Are Conservatives Easier to Manipulate?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/conservatives-easier-manipulate



A Gallup Poll on May 29 strikingly titled “U.S. Support for Euthanasia Hinges on How It’s Described” contains unambiguous new evidence that Republicans are more manipulable than Democrats—at least when the question concerns the important issue of whether or not a terminal patient’s request for assistance to die should be carried out by the person’s doctor. It reported that, “A May 2-7 Gallup survey finds 70% of Americans in favor of allowing doctors to hasten a terminally ill patient’s death when the matter is described as allowing doctors to ‘end the patient’s life by some painless means.’ At the same time, far fewer – 51% – support it when the process is described as doctors helping a patient ‘commit suicide.’”

The precise question in the latter instance was “When a person has a disease that cannot be cured and is living in severe pain, do you think doctors should or should not be allowed by law to assist the patient to commit suicide if the patient requests it?”

The remarkable finding was that 71% of Democrats, and 68% of Republicans, support a doctor’s ending a patient’s life by some painless means if the patient requests it and has a terminal illness, but only 60% of Democrats, and 41% of Republicans do when the question it phrased as “to assist the patient to commit suicide.”

That’s a fall-off from 71% down to 60% for Democrats – or a reduction of 15% – of Democrats, who can be manipulated by using different terminology; but it’s a fall-off from 68% down to 41% for Republicans – or a reduction of 40% – of Republicans, who can be manipulated by a mere synonymous rephrasing of the same question.

[demwing]

1. Well. As much as I love to take a shot at Conservatives...

This article smells of bullshit.

Since when is rephrasing a question considered manipulation?

If rephrasing IS manipulation, which of the two statements was the base and which one caused the "manipulation"?

I'll repeat myself...this article smells like bullshit.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. 'Suicide' is the trigger word

There are more religious fundies among conservatives, who may account for some of the difference when the wording is changed. Gonna go straight to hell, yunno.

Gallup is surprised that opinions can change when the wording of poll questions is changed? Haven't they been manipulating their own polls in that way for years?

[rock]

3. Certainly easier than monkeys

Monkeys are relatively smart.