic Kitten]

32. The point is opinion is subjective, and relative.

I see ascribing "muddled"
with unintelligent, or lacking
in critical thinking.

As such, it seems you are
suggesting conservative
opinions are unreasoned
or unintelligent?

MY point is opinions are
subjective, and based on
established value system,
or an arbitrary starting point.

If it's based on "traditional"
western religious values,
then by that standard the
SCOTUS would appear "liberal".

If the value system is arbitrary,
such as "libertarianism", then
SCOTUS would be perceived as
skewing right.

Assuming one's own values as
"the" reference point is inherently biased.
Until the underlying values system
is defined and agreed upon, truth is chimera...
where one person's liberal is another's conservative.

[JI7]

19. oh shit

[former9thward]

8. A majority of Supreme Court decisions are 9-0.

Both the left and right ignore this fact and try to compartmentalize the Justices into one group or the other.

[pampango]

9. Is it wrong to "compartmentalize the justices into one group or another"?

Despite the fact that they agree on most cases.

I am far from being a lawyer much less a judge, but I imagine that many cases precedents, evidence or legal interpretations that are not affected by the partisan attitudes of the justice are the most important considerations and all justices may agree frequently. The cases in which we see a split vote often are the ones in which a liberal vs conservative "compartmentalization" is relevant and the votes are usually quite predictable in these cases.

[hifiguy]

14. i am a lawyer and you are largely correct.

Technical issues of law are often not terribly controversial and most smart judges (and even Uncle Ruckus) are likely to come to similar conclusions. Precedent decides a clear majority of cases by way of analogy and statutory interpretation decides many more, as in "Dpes the X act cover Y as well?"

[former9thward]

21. If you are a lawyer you would know cases wind up at the SC for a reason.

They only take about 1% of the cases appealed. If precedent was the main factor the case would never make it up to the court. All the cases at the SC level are 'hard' calls with smart lawyers arguing the different sides.

[hifiguy]

24. I AM a lawyer and have clerked for two trial court judges.

I particularly remember one case that came before my first boss. There were two directly conflicting lines of precedential authority from out state Court of Appeals and the state Supremes had not spoken on the issue. An equally good case could be made for choosing either line of authority from the Court of Appeals. It was a technical issue of insurance law and my judge told me to pick the reasoning I thought was better and draft an opinion for him. "We don't want to put the appellate courts out of business" he said.

Cases like that one make up far more of the meat and potatoes of the court system than outsiders think.

[former9thward]

23. All I am saying is the conventional 5-4 vote

with conservatives on one side and liberals on the other is very rare. On many of the close votes at least one liberal will go with conservatives or one conservative will go with the liberals. The media never reports that. They also never report close personal friendships of many on the court such as the Ginsburg and Scalia families who vacation together.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. Maybe SCOTUS will decide the marriage equality case before it like they decided Brown

One can dream.

[former9thward]

22. I think they will.

With a vote of 6-3 or 7-2.

[KamaAina]

30. 7-2? You think Alito's gonna do the right thing?

[jwirr]

10. Heaven help us if they get elected and can ever make it "conservative".

[hifiguy]

15. The levels of stupidity and misinformation in this country

are rapidly approaching critical mass. The implosion is not going to be pretty.

[NuttyFluffers]

16. they'd say muslim terrorists spy on them from the moon if you asked, too.

who cares what lunatics fear?

[pampango]

17. Unfortunately, these conservative voters ("lunatics") have elected a congress

that will pass judgement Supreme Court nominees. If it were just fringe right wing 'lunatics' (who have always been with us) who thought the court was 'liberal' I would agree with your disdain for their opinions. But it goes beyond the fringe right to all conservatives which has proven to be a pretty effective voting block.

[Spider Jerusalem]

18. Conservatives also think the media are liberal.

"Liberal" = conservative-speak for "not 100% extreme right-wing"

[Ken Burch]

25. People like that are going to think SCOTUS is "liberal" until every justice is a GOP appointee.

And even then, some of them will think it's still liberal, because it has no one who ever served on the Confederate bench.

[LonePirate]

26. SCOTUS upheld the ACA therefore it is liberal to them.

[DesMoinesDem]

28. So YOU get to determine the true nature of the court and anyone that doesn't agree with you is wrong

[Donald Ian Rankin]

29. The symmetry is pleasing.

It drives home just how incapable of objectivity most people on both sides of the political spectrum are.

[samsingh]

31. conservatives are stupid. that's what makes them conservative.

by definition.