Pew Poll: Fewer Than Half Know GOP Won the House

[WI_DEM]

It's amazing how little interest so many people take in public issues and politics in this country.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/18/fewer_than_half_know_gop_won_the_house.html

Pew Research: "While 75% identify the Republicans as the party regarded as doing best in the midterms, fewer than half (46%) know that Republicans will have a majority only in the House when the new Congress convenes in January. About one-in-seven (14%) say the GOP won both the House and Senate; 8% say they won just the Senate; 5% do not think they will have a majority in either chamber; and 27% do not know."

[deutsey]

1. Maybe "Dancing with the Stars" should report major news stories

before saying who won the show?

I've never even seen the show...do they even say who won?

[DrToast]

2. Then nobody would watch it.*

*

[Blue_Tires]

23. Or Monday Night Football...

[reggie the dog]

3. less than half of the people know which party controls one branch

of the legislature. what percentage knows what the 3 branches of government are????

[Phx_Dem]

4. It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant and/or apathetic

American voters are. They sure do like to bitch about shit, but when it comes to voting or being informed . . . eh, not so much.

[Blue_Tires]

24. that's what the GOP banks on, and it usually pays off in spades...

[Enthusiast]

29. Without ignorance the GOP

would be nothing. This is why they promote ignorance with the vigor they do. Fox News was created with this very goal in mind.

[karynnj]

5. The media has conflated winning the House with winning Congress

Leading to that 14% thinking they won both.

I can't believe that only 75% know that the Republicans did the best in the elections - it is hard to think of how 25% missed that.

[Marsala]

8. Well they already won control of the Senate with Scott Brown

A majority of 41 to 59.

[AlinPA]

12. Exactly. 41 beats 59

[RichGirl]

6. Another over-looked fact is that....

It's hard enough to get people to vote during a presidential election. It's near impossible for a mid-term. The fact that so many sat this election out has nothing to do with Obama. It has to do with laziness and sadly, the republicans are a little more responsible when it comes to voting than dems. They won the house because there's more blind obedience among them and all the blathering from the media about voters sending a message to Obama is pure crap.

[pstokely]

22. Infrequent nonvoters that pushed Obama over the top didn't come out

and may never come out again

[GrantDem]

7. While upwards of 80% know how many times Lindsay Lohan has been to rehab

Pathetic actually...

[SDuderstadt]

16. Who is...

Lindsey Lohan?

[boppers]

20. She's an actress, sort of.

I don't know how many times she's been in rehab.

[polichick]

9. Another example of American Exceptionalism. nt

[frazzled]

10. And yet we have endured analyses ad nauseam about ...

what this election "meant," and what "the people" were saying. The people don't seem to know shit from shinola. There are no conclusions to draw, except that we are aimlessly wandering in the vortex of Teh Crazy.

[Enthusiast]

30. Fantastic point! nt

[moondust]

11. I wonder how many Europeans know it.

It wouldn't surprise me if more of them know the GOP won the House than do Americans. Maybe in other parts of the world as well.

[Enthusiast]

31. Wouldn't surprise me either. nt

[KeyserSoze87]

13. Believe me...

People in other nations know about the midterms, and right now they're laughing at how painfully stupid people in this country are for electing the Repigs and Teatards.

[Jennicut]

14. In Australia voting is mandatory. In the US, it would "infringe on our freedoms"

or something. We are a pathetic populace, at least some of us.

[bigdarryl]

15. to busy worrying about Lindsey Lohan

[ShadowLiberal]

17. This is why we're becoing a 3rd world country, when over half the country is this unaware of this

Seriously, in what kind of a country in this 24/7 media age does over half the country not know who's in charge of congress?

No wonder why we get people casting votes on totally idiotic things when they don't even know who the incumbents are that they should be getting mad at/rewarding depending on how they think things are going.

[Blue_Tires]

25. 40 years from now, researchers will investigate the ironies of

how the "Information Age" managed to make so many people ignorant...

[Enthusiast]

33. Plus one thousand! nt

[Aristus]

18. The grassroots Republican policy of being proudly uninformed

works against them in this case...

:eyes:

[nemo137]

19. No, it'll work for them.

They'll think that the Dems are still in the majority, and vote for more Pukes in 2012.

[Beacool]

21. The only time I ever agreed with William Safire was when he said

that the US was a nation of nitwits.

:eyes:

[golfguru]

26. Half people don't vote..so that is perfectly plausible.

[tigerade]

27. I voted on Nov 2nd

I voted straight-democratic on Nov 2nd. I went there fully knowing that Republicans were going to win, but at least I can say I tried.

[Enthusiast]

34. Me too.

Welcome to DU.

[tigerade]

35. My second post on here - thanks for the welcome!

Hey there, thanks for the welcome. The first time I voted was in 2004. I was fully behind Kerry, and I was outraged by the smearboat veterans and the attempts to undermine him. I've been a left-wing hawk since then. I honestly miss those days at this point, things have only gotten worse! Yes, we do have a man in White House and I suppose we technically control the senate. However, the opposition is so ferocious and rabid that I think they'll sooner take down the whole country for their own gain!

[Jay Roosevelt]

28. Lord...

This country needs to wake the fuck up and realize that this stuff matters...

[high density]

32. So Democrats will continue to be blamed for everything

Which will be standard operating procedure anyway no matter what happens.