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Republicans More Conspiratorial Than Democrats, Study Shows

Especially when they're politically informed, oddly enough

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Jan 28, 2013 by Dain Fitzgerald

Staff Writer t

Image: Flickr

Call it a case of less-is-more, partisan edition.

The greater awareness Republicans have of political goings-on, the more likely they are to hold to conspiratorial beliefs, reports Chris Mooney at Mother Jones. The counter-intuitive finding comes from researchers at New Jersey's Fairleigh Dickinson University, who've discovered that when it comes to conspiracies ranging from 9/11 "Trutherism" to the more recent "Birtherism," Democrats are less inclined to believe in them with increased political knowledge, whereas Republicans are more inclined.

So what gives? Mooney, a long-time science journalist with an admittedly liberal slant, weighs in:

Conservatives are known to have a higher need for cognitive closure - the desire to have a fixed belief, an unwavering sense of certainty, about politics. It makes sense that conservatives would be more likely to interpret the world in partisan, black-and-white terms, believing negative conspiracy theories about the other side and refusing to support its leaders.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans, however, can claim to be wholly without certain conspiratorial predilections: a majority in both parties - 56% and 75%, respectively - claimed to believe in at least one conspiracy theory.

And doesn't everybody?

Via Mother Jones. Posted 2pm PST.

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Jan '13

PNWest

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Everybody knows that reality has a liberal bias.
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Jan '13

Neo_NtheMatrix

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Link?
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Jan '13

PNWest

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@Neo_NtheMatrix It's a Stephen Colbert quote.

http://liberalbias.com/

https://www.google.com/search...
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Jan '13

Neo_NtheMatrix

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@PNWest - So we're quoting comedians now, okay. That's cool, I guess. As long as we know the truth is that this is a center right nation, and we're not too keen on liberalism.
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Jan '13

PNWest

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@Neo_NtheMatrix The results of the last election would tend to contradict that assertion.
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Jan '13

OhWiseOne

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@PNWest Freeloaders. Turns out it was more than 47%.
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Jan '13

woodtick57

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IDK..look at the previous articles about lobbying and corporations...

a lot of people on the left post some pretty silly ideas about new world order crap....
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Jan '13

PNWest

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Those weren't from real liberals. Those comments came from automated auto-commentators created by the Tri-Lateral commission and sent in by the Koch brothers.
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Jan '13

woodtick57

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@PNWest

Funny! perhaps they were created by skynet?
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Jan '13

PNWest

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@woodtick57 Possibly - but I think it might have something to do with that Stuxnet virus. That's like the flu right?
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Jan '13

woodtick57

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@PNWest

that'd be one hell of a sneeze when the Iranian's cenrtrifuges blow....
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Jan '13

PNWest

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@woodtick57 Might could blow all your brains out.
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Jan '13

Your_Name_Here

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Intelligent people question absurdity rather than follow blindly and blatantly. The Democratic constitution begins with "We, the sheeple..."
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Jan '13

GmanGSW

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LOL! You are absolutely correct, unless one wants to follow "blindly and blatantly." I think that goes for the Democrats, Independents and the Republicans! Then again, there are those "sheeple" out there... Good comment.
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Jan '13

Zazziness

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If the rightwing conspiracy theorists truly questioned absurdity, they would have quizzed themselves out of existence by now. Those who tried to claim Sandy Hook was a hoax sounded so much like a macabre Monty Python sketch, I wouldn't have been the least surprised if penguins started exploding.
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Post @Zazziness
Jan '13

Malitia_Man

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What the sheeple don't understand is that we who question absurdity, usually, do not use classifacation of any type of two party establishment system to discribe our beliefs!!!
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Jan '13

S-N-A-F-U

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You may be interested in the following: "America Track Towards Tyranny."

-- breaking news --
by Colin McNickle -
Pittsburg Tribune-Review
January 28, 2013

"The Bill of Rights is under attack as never before. And the assault, every bit the definition of “treasonous” to the most reasonable of people, is being waged by the very government whose charge it is to preserve, protect and defend it.

Worse, a growing nation of sheeple, fostered by large carrots on short sticks sold as “free,” has been complicit in helping to usher in the Era of the Dependent Serf. It‘s a cohort so lacking in intellectual wherewithal that “independence,” for them, is the pejorative their government masters tell them it is."

