Your Republican party, ladies and gentlemen

I keep telling myself that the Democratic party's fortunes are going to stop deteriorating sometime before the November elections. Maybe this new insanity from Senate Republicans who are now holding up 70-plus Obama nominations so that they can get their pork-barrel earmarks will sour the public on them a bit.

In the meantime, Chris Bowers of openleft.com has made a prediction that I've been dreading: the GOP will capture the net 40 seats they need to take over the US House. Charlie Cook is only slightly less sanguine about Republican chances in the House, currently predicting a gain of 25 to 35 seats.

So if we're going to hand the country back to the Republicans, why not take a good look at who they are?

A new poll of more than 2000 Republicans tell us... wow, I'm not sure what to say. Why don't I let the poll speak for itself?

Should Barack Obama be impeached, or not? Yes 39 No 32 Not Sure 29
Do you think Barack Obama is a socialist? Yes 63 No 21 Not Sure 16
Do you believe Barack Obama was born in the United States, or not? Yes 42 No 36 Not Sure 22
Do you believe Barack Obama wants the terrorists to win? Yes 24 No 43 Not Sure 33
Do you believe ACORN stole the 2008 election? Yes 21 No 24 Not Sure 55
Do you believe Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President than Barack Obama? Yes 53 No 14 Not Sure 33
Do you believe Barack Obama is a racist who hates White people? Yes 31 No 36 Not Sure 33
Do you believe your state should secede from the United States? Yes 23 No 58 Not Sure 19
Should Congress make it easier for workers to form and join labor unions? Yes 7 No 68 Not Sure 25
Would you favor or oppose giving illegal immigrants now living in the United States the right to live here legally if they pay a fine and learn English? Favor 26 Oppose 59 Not Sure 15
Do you support the death penalty? Yes 91 No 4 Not Sure 5
Should openly gay men and women be allowed to serve in the military? Yes 26 No 55 Not Sure 19
Should same sex couples be allowed to marry? Yes 7 No 77 Not Sure 16
Should gay couples receive any state or federal benefits?Yes 11 No 68 Not Sure 21
Should openly gay men and women be allowed to teach in public schools?Yes 8 No 73 Not Sure 19
Should sex education be taught in the public schools? Yes 42 No 51 Not Sure 7
Should public school students be taught that the book of Genesis in the Bible explains how God created the world? Yes 77 No 15 Not Sure 8
Are marriages equal partnerships, or are men the leaders of their households? Men 13 Equal 76 Not Sure 11
Should women work outside the home? Yes 86 No 4 Not Sure 10
Should contraceptive use be outlawed? Yes 31 No 56 Not Sure 13
Do you believe the birth control pill is abortion? Yes 34 No 48 Not Sure 18
Do you consider abortion to be murder? Yes 76 No 8 Not Sure 16
Do you believe that the only way for an individual to go to heaven is though Jesus Christ, or can one make it to heaven through another faith? Christ 67 Other 15 Not Sure 18

Whew, that was exhausting! Ok, I do actually have a couple of observations about these numbers. First, Nate Silver, one of the best polling data gurus in the business, points that these the views of Republicans on these questions show, "essentially no difference based on age, gender, race, or geography -- once we've established that you're a Republican, these differences seem to be rendered moot. Take, for instance, the statement that "Barack Obama is a socialist", which 63 percent of Republicans agreed with in the poll. How do the responses to this question break down by demographics? Well, they don't -- the percentage is just about the same for all groups."

Second, not too many conservative have commented on the poll, but Bill O'Reilly pretty much went nuts over it, saying, "The survey says 39 percent of self-identified Republicans believe President Obama should be impeached. Sixty-three percent believe he is a socialist. Only 42 percent of GOPers think the president was actually born in the United States. And 31 percent believe he hates white people." Bill's conclusion? "The poll is a fraud."

The thing is, O'Reilly failed to provide or even suggest a reason why the poll is "a fraud." Does he actually think that Republicans don't believe that Obama is a racist and a socialist who was not born in the US? If that's the case, O'Reilly must not be watching his network, because the people on FOX news say that stuff all the time.

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