Misinformed USA: Why average Americans vote for Republicans

Misinformed USA: Why average Americans vote for Republicans

Misinformed USA: Why average Americans vote for Republicans

Robert Sobel

Orlando Liberal Examiner

One can only wonder why average working class Americans would vote for a party that is so obvious in their bias towards the wealthy. It would make sense that someone in the top 1 percent of the income bracket would vote for the Republican party since they have the wealthiest American's best interest at heart. You could even make the case that highly religious Christians would vote for Republicans even though, at times, they vote against their own best economic interests. So the question remains, while scratching your head, why do working class Americans vote for Republican candidates?

I once sat down and spoke with an acquaintance of mine, trying to get a grip on what people are thinking about the future of our country. He said he voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 because, "we need a business person to get our debt down." I asked where he got his news and information from, and after trying to deflect from the question, the answer finally came. "I don't pay attention too much, but when I do, I watch Fox." Fox News is the primary source for information for millions of Americans across the country and that's where the problem starts.

Whether it's Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity or other right wing ideologues, Fox News is a tunnel vision information outlet with only one particular agenda that is being pushed through. Millions of Americans watch Fox News, listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz, Michael Savage and others while getting information from right wing think tanks like theHeritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. With big businesses and billionaire allies, the truth and facts in American have gone from a clear right and wrong, black and white situation to muffled shades of gray. It's not to say that Fox News, the Cato Institute and others like them totally lie because that would be too difficult to pull off. What these think tanks do, is take a fact and twist it to fit their own personal agenda, leaving out key information that would contradict with the platform they're trying to create.

A perfect example in describing the way groups like the Cato Institute operate is a report that came out by alternet.org. In the early 2000s, the Cato Institute released a report that suggested that families receiving welfare were making between $17,000 and $25,000 a year, but the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities countered that claim. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities showed that the average income for welfare recipients was below $9,000 a year, which is nearly $3,000 a year below the poverty line.

The misinformation also comes from another right wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation. In 2011, when Paul Ryan released the "Ryan" Republican budget, the Heritage Foundation claimed that unemployment would drop to 6.4% in 2012 and to 2.8% in 2022. A report released by the Washington Monthly pointed out that these claims were extremely exaggerated. The CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, showed the errors of the Heritage Foundation's report and the director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis, William Beach, was forced to walk backed the claims.

In 2009, the Heritage Foundation released ads attacking the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that was brought to congress that would give all employees the right to form a union without fear of being fired from their current job. Since the Heritage Foundation is bought and paid for by million and billionaire conservatives, the idea of having workers unite with more power and freedom threatens their control at the top. The ads released painted a false picture about the Employee Free Choice Act, claiming that unions will bully workers into joining them with an attempt to take money from the employee. According to the Huffington Post, the Heritage Foundation "frame(s) the EFCA issue based on bald-faced lies. Business-financed 'think tanks' like Heritage propagandize workers against their own interests in psychologically sophisticated ways, often pulling on their heartstrings and framing their anti-union stance as 'common sense.'"

Average Americans need to be more informed about what is going in the country, but also where to get their information. The argument isn't about holding a liberal or conservative ideology, it's about facts that are based on truth and not information based on twisted logic. Americans need to learn to dig a little deeper to find honest reporting, not just believe something that falls in their lap at the expense of a billionaire funded think tank or news organization.

(Updated: 2/20/2014)

Like what you've read? Have any questions or comments? If so, e-mail me atrsobelexaminer@gmail.com, Tweet me on Twitter at @liberalexaminer

Misinformed USA: Why average Americans vote for Republicans

Misinformed USA: Why average Americans vote for Republicans

Robert Sobel

Orlando Liberal Examiner

One can only wonder why average working class Americans would vote for a party that is so obvious in their bias towards the wealthy. It would make sense that someone in the top 1 percent of the income bracket would vote for the Republican party since they have the wealthiest American's best interest at heart. You could even make the case that highly religious Christians would vote for Republicans even though, at times, they vote against their own best economic interests. So the question remains, while scratching your head, why do working class Americans vote for Republican candidates?

