Poll: USA fed up with political incivility

[RamboLiberal]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON — Americans are fed up with incivility in politics.

A new study by the Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College finds that Americans overwhelmingly say civility is important to democracy and possible to achieve, even when people disagree.

But most don't see those qualities at work in Washington. More than two-thirds in a nationwide poll taken for the study said Americans "should be ashamed of the way elected officials acted" during the recent health care debate. Half said the tone of politics has declined since President Obama was elected; just 10% said it has improved.

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There were significant differences by ideology, however. Liberals by 59%-36% favored the ability to compromise. Conservatives' views were a reverse of that: By 60%-34%, they preferred a willingness to stand firm.

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• Where you get your news affects your perception of the state of politics: 57% of those who get most of their news from radio said civility has declined compared with 37% of those who get most of their news from newspapers.

• Asked who is to blame for politics becoming less civil, Americans blame the parties themselves as well as TV news programs and radio talk shows. Six in 10 cite "changes in American culture."





Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-04-21-civility-poll_N.htm

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Rachel Maddow?????? WTF??????

[Kahuna]

1. LOL! Rachel Maddow?????

:rofl:

[alstephenson]

2. Rachel Maddow WTF is right!

WTF? She is probably the most "civil" person on the air.

[RamboLiberal]

4. I expected KO or maybe Ed Schultz

You know they have to balance these things out. :sarcasm:

Rachel though is growing in popularity. Noticed today that her show is gaining and actually doing better some nights than Countdown.

Beck seems to have leveled out and maybe even dropping in the ratings. I was suprised last week he wasn't higher with all the damn Tea Parties.

Maybe some viewers of his show are finally getting a clue.

[PinkFloyd]

10. She's civil but she makes them look bad on TV.

They probably don't like that.

[Enthusiast]

24. That is exactly right.

She exposes them for the fools they are for us all to see. Rachel Rocks!

[onehandle]

18. She's smart and effective. Elected GOPers have been mentioning her to the gunbaggers a lot lately.

And she's a woman, thus a threat to their manhoods.

[alp227]

23. At least Glenn Beck got a larger percentage of responses re incivility

Beck got 42% vs. 25% for Maddow. Thus emphasizing your point more.

[rpannier]

3. They say it

But they don't vote that way

We have heard for years how people hate negative campaigns, yet the most negative usually win

[AlinPA]

5. The following poll in the article helps confirm why we "go along" with republicans

when they are in control of Congress and they won't budge on anything, ever.

"There were significant differences by ideology, however. Liberals by 59%-36% favored the ability to compromise. Conservatives' views were a reverse of that: By 60%-34%, they preferred a willingness to stand firm. "

[Ebadlun]

7. Except when Democrats stand firm

Then it's "ramming it down their throats"

[Enthusiast]

25. Precisely. nt

[tomhayes]

6. The American Public are morans!

I'd like to eat ice cream all day and lose weight.

[Beavker]

15. That sums it up

Not all...but there is such a large portion of this country that hasn't changed in decades that it's embarrassing.

[Ian David]

8. If you can't be civil, FUCK YOU! n/t

[earcandle]

9. Civility is important to learn so we can use language to get our needs met, not violence. Check

out the civility module at noodlebrain

http://www.noodlebrain.com/nbpciv.swf

it is a work in progress... one of these days I will get time to work more on it.

[underpants]

11. No option for Balloon Boy?

:shrug:

[tom_paine]

12. Sadly, the Bush/Luntz/Hannity/Beck bunch has shown that forcefully lying repeatedly

and "standing firm" has much the same effect as when a similar bunch practiced the same virultent strategy in 1930s Germany.

So, people are upset with "incivility" (the Beck/Hannity/Limbaugh Way) and yet they fall for it's "marketing strategy" over and over and over.

If people as a whole don't understand the wellspring of the "incivility" and keep allowing lies to be laundered into convenional wisdom by the repetition of big RW lies ruthlessly and, as Goebbels said, "over the protests of the inetllectuals", then incivility's success ensures it's continuance.

