Why are the majority of Democrats in this country out of their gourds.?

Question

Most fair-minded readers will no doubt take me at my word when I say that a majority of Democrats in this country are out of their gourds.

But, on the off chance that a few cynics won’t take my word for it, I offer you data. Rasmussen Reports, the public opinion outfit, recently asked voters whether President Bush knew about the 9/11 attacks beforehand. The findings? Well, here’s how the research firm put it: “Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent of Democrats believe he did know, 39 percent say he did not know and 26 percent are not sure.”

So, one in three Democrats believe that Bush was in on it somehow, and a majority of Democrats either believe that Bush knew about the attacks in advance or can’t quite make up their minds.

There are only three ways to respond to this finding: It’s absolutely true, in which case the paranoid style of American liberalism has reached a fevered crescendo. Or, option B, it’s not true, and we can stop paying attention to these kinds of polls. Or there’s option C — it’s a little of both.

My vote is for C. But before we get there, we should work through the ramifications of A and B.

We don’t know what kind of motive respondents had in mind for Bush, but the most common version has Bush craftily enabling a terror attack as a way to whip up support for his foreign policy without too many questions.

The problem with rebutting this sort of allegation is that there are too many reasons why it’s so stupid. It’s like trying to explain to a four-year-old why Superman isn’t real. You can spend all day talking about how kryptonite just wouldn’t work that way. Or you can just say, “It’s make-believe.”

Similarly, why try to explain that it’s implausible that Bush was evil enough to let this happen — and clever enough to get away with it — yet incapable either morally or intellectually of doing it again? After all, if he’s such a villainous super-genius to have paved the way for 9/11 without getting caught, why stop there? Democrats constantly insinuate that Bush plays politics with terror warnings on the assumption that the higher the terror level, the more support Bush has. Well, a couple of more 9/11s and Dick Cheney will finally be able to get that shiny Bill of Rights shredder he always wanted.

And, if Bush — whom Democrats insist is a moron — is clever enough to green-light one 9/11, why is Iraq such a blunder? Surely a James Bond villain like Bush would just plant some WMDs?

No, the right response to the Rosie O’Donnell wing of the Democratic party is, “It’s just make-believe.” But if they really believe it, then liberals must stop calling themselves the “reality-based” party and stop objecting to the suggestion that they have a problem with being called anti-American. Because when 61 percent of Democrats polled consider it plausible or certain that the U.S. government would let this happen, well, “blame America first” doesn’t really begin to cover it, does it?

So then there’s option B — the poll is just wrong. This is quite plausible. Indeed, the poll is surely partly wrong. Many Democrats are probably just saying that Bush is incompetent or that he failed to connect the dots or that they’re just answering the question in a fit of pique. I’m game for option B. But if we’re going to throw this poll away, liberals need to offer the same benefit of the doubt when it comes to data that are more convenient for them. For example, liberals have been dining out on polls showing that Fox News viewers, or Republicans generally, are more likely to believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11. Now, however flimsy, tendentious, equivocal, or sparse you may think the evidence that Hussein had a hand in 9/11 may be, it’s ironclad compared with the nugatory proof that Bush somehow permitted or condoned those attacks.

And then there’s option C, which is most assuredly the reality. The poll is partly wrong or misleading, but it’s also partly right and accurate. So maybe it’s not one in three Democrats suffering from paranoid delusions. Maybe it’s only one in five, or one in ten. In other words, the problem isn’t as profound as the poll makes it sound. But that doesn’t mean the Democratic party doesn’t have a serious problem.

Answer 1

Not changing the bong water often enough.

Answer 2

Well first of all what in the world is a gourd, and how can one be out of it? Second there are republicans who feel the same way as you described the supposed majority of democrats to feel. But I must add that all parties have serious problems not just the democrats. Also everyone knows that statistics can be bent anyway you want them to. Who is to say that you didn't just make them all up? How were they attained? Finally, just a suggestion, try not being so biased the next time you ask a question.

Answer 3

It all started when George Bush won the election.
They blamed chads, dimples, disenfranchisement,
and everything they possibly could. The votes were
counted and recounted by both dems and reps and
found to be right. Dems didn't want the military vote
counted, but they wanted to sign up the prisoners
in jails so they could vote, Democrat, of course. They
still haven't gotten over their loss and that's the reason
they are out of their gourd.

Answer 4

what would you expect from 40+ years of freebies,free cheese, food stamps and welfare?most Dems are remembering the ol days when they gave away the bank for votes? the thing that throws me is when they say there are no jobs and employment is at an all time high? or signs everywhere looking for workers? their reply "low pay"? not if you have an education and do not expect 20 dollars an hour for flipping a hamburger? polls are stacked to favor those who are taking the poll?

Answer 5

You have it backwards. They Democrats BECAUSE they are out of their gourds.

Answer 6

Whoa, way to much reading...That would drive me out of my gourd too!

Answer 7

and...what was your question? could you please define gourds...for someone so articulate surely, you can consolidate your case. your conservative readers will have difficulty getting past the third paragraph.

Answer 8

Drugs, their parents used even while preggies and they must REALLY use em.

Answer 9

i disagree.

by the way, this is no question - it's a rant and has been reported...