I once sat down and spoke with an acquaintance of mine, trying to get a grip on what people are thinking about the future of our country. He said he voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 because, "we need a business person to get our debt down." I asked where he got his news and information from, and after trying to deflect from the question, the answer finally came. "I don't pay attention too much, but when I do, I watch Fox." Fox News is the primary source for information for millions of Americans across the country and that's where the problem starts.

Whether it's Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity or other right wing ideologues, Fox News is a tunnel vision information outlet with only one particular agenda that is being pushed through. Millions of Americans watch Fox News, listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz, Michael Savage and others while getting information from right wing think tanks like theHeritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. With big businesses and billionaire allies, the truth and facts in American have gone from a clear right and wrong, black and white situation to muffled shades of gray. It's not to say that Fox News, the Cato Institute and others like them totally lie because that would be too difficult to pull off. What these think tanks do, is take a fact and twist it to fit their own personal agenda, leaving out key information that would contradict with the platform they're trying to create.

A perfect example in describing the way groups like the Cato Institute operate is a report that came out by alternet.org. In the early 2000s, the Cato Institute released a report that suggested that families receiving welfare were making between $17,000 and $25,000 a year, but the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities countered that claim. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities showed that the average income for welfare recipients was below $9,000 a year, which is nearly $3,000 a year below the poverty line.

The misinformation also comes from another right wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation. In 2011, when Paul Ryan released the "Ryan" Republican budget, the Heritage Foundation claimed that unemployment would drop to 6.4% in 2012 and to 2.8% in 2022. A report released by the Washington Monthly pointed out that these claims were extremely exaggerated. The CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, showed the errors of the Heritage Foundation's report and the director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis, William Beach, was forced to walk backed the claims.

In 2009, the Heritage Foundation released ads attacking the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that was brought to congress that would give all employees the right to form a union without fear of being fired from their current job. Since the Heritage Foundation is bought and paid for by million and billionaire conservatives, the idea of having workers unite with more power and freedom threatens their control at the top. The ads released painted a false picture about the Employee Free Choice Act, claiming that unions will bully workers into joining them with an attempt to take money from the employee. According to the Huffington Post, the Heritage Foundation "frame(s) the EFCA issue based on bald-faced lies. Business-financed 'think tanks' like Heritage propagandize workers against their own interests in psychologically sophisticated ways, often pulling on their heartstrings and framing their anti-union stance as 'common sense.'"

Average Americans need to be more informed about what is going in the country, but also where to get their information. The argument isn't about holding a liberal or conservative ideology, it's about facts that are based on truth and not information based on twisted logic. Americans need to learn to dig a little deeper to find honest reporting, not just believe something that falls in their lap at the expense of a billionaire funded think tank or news organization.

(Updated: 2/20/2014)

Like what you've read? Have any questions or comments? If so, e-mail me atrsobelexaminer@gmail.com, Tweet me on Twitter at @liberalexaminer

http://www.thechristianleftblog.org/blog-home/the-big-four-agree-with-us-or-youre-not-a-christian

http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/humor/tea-party-makes-why-we-love-america-list-turns-out-they-dont-know-where-or-when-they-live-video/

http://www.examiner.com/article/joel-osteen-s-church-theft-opens-can-of-worms-jaws-drop-as-folks-do-the-math

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-s-favorite-anti-gay-study-discredited-once-again

The Indiana Memories Pizza Fundraiser Is A Conservative Media Scam

The Indiana Memories Pizza Fundraiser Is A Conservative Media Scam

April 3, 2015 By Manny Schewitz 



By now, most of you have heard about the Indiana pizza shop that announced it would refuse to cater same-sex wedding ceremonies. I’m pretty sure most self-respecting gay couples wouldn’t serve pizza at their wedding receptions or rehearsals, but Memories Pizza went ahead and put their bigotry out there for everyone to know about it anyhow, and they promptly felt the collective wrath of the Internet.


