Walking around the neighborhood and seeing the Bush Cheney signs, or reading opinion poll results, or even a casual discussion with a friend who supports Bush, it always puzzles me what it is how these purported Bush voters expect to benefit from another four years – is it as the bumper stickers suggest “Four more wars” they want? Actually, a Middle Tennessee State University poll shows, as I suspect, that most voters are pretty clueless. For example:
Asked for their own opinions on these same issues – with no clues given in the question regarding which candidates support which position – many Tennesseans express views contrary to those of the candidate they say they support. Only 54% of self-described Kerry partisans, for example, express support for Kerry’s plan to retain the recent income tax cuts only for individuals earning less than $200,000 a year. And about a third (32%) of Bush partisans say they like the idea, even though Bush opposes it.
The situation is probably not much different in Texas where polls still have Bush with a sizeable winning margin. However, if the 50%+ who support Bush are doing so out of complete ignorance, then it makes sense. De Toqueville warned of the tyranny of the majority. What if it is a tyranny of an ignorant majority? How do you cope with that?
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