The Tally: 15%
Here in conservative country (suburban/rural Georgia), roughly 15% of my daughter’s elementary school enrollment (total enrollment: 811) did not hear the speech that President Obama delivered to students today. I got this number from the one of the school’s custodian who I’m friends (he counted 120 children in the gymnasium; where children went who didn’t participate). That percentage could be higher counting in absences. The custodian (who’s been working in this school district for over 30 years) said he has never seen anything like this (he’s a lifelong conservative Republican). His words:
One one hand, I’m excited by the citizen activism, especially after getting our butts (Republicans) handed to to us by Obama in November. On the other hand, I’m dismayed at how this activism was bred: with alot of nasty name-calling and viciousness.
From the local conservative activism forefront, I would say today was a good day (regarding my daughter’s school and probably many others in conservative country). With the Tea Party March On Washington coming September 12th, this could prove to be a galvanizing week for conservative activists (especially if the numbers in Washington are substantial).
**********
Speaking of the BIG Tea Party, if I were President Obama, I would make it a point to go out there and address the Tea Party protesters on September 12th. Get booed, get jeered, get heckled. But I would head on out there and address (with proper precautions) the Americans that came from far and wide to voice their concerns. President Obama has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Make the arrangements now. Contact the organizers of the Tea Party March On Washington. I think it would say much about you, in a good way, if you did.
opinions powered by SendLove.to
37 Responses to “The Tally: 15%”
My high school didn't show the speech, though that is because there are not a whole lot of working televisions.
1. Some may see this school speech event as unprecedented, but any such speech is questionable, and it comes with increasingly repellent bad political baggage this year, which is why it was treated as it was treated.
2. Of course Obama should go out there and meet the “marchers.” He has not only respect for the Presidency by the public still to his advantage, but the Secret Service, too.
“which is why it was treated as it was treated.”
Baloney. There is about 15% of the people out there who, as someone so aptly stated it my local newspaper's website, “Anybody that believes anything this guy says is an complete idiot.”
When people start from there, then there can't be anything reasonable said afterward.
Thats right, because teaching ones children that not listening to someone they don't agree with is a good idea. I feel sorry for these children, their parents are really letting them down here. Couldn't this also be adding to the fire of future partisanship? If children are raised to view the world through one ideology that refuses to listen to the other side and have an informed debate, how is the partisanship going to lessen?
btw, in any year there is massive partisan fighting between democrats and republicans, so that this year is different from any other isn't an excuse. about the only difference from any other year in our political history is that our president is black rather than white.
I can't understand what is 'unprecedented' about the speech. The overreaction to it by the er right wing pundits may have been unprecedented- but the speech is entirely innocuous.
The White House apparently took out the “controversial” part suggesting that students write a letter to help him- but even that is nonsense. Basically he means write a letter to help their country– not run his campaign for reelection in 2012!
These parents are afraid that their children will find a lot of things Obama is saying to be true and that they will agree with him, and that is really sad.
Kids are funny. Sometimes they are like tree branch. When parents try to bend them too far in one direction, they bend for a while, but then spring back and slap their parents in the face. Lots of atheists out there were raised in strict Christian households.
I just listened to the speech. What he said can never be over emphasized. Over the weekend I listed to the similar talks given by Reagan & both of the Bushes & they were all much more political.
I like the idea of Obama going to speak to the teabaggers, though I suspect that many of them would cut & run if the school speech fiasco is any indication. ;D
“Baloney.”
Deny the facts if you wish — the reality is that the lib Dems (and Obama, by association) have created and attached increasingly filthy baggage to themselves. (That they're so surprised by the reaction to the speech, or to the health care effort, shows as well they are out of touch with things.)
A few years ago, a popular left-wing blogger (at the time in reference to Bush's support) referred to that percentage range as “lizard brain territory”. You can pretty much get 15% of any group of people to agree to any non-rational idea. Might as well completely write off the small percentage of lizard-brain thinkers, and focus on the intelligent group instead.
“Thats right, because teaching ones children that not listening to someone they don't agree with is a good idea. I feel sorry for these children, their parents are really letting them down here. Couldn't this also be adding to the fire of future partisanship? “
You nailed it.
Half of this so called baggage is made up stories by the far-right. It is only the brain-dead dittoheads and Republican hacks that have a “problem” with it. The fact that you can somehow justify, or explain away, how these people feel says a lot about where you are coming from.
I definitely like the idea of President Obama addressing the Tea Bag crowd. Particularly, if he can get the Secret Service to chill out of five minutes and walk among them and shake hands and answer individual questions like Al Franken did recently, that could help to increase respect for him a few notches.
I have to disagree. Obama has been attacked from the right since almost the day after he took office. I mean it has been utterly ridiculous. I remember arguing with my Dad about why Obama had done this or that (repeating it straight from a Fox New commentor) when the guy hadn't even been in office one month. He had even finished hiring his freakin staff yet. It has been absolutely non-stop. The fact the hysteria is getting amped up doesn't shock me in the least, but I certainly don't blame that on Dems or Obama.
“Speaking of the BIG Tea Party, if I were President Obama, I would make it a point to go out there and address the Tea Party protesters on September 12th.”
What could he say that these people would listen to? These seem like the mirror image of the anti-war nutters that did that did Camp Casey with Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas a few years ago. There really wasn't anything President Bush could say to them that they'd listen to either.
Ah, how we've come full circle…
Rambie, sometimes it's not about getting people to listen. It's about showing up and presenting yourself. In Obama's case, presenting himself as the President of the United States to the people he leads (whether they like it or not). Let them boo. Let them heckle. But show up and act presidential. Win-win in my book regardless of what their reaction will be.
