I've always believed that my brethren here in the red states tend to be a little less well read than people in blue states (it's lonely here being the only blue state mind within fifty miles!!), but a poll taken in Tennesse by Middle Tennesse State University shows how sorely ill-informed most people really are. This poll illustrates what I believe to be a serious problem in our country - the fact that so many people here base their decisions on beliefs that are so different from reality.
I got this link from http://www.race2004.net/, which directed me to the entire MTSU poll.
But Tennesseans not all that issue savvy. A close look at five key domestic agenda items suggests that Tennesseans as a group hardly qualify as well-informed and ideologically consistent policy wonks. On four of the five issues, only about half of a given candidate's supporters hold opinions consistent with those of the candidate.
Many favor positions inconsistent with their candidate. Perhaps even more interestingly, sizable chunks of each candidate's supporters favor positions held by the opposing camp. And when quizzed about which candidates hold which positions on the five issues, Tennesseans score an average of only two right answers - about the same result one could get by merely guessing.
The poll goes on to say this:
But Tennesseans not all that issue savvy
Despite the impression the above findings might give, a close look at five domestic agenda items suggests that Tennesseans as a group hardly qualify as well-informed, ideologically consistent policy wonks. For example, only about half of Tennessee adults can accurately name Kerry as the candidate who supports rescinding the recent federal income tax cuts for people earning over $200,000 a year. About a quarter (23%) incorrectly attributed the proposal to Bush, and 27% admit they don't know which candidate supports the measure. Similarly, only about half (50%) rightly name Bush as the candidate who favors giving parents tax-funded vouchers to help pay private or religious school tuition. Thirteen percent attribute the plan to Kerry, who actually opposes it. Over a third (37%) admit they don't know.
Knowledge levels are even lower on the other three issues. Well under half (42%) are aware that Bush wants to let younger workers put some of their Social Security withholdings into their own personal retirement accounts. Nineteen percent incorrectly think Kerry supports the measure, and 40% say they don't know one way or the other. Just over a quarter (28%) rightly name Bush as the candidate who supports giving needy people tax breaks that would help buy health insurance from private companies. Thirty percent inaccurately name Kerry as the measure's proponent, and 41% admit not knowing. Finally, just 39% know that Kerry advocates requiring plants and factories to add new pollution control equipment when they make upgrades. Fifteen percent wrongly attribute the policy to Bush, and 45% don't know.
and this:
Many favor positions inconsistent with their candidate
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. In a mirror image of that pattern, just about half (50%) of those backing Bush support Bush's plan for providing tax breaks to help needy people buy health insurance from private companies. And about a third (31%) of Kerry backers support the idea, even though Kerry favors an alternative strategy that would let more people qualify for government-funded insurance programs like Medicaid.
On vouchers, 52% of Bush supporters agree with Bush's stance, and so did 31% of Kerry supporters. Fifty-eight percent of Bush partisans favored Bush's Social Security plan, but so did 38% of Kerry backers. And 80 percent of Kerry backers, along with 71 percent of Bush backers, say they favor Kerry's plans for requiring factories and plans to install new pollution control equipment when upgrading.
Overall, in fact, Tennesseans averaged only two right answers when quizzed about which candidate held which view on the five issues. A fifth (20%) got no right answers, and 19% got one answer right. Another fifth (20%) got two right answers, and still another fifth (20%) got three right answers. Only 13% got four right answers, and a mere 8% got all of the answers right. An analysis looking across the preferences expressed by respondent to these five issues found that only 6% gave unfailingly Democratic answers, and just 2% gave all Republican answers. At least on these issues, most Tennesseans cluster around an ideologically neutral center and, on average, venture no more than a net of two answers in the direction of being either consistently Democratic or consistently Republican.
Nevertheless, Tennesseans profess a high degree of interest in the campaign, with 71% describing themselves as "very interested," and 23% as "somewhat interested." Only 6% say they are "not at all interested." Although high across the board, expressed interest is positively related to age, education, and income. Over a third (39%) say they watched the presidential debates at "every single opportunity." Another 22% say they watched "most of the time," and about a quarter (24%) say they watched "only some of the time." Just 16% say they never watched.
I'm sorry, but only 2 out of 5 on average??!!!
That's terrible!!!!!
Somehow, somewhere, we have to figure out a way to make the electorate more informed!!!!!
You can pass all the laws you want requiring voters to vote - but can you force them to be knowledgeable?