Poll: 64 percent of Republicans are birthers

[DonViejo]

The myth is the most widely believed political conspiracy theory in America

BY ALEX SEITZ-WALD

A whopping 64 percent of Republicans think it’s “probably true” that President Obama is hiding important information about his background and early life, including his possible birthplace, according to a new nationwide survey of registered voters from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind project examining Americans’ belief in political conspiracy theories.

Belief in conspiracy theories is not unique to Republicans — 56 percent of Democrats believe in one of the four popular myths researchers asked about — but it is more common. Among registered GOPers, 75 percent said at least one of the four theories was likely true. Moreover, researchers noted: “Generally, the more people know about current events, the less likely they are to believe in conspiracy theories — but not among Republicans, where more knowledge leads to greater belief in political conspiracies.”

“There are several possible explanations for this,” said Fairleigh Dickinson political scientist Dan Cassino, who helped conduct the poll. “It could be that more conspiracy-minded Republicans seek out more information, or that the information some Republicans seek out just tends to reinforce these myths.”

The four theories they asked about were: Birtherism (36 percent of all Americans believe it); that the government knew about 9/11 in advance (25 percent of Americans think that’s probably true); that Obama stole the 2012 election (19 percent believe this one); and that George W. Bush stole the 2004 election via vote rigging (23 percent believe it).

Not surprisingly, Republicans are more likely to believe that Obama stole the 2012 election, while Democrats are more likely to think the same about 2004. Thirty-seven percent of Democrats think Bush or his supporters engaged in significant voter fraud to win that year, compared to just 9 percent of Republicans and 17 percent of independents.

-snip-

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/17/poll_64_of_republicans_are_birthers/

[Atman]

1. 87% of Republicans are idiots.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

2. Silly...Bush stole the 2000 Election with help from his Gov. brother...

[williamc1967txlib]

3. It's amazing how stupid the GOP has become

I mean, I always expected a vocal minority of that party to be out of their minds, but 64% believing that Obama was born somewhere else? That means even the mainstream Republicans have become crazy. Astonishing...

[Mutiny In Heaven]

5. Or GOP ID is declining

A bigger chunk of a smaller, wackier tinfoil pie.

[Sunlei]

4. I think romney cheated/gerrymandered/excluded dem votes to get that 47% LOSS,should have been 20%R

[BlueDemKev]

6. Who Cares?

If they want to believe Obama was born somewhere else, let them. That's their mistake and their stupidity. Bottom line is that Obama was born to an American mother which automatically makes him a citizen by birth per Sec. 1401(g) of the U.S. Code.

[SunSeeker]

7. Well that should make the propaganda masters at Faux News pretty happy. nt

[iloveObama12]

8. Wow! What A Bunch Of Nutcases