I'm not denying that, same thing could have been said about the Camp Casey thing. Just that when the shoe was on the other foot the last President didn't do it either.
I think T. Steele's point was this. In ultraconservativeville USA, the ACTUAL numbers of those vehemently opposed to Obama's administration is around 15%. Remember, people were able to pull their kids out if they were adamantly opposed to them hearing “Satan's” voice “putting ideas of evil socialism into their heads”.
That means that a full 85%, by inference, can be said to at least not strongly object to what Obama is doing and saying.
And this is in keeping with the numbers pro-public option, when you boil down all this johnny-come-lately nonsense, is what the polls should be showing about the helathcare debate. Funny how when the health care debate came along the numbers were trumped and Obama made to be the Devil incarnate. But the numbers…the real proof in the pudding, are showing 85% at least acquiescing to the Dark Lord Of Evil Socialism…lol..
I'm not denying that, same thing could have been said about the Camp Casey thing. Just that when the shoe was on the other foot the last President didn't do it either.
Rambie, who cares what the last president did? I'm far more interested in right here, right now, and the success of this president. Aren't you?
How many of the Teabaggers will be armed? Remember their get togethers. I think the Secret Service would justifiably have a cow.
I think 15% is about the percentage who flat out wouldn't show up at any given speech for any president. It just shows that these loudmouths get more attention than they deserve.
As far as Obama making an appearance on Sept. 12…. I wonder if the organizers will even let him show up.
That would be quite a story.
Deny the facts if you wish — the reality is that the lib Dems (and Obama, by association) have created and attached increasingly filthy baggage to themselves.
Yes, they have.
(That they're so surprised by the reaction to the speech, or to the health care effort, shows as well they are out of touch with things.)
Perhaps. I think that they did not expect to encounter so much filthy baggage. They probably did not fully realize there was so much of it out there.
I have a feeling that, going forward, they will not be so naive.
“Those Who Forget History Are Doomed to Repeat It”
On the 13th, I'll be waiting for the calls that Obama was too cowardly to come talk to the tea party folks. Which may or may not have occurred at some point in the past since that's apparently irrelevant.
I do want Obama to be more Presidential and to succeed. I have little faith that the tea party crowd is at all interested in it. I do agree with TSteel that going out to talk that crowd would be more Presidential than we've seen in the last one.
Al Franken is white. I'm not saying Pres. Obama should *not* talk to “tea party” participants, but if he did, I would not be able to breathe easy until he was back on Air Force One.
I must say, I probably wouldn't have watched Pres. Obama's talk to the school kids today if not for the wingers raising such a stink. The repubs are probably now wondering why they why they made such a big deal out of it & piqued everyone's interest. Now everyone has seen it in all it's innocence & are laughing at them…again.
I'm wondering if those who were panicking about the speech are now questioning the source.
It would seem like Rush, Sean and Michelle would lose credibility after crying “Wolf” once too often.But then, I've never understood the mentality of their audiences.
Obama actually gave the Republican message of taking responsibility for yourself and not relying on your government, school or teacher to do it for you.
It just struck me that the 15% who kept their children home are representative of a dangerous type of American– one who is so closed off to new ideas, that they can't chance opening up their minds or their childrens' minds to them. Its really intellectual prejudice which is the worst kind of all.
“I think that they did not expect to encounter so much filthy baggage.”
Obama's siding with the lib Dems in Congress, and even the example his “Green Jobs” man provided in his own administration shows he wasn't ignorant of the problem, and in fact it raises more concerns.
Issue clarified.
Something for you to note and file, K:
“the 15% who kept their children home”
Consider also the fraction of the population who approve of torture of (foreign) terrorism prisoners (and may, if asked, say they would like more of it to happen).
The local highschool did not show the speech, not for political reasons, but because it was viewed and an unwelcome intrusion into teacher's classroom time with their students.
“Yes, they have.”
Are you really going to concede this point? Nothing out of the political norm has happened on the Dem side. In comparision to the last 8 years under Bush, Dems have been saints.
Yes I agree Shannonlee. Bush ruined our international rep, corrupted the DOJ, ruined our economy and got us mired in 2 unwinnable wars. He was an oil man but did almost nothing to decrease energy costs, or develop alternative fuels.
Obama inherited his mess and is doing what he promised voters he would do.
I'm not a big Obama fan. I stand diametrically opposed to him on many issues, but we can both agree that working hard and staying in school is the path to success. Thank you, Mr. President, for this reminder. As for the 15% who took their kids out? They must really be insecure in how they're bringing up their kids to think one speech could alter their children's worldview.
I guess I was too subtle for some people. Spelling it out: The “filthy baggage” attached to the Democrats are those who supported Bush whole hog and are now doing everything they can to obstruct and destroy and discredit Obama (i.e., lawmakers who compare a president asking schoolchildren to write him letters with ideas for how to help the country to North Korea and Iraq's Saddam Hussein). The fact that Democrats, and/or the Obama admin specifically, seem to have been blindsided by this filthy baggage, I see that as resulting from an insufficient understanding of how filthy is the baggage they are dealing with.
Hopefully, this is now clear enough for anyone to understand.
I should have said “corrected” as well as “clarified,” but it may not be within everyone's easy grasp.
“Obama inherited his mess and is doing what he promised voters he would do.”
??? Make things much worse? The spending, debt, poor results, and government growth is backfiring.
DLS- The economy Obama inherited was on the brink of collapse- which meant we needed the stimulus.
The stock market is up and the recession has lifted- but unemployment is still a big problem.
Things may not be great now, but they were worse when he took office.