The backlash was absolutely devastating, and Memories Pizza quickly announced that they would be closing their business until further notice. Sounds like an open and closed case of bigotry rearing its ugly head and quickly being slapped down by the good people of the world, right? Not so fast. While the outrage toward their announcement was certainly legitimate, the GoFundMe campaign that was launched to support Memories Pizza and has currently raised over half a million dollars is about as genuine as a three dollar bill. Yesterday, Glenn Beck’s website The Blaze gushed over the fundraiser, calling it the “Greatest Thing I’ve Seen In Years” as their blogger Jason Howerton wrote. In less than 24 hours, over 8,000 people have donated more than $228,000 for the embattled Christian owners of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana. A slew of online threats forced the small business to close its doors after the owners told a local news station that they would refuse to cater for same-sex weddings based on their religious beliefs. Among all of the donations was a $20 contribution that is being called the “greatest things I’ve seen in years” and the epitome of “real tolerance.” The GoFundMe page was set up by Lawrence Jones, a contributor for TheBlaze TV’s “Dana.” (Source) As you notice, The Blaze admits that the page was set up by Lawrence Jones, a contributor to their TV program anchored by Dana Loesch. Seems transparent enough, right? Not really. It’s already obvious that the campaign was started by an employee of The Blaze, but that’s not all there is to the story. Lawrence Jones isn’t just a contributor to The Blaze, Lawrence Jones is also a political operative who has worked with James O’Keefe from Project Veritas as an “investigator.” Yes, that James O’Keefe. Aside from his status at the University of North Texas as a double-major pre-law student, he is also a “pastor of college ministry” and the 2013 FreedomWorks Activist of the Year. However, his greatest claim to fame may be his work with Project Veritas, the infamous “conservative non-profit” spearheaded by James O’Keefe. As reported here, Jones went undercover for Project Veritas to “expose” fraud among “Obamacare Navigators” in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. So before anyone gets the idea that this is some sort of “grassroots” endeavor by an average citizen, it should be pointed out that this is a carefully-orchestrated campaign by an experienced rabble-rouser who is not above using the “average citizens” for political grandstanding, or associating with those who do the same. (Source) Conservatives who support the religious freedom laws that have become popular in red states across the country ahead of the Supreme Court’s expected ruling have poured their money into this campaign, but the sad fact is that they’ve wasted their funds once again on another publicity stunt designed to gin up the conservative base. 


The story over at The Blaze also claims that GoFundMe donors include members of the LGBT community who support Memories Pizza; but then again, anyone can post anything on the Internet and say that it is true. This isn’t an organic campaign to help out a business that decided to become a political martyr; it’s a publicity stunt by The Blaze and a financial windfall for the owners of Memories Pizza. The GoFundMe page also begs of supporters, “After you donate please go “like” and combat the leftist hatred expressed on Dana’s page.” Remember the story of the waitress in Tennessee, Toni Jenkins, who claimed a customer wrote a racial slur directed at her on his receipt? After the owner of Addicting Info created a donation account and blasted the story across Facebook in an article that has since been removed, she collected nearly $11,000. The only problem is that was also a publicity stunt and it turned out that Ms. Jenkins probably made the story up. Memories Pizza isn’t the victim here; the real victims are the over 1,700 people who’ve donated more than $500,000 to a business owner who has made more money in a couple of days than his business probably makes in years. Oh, and he probably won’t have to pay a dime in taxes on the donations either. As the saying goes, “a fool and his money are easily parted” – and The Blaze is making sure that the bigoted owners of Memories Pizza will be laughing all the way to the bank.



Manny Schewitz Manny Schewitz is a progressive from the Dirty South with an inclination to say it like it is. He is a co-founder of Forward Progressives, and also maintains an active and lively presence on Facebook. You can find him on Twitter as well, @MannySchewitz. Be sure to check out Manny's archives on Forward Progressives for more of his viewpoints.

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/the-indiana-memories-pizza-fundraiser-is-a-conservative-media-scam/

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2014/03/27/poll-gay-people-more-popular-than-evangelicals

In God We Trust

http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx

Bachmann likens Obama to 'deranged' Germanwings co-pilot

Bachmann likens Obama to 'deranged' Germanwings co-pilot

• Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune 
• Updated: April 1, 2015 - 4:55 PM

The former Congress member is lashing out as the United States tries to negotiate a deal to curtail Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weaponry.

