Election 2004:Left and Right Wing Nuts Scream About Cheating
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Today was interesting. Starting yesterday, Bush supporters started throwing around accusations that Kerry snuck notes into the debate, while Kerry supporters said that they had evidence Bush was listening to an earpiece during the debate. While both claims seem equally plausible (that is, not very), the evolution of the rumors over today reflect an important difference between the Left and the Right.
The Right Persisted in Conspiracy Theories, Even When Disproved by Conservative Media Outlets
Early in the day, the New York Post examined the debate tape, concluding that Kerry's supposed notes were in fact a pen. This was confirmed later by Fox News. Both the New York Post and Fox News are conservative. The New York Post has consistently endorsed Republican candidates as long as it's been owned by Rupert Murdoch. You might expect the rightwingers to have abandoned their bizarre theories in light of the fact that the conservative media disproved them, but they instead just engaged in new conspiracy theories about why the New York Post and Fox had supported Kerry.
The Left Flirts With Conspiracies, Decides It's More Comfortable with Reality
Meanwhile, on the Left, charges flew fast and furious that Bush had use an earpiece during the debate. Supposed evidence was a lump on Bush's back (under his suit), and his saying "let me finish!" when, in fact, no one had interrupted him and no light was prompting him to stop. As of this morning, lett wingers were already discarding the theory, concluding that it was more likely that the lump was caused by a bullet proof armor that you might expect George Bush to wear, and that Bush's speech is already so broken that it hardly proves anything at all that he said a few words that made no sense.
Look at the Difference Between the Way the Left and the Right Handled Bizarre Theories
The Left discarded a strange theory on its own, while the Right persisted in its theory even when disproved by conservative media outlets. For reasons that I may cover in the future, Bush supporters seem more suceptible to conspiracy thinking, and less likely to accept simpler plausible explanations for supposed evidence of cheating. I regularly read both the freakishly left wing Democratic Underground, and the freakishly right wing Free Republic, and left wingers are far more likely to make fun of the crackpot theories suggested by other lefties. Right wingers are much more suspicious of everyone other than themselves, and egg themselves on to grander and grander plots and conspriracies.
The Right Persisted in Conspiracy Theories, Even When Disproved by Conservative Media Outlets
Early in the day, the New York Post examined the debate tape, concluding that Kerry's supposed notes were in fact a pen. This was confirmed later by Fox News. Both the New York Post and Fox News are conservative. The New York Post has consistently endorsed Republican candidates as long as it's been owned by Rupert Murdoch. You might expect the rightwingers to have abandoned their bizarre theories in light of the fact that the conservative media disproved them, but they instead just engaged in new conspiracy theories about why the New York Post and Fox had supported Kerry.
The Left Flirts With Conspiracies, Decides It's More Comfortable with Reality
Meanwhile, on the Left, charges flew fast and furious that Bush had use an earpiece during the debate. Supposed evidence was a lump on Bush's back (under his suit), and his saying "let me finish!" when, in fact, no one had interrupted him and no light was prompting him to stop. As of this morning, lett wingers were already discarding the theory, concluding that it was more likely that the lump was caused by a bullet proof armor that you might expect George Bush to wear, and that Bush's speech is already so broken that it hardly proves anything at all that he said a few words that made no sense.
Look at the Difference Between the Way the Left and the Right Handled Bizarre Theories
The Left discarded a strange theory on its own, while the Right persisted in its theory even when disproved by conservative media outlets. For reasons that I may cover in the future, Bush supporters seem more suceptible to conspiracy thinking, and less likely to accept simpler plausible explanations for supposed evidence of cheating. I regularly read both the freakishly left wing Democratic Underground, and the freakishly right wing Free Republic, and left wingers are far more likely to make fun of the crackpot theories suggested by other lefties. Right wingers are much more suspicious of everyone other than themselves, and egg themselves on to grander and grander plots and conspriracies.
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