Continued......

http://triblive.com/opinion/colinmcnickle/333...
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Post @S-N-A-F-U
Jan '13

Your_Name_Here

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@Malitia_Man Here's another 'conspiracy theory' I have always believed. If you are the government and want unbridled reign, devise a way for your people to blame each other for all the problems and not hold you accountable.
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Jan '13

OpEn_MiNdEd

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No surprises here. There are many lunatics on the Left though.
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Jan '13

russ

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Oh no, you're not saying they're more analytical, driven to find more information before jumping to conclusions?
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Jan '13

tomincali

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seems to me when something is out of whack it needs to be checked,the lefts seems to think it crazy if even when it is right in your face .some never want to check on anything go with the flow and just except without question. except words even after caught feeding manure.
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Jan '13

woodtick57

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yeah, and the right wing has spent how long and how much to try and find some cover up in Benghazoi when the facts were open for all to see from the start?

you freaks on the far right are no different than the freaks on the far left...
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Jan '13

tomincali

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@woodtick57 did you not see those in gov saying that was all caused by a video? that was not the truth they knew it yet pushed it.says it all about them .
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Jan '13

woodtick57

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@tomincali

thank you for proving my point...stillhacking that dead horse by right wing fanatics...
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Jan '13

OhWiseOne

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@woodtick57 He's telling the truth and you know it. You seem to have a problem with the truth. Most liberals do.
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Jan '13

tomincali

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@woodtick57 so you are saying they did not try and put the blame on the video on national tv?
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Jan '13

Knightkore

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Sounds like a conspiracy to me....

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/270000...
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Jan '13

Republican5001

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Here here
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Jan '13

PoliticalSpice

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The real conspiracy is the Tea Party. Dems conspired to put akins and murduck on the senate ballot, conspired to have you carry signs like "get your govt out of my medicare." So far it's working like a charm...
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Jan '13

Knightkore

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@PoliticalSpice Well there is the progressive liberal Occupy movement....
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Jan '13

PoliticalSpice

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@Knightmare Perhaps, but the tea party has been far more effective in costing republicans elections then the occupy movement. All occupy did was frame the debate, that was helpful, but when it comes to solutions, occupy, is not really aimmed at accomplishing anything.

Repubs are actually trying to pick up seats in elective office, and tea candidates like akins, murdock, etc. cost themselves, and tea party rhetoric cost romney the election, so tea has been far more effective from a progressive point of view then occupy. Its one reason it is very rate for me to not make clear that I root for tea...
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Jan '13

Knightkore

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@PoliticalSpice Can't argue your point here....the initial volley was pretty good but this round this election cycle was....didn't go well....there were still some gains....I think it is that the Tea Party just doesn't speak political correctness....
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Jan '13

NTBFW

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When I see Mother Jones on anything I am pretty certain it's a load of crap.
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Jan '13

thejimbo

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You're being too kind to the crap... lol
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Jan '13

drpeeper

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When you see 'Mother Jones' I KNOW it's crap. Just leftover hippie burnouts. The worst generation.
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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I think the claim is total bullshit. The more educated one is the more they should believe in conspiracies by our govt and big business. Watch the movie "The promised land". Corporate America leaves NOTHING to change or the will of the people. Hicks believe in Spaceships sucking people up for anal probes. Educated people tend to believe the govt is behind most things. On behalf of the ultra rich. Regardless of party.
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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"Corporate America leaves NOTHING to chance or the will of the people."
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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Further if the right says it I tend to believe it's propaganda. If the left says it I tend to believe it's propaganda. The only "truth" coming out of the media today is that they are lying.
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Jan '13

Knightkore

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That's kinda what I was thinking....
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Jan '13

marine1

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@jessejaymes Now i understand why we seem to get along,----I Think
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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@marine1 These kind of claims are nothing more than "one side" trying to make "the other side" look inferior so people will think "Hell I don't want to be inferior so let me go over here". It's all similar to groups on the third grade playground. Except with far greater rewards for being "the winner". What a crock. People need to wake up BOTH PARTIES ARE CORRUPT TO THE CORE. There are no good guys in Washington.
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Jan '13

Dan_Tien

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Perhaps those who are more likely to engage in conspiracies are also more likely to suspect them.
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Jan '13

harold_lloyd

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"the desire to have a fixed belief, an unwavering sense of certainty"

This isn't just a trait of political conservatives, but of conservatives of every sort.

In times that are fairly static, conservatives do well. But when things begin to change, that is traumatic to them. The more rapid the rate of change, the more they will feel threatened and try to cling to the past, the things they grew up with.