As I have said, it is only when the great mass of Americans firmly rejects the Bush/Limbaugh/Republican way of "debating" (which is really Goebbels' way of "debating" also).

Unfortunately, the principles of psychology, marketing, PR, and advertising suggests that won;t be happening anytime soon.

"Repetition works, Davey."
--Wayne Gale "Natural Born Killers"

[KansDem]

13. Go back to the election of 1994 when Newt said "We'll cooperate but we won't compromise"

Anti-democratic, and sixteen years later reinforced with this statement: Conservatives' views were a reverse of that: By 60%-34%, they preferred a willingness to stand firm.

"Stand firm" and don't compromise: Recipe for the downfall of a democracy.

[Xipe Totec]

14. Notice they piled 'political parties' together

They're afraid to get separate poll numbers for Republicans and Democrats as causes.

[Tx4obama]

16. LOL I'm shocked that Rachel is on the list! n/t

[Enthusiast]

26. There is no justification for it. nt

[struggle4progress]

17. ... The complete report, "Nastiness, Name-calling and Negativity: The Allegheny College Survey

of Civility and Compromise in American Politics," which includes dozens of charts and graphs that illustrate the survey results, is available at www.allegheny.edu/civility ... http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/allegheny-college-national-poll-on-civility-and-compromise-91768564.html

Nastiness, Name-calling & Negativity
The Allegheny College Survey of Civility and Compromise in American Politics
... A whopping 95 percent of Americans believe civility in politics is important for a healthy democracy ... Americans want compromise on a range of policy issues. For example, some two-thirds of Americans support a compromise on immigration reform ... 40 percent of Americans believe the least civil politicians should suffer a “trip to the woodshed,” 32 percent said they should take a manners class with Emily Post, and 16 percent said they should retake kindergarten. Read the full report (pdf)… http://sites.allegheny.edu/civility/

[Odin2005]

19. To the Wing-Nuts Maddow's very existance is "incivil" because of her sexual orientation.

I've heard people disgustingly call her "that librul lesbo f*ggot on MSNBC" :puke:

[Enthusiast]

27. This is true.

We must continue to point out that the German Nazis killed gays before even the Jews.

[struggle4progress]

20. The pdf from the Allegheny College website is interesting:

Figure 17: 28% blame Ds, 33% blame Rs, 33% blame both

Figure 18: 67% of Ds blame Rs and 19% blame both; 52% of Rs blame Ds and 41% blame both; 26% of Is blame Ds, 22% blame Rs, and 43% blame both

Figure 32: In 2010, 26% plan to support Rs, 25% plan to support Ds, 29% plan to support a mix, and 18% are undecided

[MellowDem]

21. Zogby's polls are notoriously bad...

and slant right. Whenever phone surveys are done, the respondant is more likely to be older for one, white, and if it is a landline, even more so of both of those, than would be usual in the general population.

[JCMach1]

22. One person's incivility is another's RESISTANCE

I am sure 'the MAJORITY' in the 50-60's were 'fed up' of the incivility of the Civil Right's movement.

[JI7]

28. people hate Maddow for the same reasons they hate Obama

both are similar in their style. they don't focus on personal attacks and it's mostly focused on the issue they are debating. they are also both mostly calm and in control of the debate.

so they get frustrated and just attack them personally with lesbian, black muslimi etc.

[FrenchieCat]

29. I see USA Today using Zogby is spinning the shit again!

Boy, they really want to wear us down, don't they?

[Rex]

30. Oh brother, why is it these idiots are JUST NOW learning people

are fed up!? I mean, did they live under a fucking rock while Bush/Cheney pillaged the Earth for 8 years or was that just a bad dream I had?


USA Today - years behind the curve like all 'entertainews'.

[fujiyama]

31. Who even knows who Maddow is?

I mean, compared to Beck she's fairly obscure. Even Olbermann is better known.

What a stupid poll. But coming from USA Today, I'm not surprised.