Friday, July 01, 2011

Harvard Study: Democrats Aren't Patriotic

Hey, it was Harvard elites who said it, not me:
Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.

"Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation's political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party," said the report from Harvard. [See political cartoons about the 2012 GOP field.]

"The political right has been more successful in appropriating American patriotism and its symbols during the 20th century. Survey evidence also confirms that Republicans consider themselves more patriotic than Democrats. According to this interpretation, there is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans," write Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam. [Enjoy political cartoons about President Obama.]

Their findings also suggest that Democrats gain nothing from July 4th parades, likely a shocking result for all the Democratic politicians who march in them.

Remember when we weren't supposed to question anyone's patriotism?

5 comments:

Mike Thiac said...

As Reagan said,

To Republicans every day is July 4th

To Democrats every day is April 15th

Aus_Autarch said...

Briggs takes on this topic, and much humour is found:
http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=4069

I think that the research may need to consult their statistical texts and re-acquaint themselves with the difference between causation and correlation. The other alternative is that they find a profession for which they are truly suited, such as "Refuse Reclamation Engineers".

Darren said...

But people who go to Harvard are brillllllllliant. At least, that's what I'm told about the Ivy League.

Larry Summers said...

A list of the stupid Harvard grads:

John Adams
John Quincy Adams
Rutherford B. Hayes
Theodore Roosevelt
FDR
JFK
George W. Bush
Mitt Romney
Bill O'Reilly
Ben Bernanke
Chief Justice John Roberts
Bill Gates

Darren said...

Gates isn't a grad, is he? :-)