Poll: Republicans Only Group Who Think U.S. Is Defeating Taliban
A fascinating number buried in the new Pew poll:
By nearly two-to-one (55% to 29%), Republicans say the U.S. is making progress rather than losing ground in defeating the Taliban militarily. But Democrats and independents are divided — and only about four-in-ten in each group see progress toward defeating the Taliban (37% of Democrats, 40% of independents).
A solid majority of Republicans think the U.S. is making military progress in Afghanistan. Only a minority of Dems and independents believe the same.
During the Bush years it infuriated Dems when Republicans insisted on seeing progress in Iraq; many on the left saw this as evidence of a Bush personality cult. In the case of Afghaninstan, at least, Republicans also are inclined to see military progress, even though the commander in chief is now a Democrat, and they seem prepared to back him if he escalates.
Perhaps what this means is that Republicans are just more resistant to the idea that American troops could be losing. Whatever the reason, though, the disparity in views seems like yet another reminder that people on either side of the political divide inhabit starkly different realities.
This blog’s homepage is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.
On the plus side, there is some agreement:
“There is greater agreement about the impact of a Taliban takeover on the well-being of the United States. More than eight-in-ten Republicans (84%), 76% of Democrats and 75% of independents say this would represent a major threat to the United States.”
Look Greg, These morans believe surge worked. Vitenam was lost because of DFH’s. ’nuff said.
Attention Republicans:
General McChrystal states in his report that The Taliban are winning, as things now stand.
President Obama, noted moran: “I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” Obama said, while refusing to modify his original opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
Gee Oh Pee-ers simply believe in clicking the heels of their ruby-red shoes together three times as they repeat en masse and in unison, “There’s no one like Sarah, there’s no one like Sarah, there’s no one like Sarah…”
It’s called “mass delusion.”
sbj, the key point to note, you moran, is “while refusing to modify his original opposition to the surge”. Rest is all about punking you dweebs.
Stupidity aka the Republican party. It stands to reason if their politicians are stupid, the people voting for them are equally stupid!
General McChrystal said, in his recent report, that even if gets all of the 80,000 more Troops, that he requested; he still is not sure that he can defeat The Taliban.
Ergo:
General McChrystal does not support His Own Surge!
Naw, amk. You said that, “morans believe surge worked.”
Obama said, “I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated…I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
Succeeded, succeeded, succeeded. Sorry, charlie!
sbj, read my last sentence. You got punk’d.
Another number buried deep…
99.999% of Republicans are capable of extraordinary self-delusion.
“Perhaps what this means is that Republicans are just more resistant to the idea that American troops could be losing.”
Right out of the bilgey playbook..he said we lost Vietnam because our troops were not tough enough.
How about a reality check,,,we lose because some brain dead loser puts us in untenable positions…not because of our troops.
And again can anybody understand what Capt Matthew Hoh’s letter pointed out…it’s beyond dismaying that Americans of BOTH sides can be soooo paranoid about Afghanistan. 9/11 was planned primarily in the U.S.!!! and Western Europe…as were the Spanish and English bombings. The Taliban have NO MEANS of transport to attack our country.
If you all are so frighteneed of some pissass 12th century feudal nation…how do you even sleep at night knowing N. Korea has nukes and missiles to deliver them?. A bunch of dudes in Turbans going through monkey bars and obstacle courses and practicing with small arms pose NO THREAT to our nation. Yet they can easily sustain an insurgency indefinitely..killing thousands of Americans..ruining our economy…and WHY…BECAUSE WE PUT OURSELVES IN POSITION TO LET THEM!!! It’s like trying to get rid of fleas with hand grenades..the fleas will win every time.
As Hoh pointed out as far as Bin Laden or other terrorist leaders even if we win(whatever that means…could someone even define that for me..does it mean killling every last Taliban believer?) they can always move their “training” sites to Somalia/Sudan…pick a place there are far too many to list.
It’s like the Islamic Fundamentalists have won because they somehow smuggled in a cadre of brain snatchers that have rendered us paranoid and unable to make what is such an obvious choice.
Perhaps what this means is that Republicans are just more resistant to the idea that American troops could be losing.
When you’re too busy creating your own reality to pay attention to the actual one these sorts of phenomena are bound to occur.
No Greg, there’s only one empirical reality. The conservative movement has created a fantasyland where tax cuts solve all fiscal problems, abstinence education really does prevent unwanted teen pregnancy, C02 plays no role whatsoever in threatening catastrophic climate change, the war in Iraq has been a smashing success in combatting terrorism and solving Middle East tensions, John Kerry is a traitor and not a decorated war hero, George W. Bush has Churchill-like qualities and served honorably in the military, Terry Schiavo wasn’t in fact in a vegetative state, Rush Limbaugh isn’t a racist and Ronald Reagan singlehandedly won the Cold War. All of these thingss are, of course, demonstrably wrong. Incorrect. Not true. The oppositie of reality. Yet media people like yourself continue to entertain these fantasies as debatable points simply because they’re spouted by people on the one side of “the political divide.” Please stop! If republicans – or anyone else for that matter – believe in something that is false, please say just that. They might believe it, but so what. It just means that they’re stupid or ignorant or poorly informed.
@pinson….I’m with you!!!
“During the Bush years it infuriated Dems when Republicans insisted on seeing progress in Iraq; many on the left saw this as evidence of a Bush personality cult. ”
And then when it became obvious the surge was working the Dems looked like petulant idiots, particularly when they started running ads in major newspapers calling the top general a traitor.
It still isn’t obvious that the surge is working. All it did was delay the day of reckoning.
You haven’t been paying attention, have you? During the interim the surge was supposed to buy time while the politicians figured out a way to rule their country cooperatively.
That’s been a complete failure, and thus the surge is a failure, too.
Anyone paying attention to the history of the non-country of Iraq would have told you this fiasco was the most likely outcome.
That was why it was a huge mistake to invade Iraq in the first place. The liberals told you history-ignorant conservative Americans that at the time, but you knew better………….