Tax Lawyer's Blog

John Hinderaker of the mighty Power Line blog cites a new Rasmussen survey that finds that, 

Just 17% of Americans say the government is more likely to spend its money wisely and carefully than a private business, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Sixty-two percent (62%) say a private business is more likely to spend its money carefully. . . .

That’s consistent with many other findings, such as the 76 percent who believe it is likely that a large amount of the government’s “stimulus” money will be wasted, or the 74 percent who believe their economic judgment is better than that of Congress.

John then raises the obvious question: If such a large segment of Americans believe in smaller government and lower taxes, why then are so many of them voting for Democrats who don’t?

So, what I want to know is, how on earth can you hold these views and still vote for Democrats? What can such people be thinking?

It’s true, of course, that most people hold inconsistent ideas in their minds and can swing one way or another depending on the particular appeal that is made. But still: how can we have a population that trusts private enterprises to spend money more wisely than government by a 62-17 percent margin, and still elect Congressmen who vote for a disgraceful bill like Waxman-Markey, and who may, before long, enact socialized medicine?

It’s a mystery.

Maybe we’ll start calling these folks Log Cabin Democrats.

I found this comment to Hinderaker’s post written by Christian Dean particularly interesting.

I think this falls on the emotion side . . . Most people aren’t programmed to think logically through any issue, and go based on how it feels. Or more importantly, how they want to be perceived to feel. Arguments like “healthcare reform will provide benefits to the poor and uninsured” and “gay rights is the new civil rights” and on and on resonate with people who don’t want to be bothered to think things through. A lot of the herd mentality on these issues is more about fitting in with what the group perceives to be the “right” side, no matter how wrong the ides are. Everyone has to fit in and be cool, right?

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