Poll: Voters More Interested In Severely Conservative GOP Platform Than Romney Or Ryan Speech

A poll taken before the Republican National Convention last week finds that voters were less interested in GOP candidates’ Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan’s speeches, and far more interested in what the party’s platform might say. Fifty-two percent of voters expressed interest in the party platform, while only 46 expressed interest in Ryan’s speech and 44 in Romney’s speech.

The good news for the GOP is that the relative lack of interest in speeches suggests that voters may forgive Clint Eastwood’s argument with an empty chair intended to represent President Obama. The bad news for the GOP is that they are likely to notice the “most conservative platform in modern history.” The GOP platform declares Medicare unconstitutional. It claims the Supreme Court’s election-buying decision in Citizens United does not go far enough in allowing powerful corporations and billionaires to influence elections. It declares war on porn. It calls for a constitutional amendment to make tax increases virtually impossible. It floats “impeachment” as a solution to judges the GOP opposes. And it takes the Todd Akin/Paul Ryan position that rape survivors should be forced to carry their rapist’s baby to term.