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Rep. Michele Bachmann in a 2014 file photo.

Photo: Glen Stubbe, DML - Star Tribune

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Former Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is comparing President Obama to the mentally unstable co-pilot who authorities believe intentionally crashed his German airliner last week in the French Alps and killed everyone onboard.

In a posting Tuesday on her Facebook page she wrote, “With his Iran deal, Barack Obama is for the 300 million souls of the United States what Andreas Lubitz was for the 150 souls on the German Wings (sic) flight — a deranged pilot flying his entire nation into the rocks. After the fact, among the smoldering remains of American cities, the shocked survivors will ask, why did he do it?”

The United States is engaged in multinational negotiations aimed at trying to persuade Iran to limit its capability to produce nuclear weapons.

The posting by the Republican from Stillwater, who represented a generally northern swath of Twin Cities suburbs from 2007 to 2015, has been “liked” on her Facebook page nearly 7,400 times in the less than 24 hours since it went live.

Her Twitter account has been busy in recent days criticizing the Democratic president’s strategy in the nuclear arms negotiations with the Islamic republic.

Bachmann, while in office and during her presidential campaign in 2012, has had a history of edgy public comments on everything from sexuality to global warming to concerns about the IRS overstepping in Americans’ lives.

Her questioning of the patriotism of her colleagues in Congress during a national television interview was among her most talked-about remarks.

Being that Wednesday is April Fools’ Day, Bachmann nodded to the day in a separate post on Facebook and Twitter of a video she described as a “family favorite” involving rigging a precisely aimed kitchen sink sprayer so it spritzes the unwitting person who turns on the water.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

Rep. Molly White Files Bill Requiring Hymen Inspections

By Katherine Haenschen on APRIL 1, 2015Women who want to receive state-funded health care in Texas will need to either produce a marriage certificate or subject themselves to a visual inspection of their hymen in order to see a doctor, if Republican State Rep. Molly White has her way.

“The best way we can ensure that women will abide by our strong commitment to abstinence is to actually verify it,” stated White, who filed the Hymen Integrity Act of 2015 on Tuesday afternoon.

While the bill does not require unmarried women to present an intact hymen to receive health care, those who present signs of sexual activity, horseback riding and / or natural variations in the human form will be given a “Women’s Right To Hymen” pamphlet pointing out that pre-marital sex raises their risk of cancer and makes them a dirty, dirty slut of whom God, their parents, and their teachers are very, very ashamed.

The bill is in keeping with White’s opposition to any medically or scientifically proven methods to reduce unwanted pregnancy and prevent sexually transmitted diseases. The website of her organization, “Women for Life,” actually states that “reproductive rights, family planning and safe sex is the greatest hoax ever devised against women and families.”

While Texas is actually considering cutting funding to cervical and breast cancer screenings, White thinks what she terms an “abstinence inspection” is all women need.

The bill’s Senate companion is sponsored by Dr. Donna Campbell, who shares White’s unwavering commitment to antiquated attitudes towards sexuality when she’s not busy trying to pass laws that actively punish gay Texans for existing.

Campbell, who also sponsored the junk-science “Fetal Pain” bill that helped ban abortions in Texas after 20 weeks, cheered the measure. “As a board-certified ophthalmologist I feel very qualified to put my medical training to work inspecting the hymens of the young ladies of Texas.”

Opposition to the bill came swiftly from public health advocacy organizations.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” stated a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Central Texas. “Thousands of women are going to die from lack of basic cancer screenings and thousands more are facing the burden of unwanted pregnancies that result from a lack of access to birth control, and you crazy nuts think the answer is to inspect hymens?!”

White made headlines earlier this year when she attempted to hijack Muslim American Day at the Capitol to broadcast her own bigoted views about the faith.

Since then, the freshman legislator has remained undeterred. “My two priorities in the legislature are stopping Sharia Law and promoting abstinence. These hymen inspections are a great way to accomplish both at the same time.”

