Trapped at Berkeley

I’m not exactly sure how the RNC obtained my address or figured out that I was a Republican, but I just received a copy of the GOP Census. According to the enclosed letter, the answers I provide to the census “will be used to develop a BLUEPRINT for the Republican Party for the next 10 years.” As such, I was horribly disappointed by the quality of questions contained in the census, which I have dutifully posted below:

Domestic and International Security

• Do you support President Bush’s initiatives to promote the safety and security of all Americans?
• Do you support the use of air strikes against any country that offers safe harbor or aid to individuals or organizations committed to further attacks on America?
• Do you continue to support increasing the amount of security at airports, train stations and all government buildings including monuments and museums?

Economic Issues

• Should the Inheritance or “Death Tax” be permanently repealed?
• Do you support President Bush’s pro-growth policies to create more jobs and improve the economy
• Should small businesses be encouraged to grow and hire more workers?

Education Issues

• Do you support President Bush’s plan to make our schools more accountable to parents and to restore local control of education?
• Should students, teachers, principals and administrators be held to higher standards?
• Do you agree that teaching our children to read and increasing literacy rates should be a national priority?

Social Issues

• Do you support President Bush’s initiative to allow private religious and charitable groups to do more to help those in need?
• Do you support the new law, passed by the Republican Congress and signed by President Bush, that bans partial-birth abortion?
• Do you support the President’s efforts to save Social Security and add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare?

Defense Issues

• Do you think U.S. troops should have to serve under United Nations’ commanders?
• Do you support the President’s plan to increase military spending to meet our defense needs?
• Should we build President Reagan’s SDI defense shield against nuclear missile attack?

Republican Party

• Do you support the election of Republican candidates across the country and rebuilding our majorities over the next ten years?
• Did you vote in the year 2000?
• Did you vote in the year 2002?
• Do you plan to vote in 2004?
• Will you join the Republican National Committee by making a contribution today?

With the exception of the last question, three reponses are offered to each question: Yes, No, or Undecided.

I feel that many of the questions are loaded and that all of the questions are ambiguous and fail to provide enough information to make a valid response. What is the cost of increasing security at public places? How will repealing the “Death Tax” affect the economy? Are there alternatives to a SDI defense shield?

I suspect that the GOP Census is nothing more than a reaffirmation of faith for most Republicans, or most Americans for that matter. If I were to label this document the “Democrat Census” and distribute it among my left-leaning friends, I believe that nearly all of them would answer “Yes” to every question.

However, I do feel that this census serves another, more important, purpose: fundraising. Nearly half of the enclosed letter is dedicated to reminding readers that “the Republican National Committee is the only national GOP organization charged with helping to win Republican victories” and that donating money to the RNC is the best way to support Republican policy (which, according to the census’s questions, appears to be infinitely beneficial). Furthermore, by donating, one becomes a RNC member, and is allowed to answer the “Special Question,” which, in the case of this year’s census is “From what source do you receive most of your news and political information?” Wow! Being able to answer that question to help the Republican Party really makes me want to send them a “most generous contribution.”

Get your act together, GOP. If you really want to solicit the opinion of your party members, hire a statistician to make a real survey. Otherwise, don’t bother sending me such low-quality propaganda.

Ignorance is not bliss and ignoring the concerns of your party members will prove to be a fatal error.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2004 at 2:07 am and is filed under Politics, Rants, Unsorted. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.