It is SO hypocritical how obamabots and the likes of rachel maddow now want to push the "obama derangement syndrome" when the fact of the matter is,

THE CURRENT OCCUPANT OF THE WHITE HOUSE IS A CORPORATIST THAT ACTUALLY STANDS FOR VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING BUSH STOOD FOR AND McCAIN RAN ON!

The "mad" folks are those here that mindless promote the same agenda as "good" cuz its "our guy".

Appointing a jew to the supreme court seems a strange way to impliment sharia.

Well "not me" if indeed President Obama IS A CORPORATIST, he's a pretty centrist one - and that said, if you don't vote against of the madness this November because the Prez isn't as politically as pure as you, you're simply a fool! -Kevo

making the prospects for a functioning government next year almost laughable

Fixed.

That would be 'Mission Accomplished' for the capitalist pigs.

The problem isn't that the more extreme elements of right believe crazy things. There are extreme elements of the left that believe crazy things. The problem is that those beliefs on teh right are becoming part of the mainstream political discourse.

When members of congress openly call for prove that Obama was born in the United States. When canidates with real chances of winning compare Obama to Hitler or call policies 'facist'. When governors hint at succession. That is when the party itself has gone insane.

Republicans have done far more than simply pander to their extreme elements. They've allowed them to run the show and set the agenda.

If Obama is a "corporatist," then why is he against the Supreme Court's ruling on the Citizen's United case?

Steve, I just can't see why you're blaming the Republicans for this, when everyone from David Broder on down knows perfectly well that this is OBAMA's fault for not reaching out, seeking common ground, and moving to the center.

There is no way you're going to be seated at the better Georgetown dinner tables if you don't get with the program...

I object to calling the GOP "mad" if it is just a political poke at them. My objection is that they are truly insane and the discussion should be more serious. I mean, how do you have a democracy so many crazy people?

How can we trust the Republicans' judgment on ANY policy issue if this most insane of beliefs exists? Seriously.

Hey, not me, why all the shouting? Yelling and stamping your feet that Republicans and Democrats are all the same isn't going to convince many people that you're right.

@eimaan

though obama may ppay lip service in opposition to the citizens' united ruling, it seems important to remember that he was also the first presidential candidate to reject public financing.

I for one appreciate the reference to Lrrr.

This is the result of a calculated campaign to demonize non-whites, and to convince the suburbanite, largely white and economically depressed Republican voter that the darkies are the cause of their condition, and that Obama in particular is illegitimate and sides with said darkies. A very effective shining object to keep their gaze away from the true cause of their economic plight, which is Wall Street corruption and their enablers - the Republicans and DINOs themselves.

Pretty amazing, really, for evil authoritarian bastards.

First you have to define "believe." Of course they don't truly believe that about the President. Its nonsense. But they do believe in the power of the slur, so officially yes, they believe he's a muslim.

"Truth" to conservatives simply means what is going to further the agenda. It has nothing to do with facts.

WTF? Why would Newsweek even ask this question?

This kind of stuff drives the narrative, gives it life.

Did they ever ask Democrats what they thought about Dubya? Was he smart enough to be President?

@sadly,

President Obama rejected public financing because he was expected to, and received, hundreds of millions of dollars from individual donors -- average Americans. I don't have the figure handy, but I recall reading something like an average of $50. In any event, it was most definitely grassroots, and people-powered.

Nice Futurama reference there, Steve.

Who knew it was possible to swift boat a sitting President. It works only because there is no push back from any reliable news source other than The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.

It SHOULD be so very simple.

1] Obama is a Christian. He appointed a Jew to the Supreme Court. And has an Easter Egg hunt at the White House every year.

2] FOX News, other right-wing media machines, the Tea Party and other organizations receive massive [and commonly-recognized] funding and revenue from corporatists who make no bones about their political leanings.

3] These organizations push the belief that Obama is more sympathetic to Muslims than he is to Christians, lend credence to the lie that Obama is some sort of secret Muslim, and simultaneously brand America as a Christian nation that should be mad as hell with the tax cuts, stimulus, war draw-down, etc. that Obama has provided. And should hold Obama accountable for the gridlock Republicans have created in Congress.

4] These same organizations fabricate a controversy about a nonexistent Victory Mosque at Ground Zero which Obama, who is a lawyer and scholar specializing in constitutional law, can do nothing but defend.

5] The people who listen to these organizations now believe it is entirely possible that the American people have elected a president who intends promote a single global Muslim faith.

Or more simply put:

TRUTH + MONEY + LIES + MEDIA + IGNORANCE = MADNESS

It is easy to prove that more than half of Republicans are being repeatedly lied to by individuals with an inexhaustible supply of money. You can show them the equation, and still they believe.

I have to wonder if they'll ever wake up, look at just these facts, and question everything else they've ever heard? Not likely.

This is the America bin Laden wanted.