---

This is an April Fool’s Day post, in keeping with BOR’s long-standing tradition of posting “fake” news on the First of April. But honestly other than the parts about hymens everything else here is true. The legislature is trying to slash funding for basic cancer screenings, and last night voted to move the funds from an HIV/AIDS prevention program to more abstinence-only education. And Molly White is afraid of scientifically accurate sex education.

The Texas Legislature may be a parody of itself at this point. Unfortunately, the joke’s on people who need access to health care.

Health Care, Home Page, Women's Health

Founding Fathers Wanted Civil Rights For All Protected From Religious Persecution

AUTHOR: RYAN DENSON APRIL 1, 2015 11:46 AM

 Here’s what we know so far:

1. Indiana has passed an anti-LGBT religious freedom bill in their own form of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

“In regard to religion, mutual toleration in the different professions thereof is what all good and candid minds in all ages have ever practiced, and both by precept and example inculcated on mankind.” Samuel Adams,  The Rights of the Colonists (1771)

“We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition… In this enlightened Age and in this Land of equal liberty it is our boast, that a man’s religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the Laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining and holding the highest Offices that are known in the United States.”   George Washington,  letter to the members of the New Church in Baltimore, January 27, 1793

“We should begin by setting conscience free. When all men of all religions shall enjoy equal liberty, property, and an equal chance for honors and power we may expect that improvements will be made in the human character and the state of society.” John Adams, letter to Dr. Price, April 8, 1785

“I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another.” Thomas Jefferson,  letter to Elbridge Gerry, January 26, 1799

It seems our Founding Fathers had a broad consensus view on how religion was to play a role in our society. Perhaps the right wingers should abandon this façade they put up in trying to act like them. For when they do so, they ignore history. But is anyone really surprised by that?

Looney Toon Cruz

Posted by Steven Carrier on Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Republican Takeover Of Congress Backfires and Makes Democrats More Popular

Republican Takeover Of Congress Backfires and Makes Democrats More Popular

By: Jason Easleymore from Jason Easley

Wednesday, April, 1st, 2015, 11:03 am

According to a new poll, from ABC News/The Washington Post, the American people are noticing John Boehner and Mitch McConnell’s failures. Since Republicans took complete control of Congress, congressional Democrats have become even more popular than Republicans.

Via: The Washington Post:

Congressional Democrats get higher approval ratings than congressional Republicans, and the gap has widened since last fall. In October, 30 percent said they approved of congressional Democrats compared with 25 percent who approved of congressional Republicans. In the new survey, approval of congressional Democrats has risen to 38 percent while congressional Republicans are up a slight 2 points, to 27 percent.

Boehner and McConnell are also making President Obama more popular. The President has gained five points in approval of his leadership. He now has a seven-point (45%-38% lead over congressional Republicans on the question of who has taken a stronger leadership role in Washington.

Seventy-three percent of those who believe that Obama is taking a stronger leadership role than Republicans view this development as a good thing. Those who view Republicans as taking the stronger leadership role are more divided (58%-32%) on whether or not this is a good thing.

It might appear to be counter-intuitive, but the Republican control of Congress ahead of the 2016 election is serving a helpful purpose to Democrats. Potential voters are getting an eyeful of the Republican agenda, and so far, they aren’t liking what they are seeing.

Congressional Republicans can no longer sit on the sidelines and blame President Obama or Harry Reid to for their failure to govern. They are the majority in the House and Senate, so it is their agenda, and their jobs on the line. The gerrymandered House is obvious to this reality, but the foreboding sense of looming failure is the key to Mitch McConnell’s desperation to prove that he can pass legislation in the Senate.

The Republican agenda is helping many Americans appreciate what President Obama and Congressional Democrats stand for, which is definitely not what John Boehner and Mitch McConnell had in mind on Election Night last November.

Republican Takeover Of Congress Backfires and Makes Democrats More Popular was written by Jason Easley for PoliticusUSA.

© PoliticusUSA, Wed, Apr 1st, 2015 — All Rights Reserved

Pathetic anti-gay liar Mike Pence made a fool of himself on live TV

Pathetic anti-gay liar Mike Pence made a fool of himself on live TV. Check it out
Posted by The David Pakman Show on Wednesday, April 1, 2015