The GOP according to KOS

Kos’ new poll of Republicans shows a party committed to the equality of women–and some other, less liberal ideas. Probably to the surprise of the pollsters, 76 percent of Republicans think marriages are equal partnerships, as opposed to believing that men are leaders of their households. And 86 percent think women should work outside the […]

pearly gates.jpegKos’ new poll of Republicans shows a party committed to the equality of women–and some other, less liberal ideas. Probably to the surprise of the pollsters, 76 percent of Republicans think marriages are equal partnerships, as opposed to believing that men are leaders of their households. And 86 percent think women should work outside the home. Sorry, Saudis, no allies there.

On the big culture wars issues of our time, the Republicans are locked in: 76 percent think abortion is murder and 77 percent oppose same-sex marriage. In the stupid question department, 77 percent think public school students should “be taught that the Book of Genesis in the Bible explains how God created the world.” Well, I’ve got no problem with teaching kids what’s in the Bible either.

It’s interesting that 43 percent of Southern Republicans think that Barack Obama was born outside the United States and that 33 percent of Southern Republicans want their states to secede from the Union. Could it be that those 33 percent want their kids to be like Barack Obama? Nah.


Perhaps of greatest note, Republicans turn out to be a lot more religiously exclusive than Americans generally. Fully two-thirds “believe that the only way for an individual to go to heaven is through Jesus Christ.” By contrast, a Pew poll of a year ago found that two-thirds of all Americans believe that many religions can “lead to eternal life.” If Republicans are, say, 25 percent of the population, then upwards of 80 percent of non-Republicans believe that heaven is open to non-Christians. Call it the Pearly Gates gap.

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