Were it not for the 9-11 attacks, political figures would not be able to keep mashing the "Mooslim" button until a sympathetic vibration began to resonate in the brains of a substantial part of the population, to the point those brains became glutinous and malleable.

In this context, the 9-11 attacks must be seen as a remarkable success.

"Some people have alleged Barack Obama sympathizes with the goals of Lrrr, the Omicronian ruler of Omicron Persei 8, who intends to come to Earth to enslave humanity. From what you know about Obama, what is your opinion of these allegations?"

I would love to see that very question slipped into one of these polls, without any other explanation, just to see what the results from these deeply confused, paranoid rightwingers would be. These are the same types of people who shovel their money to huckster televangelists (besides Beck) and accept as fact flat-out nonsense like angels, Elvis being alive and that Saddam personally ordered the 9/11 bombings. Like the hilarious and spot-on Onion piece highlighted yesterday, these people are oblivious to fact and reason. It's really like something out of a George Romero movie; a kind of viral insanity that's seeping into the larger population.

Terraformer and saintzak hit the nail on the head. But those two forgot to add that the Republicans are not bigots-they don't care that Obama is a black muslim, it just his implementation of holy law they find objectionable

chrenson

I like the easter egg hunt in your comment.
The idea that Obama is muslim is being pushed and it is believed.
Also that he isn't a US citizen.
The msm is to blame for mixing entertainment with their version of news on 24 hour cable tv.
Most talk radio is wingnut.
We are in a bad economic time and this makes every negative thing said about Obama take hold.

These are just people who know they can't get away with calling Obama a n****r, so they're grasping at hate-straws.

The real question for me is: how big is the republican party these days? If a majority in the party really believes this insane shit, then a lot of sane people must have left the party.

Or is the kool-aid spiked with acid?

The Right reminds me of the people who were unconscious and plugged into units so they could be used as batteries to power the machines. The machines created an entire computer version of real life for their sleeping brains. Of course, they never realized what the reality was, unless they were rescued by the few human beings remaining on earth. This country is looking more like "The Matrix" every day.

Oh, terraformer, you peeked behind the curtain!

It is no longer politically correct to call them "darkies"- or jigaboos/shines/spooks/yadayadayada, but "Mooslim" is an acceptable substitute, and everybody knows what we REALLY mean. . .

In past comments on this site, I have stated my considered opinion that the majority of rank-and-file Republicans in this country are good, well-meaning, but misinformed people, and that it's just their leaders (de facto and otherwise) who are batshit insane and/or stupid.

It looks like I need to eat some crow now. It looks like the majority of Republicans in this country --- from 'ordinary folks' all the way up to Mitch McConnell --- are fuckin' idiots.

So, my bad. But I still don't understand why other commenters to this site haven't followed my lead in rebranding the GOP to the FIP --- the Fuckin' Idiot Party. What more evidence do you need?

Some people have alleged Barack Obama sympathizes with the goals of Lrrr, the Omicronian ruler of Omicron Persei 8...

This is the single greatest sentence I've ever seen written at Washington Monthly!

What gets me is those who recognize that these beliefs are insane and know better and yet will still go along and vote for the party that espouses these views and give them power. How could any clear thinking individual support a party that puts forth such nonsense? It's like giving dynamite to an unstable individual and not expecting them to blow something up.

David Bailey: yep, the branding of the repiglicans as the fucking idiot party sounds just right to me ....

If that tent is somewhere nearby, lock the doors and I'll start the fire! I have no problem making things a little more sane, with less people.

I would bet anyone a six pack of Southern Tier Iniquity that republicans actually don't believe this at all. They are just following the example of their leaders, who act like it is perfectly ok to lie about political matters. Who really cares if you tell a mere pollster the truth if you can help undermine a president you hate?

If you ask someone if God exists and he says, "probably," does that make him a zealot? Probably not.

If you ask someone if Newsweek's polls are accurate and he says, "probably," does that make him a liberal? Probably.

Terraformer had the on-spot analysis, yet we need to distinguish between the upper echelon, who do not really believe this toxic waste, but find it convenient for stirring up mindless support for their agendas, and the unfortunate rabble, who, finding themselves displaced from their former modest but assured place in society, are looking for someone to take revenge on. As they feel weak, they only dare avenge themselves on the weak, but few Americans can admit anything so ugly about themselves, so they project preternatural powers and unjustified good luck onto "them" - a position they feel justified in when one of "them" takes the White House. If the nation had elected Hillary Clinton, the "them" would have been c**ts and *itches and dy**es, and we would now be seeing an unprecedented wave of misogyny, violence against women, and howls for repeal of the 19th Amendment. As long as the Right can prevent anything that would ease the lot of this Lumpenproletariat, they can continue to stir up this hysteria, so they will continue to block all significant constructive action, public or private, that anyone dares undertake.