The last few decades has them almost hysterical, and the rate of change is ever increasing. What will be the result?
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Jan '13

DARSB

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No wonder - how many years has conservative media pushed the "liberal media bias" meme?
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Jan '13

PNWest

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More years than I can remember. It's all left wing media. Try turning on an AM radio and finding anything other than right wing blather.
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Jan '13

LGRepublican

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You forgot about Hillary's "vast right wing conspiracy".....

I doubt the conservative media pushed that ......

http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Jan '13

DARSB

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@LGRepublican I cannot tell you how many conservative PACs used that clip in fundraising emails to me...
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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@DARSB - Bummer. What horrible crime did you commit to get on that email list?
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Jan '13

DARSB

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@Denizen_Kate just one of the benefits of being an indie voter - everybody wants to talk to you. :-)
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Jan '13

SomethinsFishy

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Oh, please. The most visible conspiracy nuts have been Democrats. Remember Hilarious Clinton?: "....a vast right-wing conspiracy..." 2ndamendmentrevision dot blogspot dot com. A sensible approach to the 2nd Amendment, according to the gun-banners that be: "A well regulated People being necessary to the security of the State, the Right of the State to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed".
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Jan '13

woodtick57

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Ummmm....how much did they spend of our tax dollars on no factual allegations to find a stained dress? how many years for nothing?

sounds like quite a right wing conspiracy to me....
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Jan '13

SomethinsFishy

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@woodtick57 That had nothing to do with President Clinton's DNA on Monica Lewinski's dress, and EVERYTHING to do with President Clinton lying under oath. That's PERJURY. A FELONY. No elected official should get away with committing ANY crime, especially a felony. I don't care if they are Republican, Democrat or Independent. President Clinton will be forever remember as the lying, finger-wagging Philanderer-in-Chief who turned the Oval Office into the Oral Office.
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Jan '13

OhWiseOne

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Why doesn't Politix ever have an article by Patrick Buchanan or James Edwards? How about a little fairness here? Mother Jones? When you're left of Obama then you need to get your mental health checked.
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Jan '13

PoliticalSpice

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I like Buchanan. Saw him a lot on msnbc. I am in agreement with you on this. Agreeing with you is is why i need get my mentak health checked. Being left of obama is just common sense.
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Post @PoliticalSpice
Jan '13

PolitixMary K

Mary Noble, Senior Editor

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Hey OhWiseOne, Totally understand where you're coming from. We do try to represent a range of political views, and we had a post quoting Pat Buchanan earlier this month, here: http://politix.topix.com/homepage/4045-buchan... - But I realize we post so much stuff, it's easy to miss things.
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Jan '13

methinks

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I thought the 9/11 Truther movement were liberals who wanted Bush and Cheney investigated and impeached?
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Jan '13

OhWiseOne

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That's what I thought too.
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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Oddly enough, the few people I've met who believe 9/11 was a Bush/Cheney conspiracy are all far right wingers. Weird, huh?
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Jan '13

NTBFW

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On one hand I seriously doubt the government has its Sh*t together enough to pull off a real conspiracy. On the other hand, I have been a witness or known exactly what happened with various events that the press covered and not once did the press get it right. They either got it partially right or completely wrong.
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Jan '13

kathyparsell

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Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist ...propaganda.
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Jan '13

NTBFW

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@kathyparsell I really think incompetence more than anything.
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Jan '13

kathyparsell

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@NTBFW
You don't have to be smart to be crafty.
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Jan '13

russ

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BOGUS!! Statistics are easily manipulated and this study does a fine job. According to the question asked, the results ARE clearly partisan and MORE Republicans believe in conspiracies during Obama's administration than Democrats do regarding conspiracies under Bush. Perhaps, they're just more astute or they're opinions more closely reflect the TRUTH!!
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Jan '13

WattheTyler

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The large amounts of conspiracy nuts who are right wingers is not coincident. Most right wingers are are anti-government, anti-science, anti-well everything. So when you are living in a world that is not based on reality which right wingers living in, they tend to start to believe everything is a conspiracy. The newest conspiracy is Adam Landaz was released by the US government so Obama and steal all of our guns. It is unreal but this is what these right wing extremists believe.
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Jan '13

TheJimmy

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Who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory?
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Jan '13

Jack-Black

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Since when is questioning the goverment conspiratorial? I call bullshit.
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Jan '13

bsking

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Its either conspiratorial or racist.thats the only choices for you....and no soup.;-)
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