Why do so many people base their political beliefs on ideas without facts?

Question

For example, cons say social programs don't work period. Seems to me cons live in a faith based reality. They will believe certain ideas regardless of the facts.

They say JFK/LBJ's war on poverty did nothing and in fact increased poverty. The FACTS say other wise. The poverty rate was nearly cut in half between 1960 and 1968. It went from 22.2% to 12.8%. The next big drop was under Clinton. It went from 14.8% to 11.3%. The biggest drop of course was probably under FDR. No data for him unfortunately.

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov2.html

Answer 1

republicans believe in personal gain. Of course they'll say that social programs don't work, they don't want it to work. They would never give anything from themselves to anyone else, even if they're in need of something. Facts brought by the opposites are not important for people who are not open to new ideas.

Answer 2

So an expanding economy had nothing to do with it, right? Merely gov't programs?

Clinton did not expand the social welfare system, and in fact reduced it under the Welfare Reform he signed. People did well under Clinton because we had a red hot bubble economy due to the internet and information technology revolution. Clinton did nothing to create it, but got to ride the wave. When the bubble burst, in late 2000, things started backsliding because wages were all out of wack from reality. The stats you cite represent that nicely.

I suppose JFK's and George W. Bush's tax cuts get no credit for expanding the economy either.

I won't say the war on poverty did no good, but I do believe for all the TRILLIONS spent, that money would have been better off left in people's and business's pockets to grow the economy and end poverty that way.

Answer 3

It's like anything else. A lot of people do react to what they have been raised to believe is true, but not everything is true. In this world and on this website, if you cannot provide your sources then there is no reason to take what you say as serious. People do a lot of things and if they think that people will "understand" and accept without question what it is they say, there will be no sources listed. Why is that? I don't always look up info on a post unless it strikes me as being odd.
I will give sources if what I want to say is really controversial. That way, I don't have to put up w/ angry users.
Heck, political info is just like religion. Don't say it if you can't prove it!

Answer 4

Your stance is in many cases extremely liberal by utilizing the common understanding of that factor era. One issue regardless of the fact that's that a great number of what's conventionally understood with the two the words "liberal" and "conservative" as we communicate could be arguably artificially dichotomized. yet that factor aside, counting on how prepared you're to (in the words of Benjamin Franklin) "question a sprint your man or woman infallibility" is the factor that I evaluate specifically issues having been on countless factors of the political "spectrum" myself over the years. And mutually as i might take subject on rational and/or historic and/or constitutional grounds with maximum (regardless of the undeniable fact that no longer all) of the positions you espouse, in case you're a minimum of open to pondering the prospect that your perspectives won't be precise then you extremely are a minimum of a civilized liberal. And pondering what proportion uncivilized liberals there are available (to no longer point out uncivilized conservatives), i will take a civilized positional adversary over an uncivilized positional best buddy ever time.

Answer 5

Saw today that by 2-1 members of the GOP believe in creationism and don't believe in evolution. So if you believe the earth is only 6,000 years old, well then I guess you will believe just about anything and let the facts, scientific evidence and the truth be damned.

Answer 6

Thank you for that! I have absolutely no idea the answer to your question because I continuously wonder the same thing!

I've referenced the same website and there is always some way to spin it. Can't wait to see what it will be this time...

Answer 7

unfortunately to many people hear the sound bite,
and believe it with out knowing or looking up the facts.
and that is how they decide how they will vote.
example: election 2000, election 2004

Answer 8

Why not ask all the libs who cling to Socialism despite all the factual evidence that Socialism is a failure?

Answer 9

Buuut buuut - Rush and Savage have facts as they "interpret" them.

Answer 10

Because thinking hurts...