The most diehard of the Rethug camp loves to contrast political elections as a battle between Good (Republicans) and Evil (Democrats). This time around, though, they're doing a great job of proving that it's really about
Fantasy vs. Reality, Knowledge vs. Ignorance.
Supporters of President Bush are less knowledgeable about the president's foreign policy positions and are more likely to be mistaken about factual issues in world affairs than voters who back John F. Kerry, a survey released yesterday indicated.
A large majority of self-identified Bush voters polled believe Saddam Hussein provided "substantial support" to Al Qaeda, and 47 percent believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the US invasion. Among the president's supporters, 57 percent queried think international public opinion favors Bush's reelection, and 51 percent believe that most Islamic countries support "US-led efforts to fight terrorism."
They are, as we know, wrong, wrong, and wrong. The 9/11 Commission debunked the first two, and anyone who reads the newspapers can clearly see the third is not true.
But the Rethugs' ignorance doesn't end there:
On other international issues, the survey found that around 70 percent of Bush supporters responding believe that the president supports participation in the land mine treaty and the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, and a narrower majority believes he supports the International Criminal Court and Kyoto Accords. In fact, Bush opposes all four treaties.
Wow. Just...wow.
This is what we're up against, folks. This is why this election is so important. This is why we must drive the meme that Bush, and by extension the Republican party, are not members of the Reality-Based Community, because, in truth, they are not. This is why Bush's poll numbers don't dip into the 30's. He has a mass of loyal-to-the-death followers who eschew facts in favor of what the party says is truth.