Poll: Most Don't Know What "GOP" Stands For

(Wow, only half of Republicans surveyed got what "GOP" stands for correctly. That's pretty bad. Of course, fewer Democrats knew, but some of them might have been silly, opting for "Grumpy old people".--jef)
 

 

In survey, 35 percent guess "Government of the People."
By Will Oremus | Posted Monday, Oct. 3, 2011

 

Do you know what GOP stands for? It’s not a trick question, though apparently it is a tricky question for the majority of Americans.

In a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll released Sunday, just 45 percent correctly answered a multiple-choice question about the meaning of the widely used acronym for the Republican Party. (For the record, it’s "Grand Old Party.")

More than a third guessed "Government of the People," while a few jokesters (one hopes) opted for "Grumpy Old People," "God’s Own Party," or "Gauntlet of Power." Fewer than one in 10 had the modesty to select "Don’t know."

Members of the GOP were marginally more likely to know what it means, with 51 percent of Republicans getting the right answer.  Just 38 percent of Dems—er, Democrats—got it, though that may be partly because 9 percent of them opted for "Grumpy Old People."

Whether the poll proves that Americans are idiots or that the media and political elite are out of touch probably depends on whether you knew the answer. Few headline writers can resist using the three-letter acronym as shorthand for Republicans, though the Wall Street Journal is a prominent exception: It stopped using GOP in 2002 for this very reason. (The New York Times’ William Safire weighed in with a column about the decision shortly thereafter.) For its part, the Republican National Committee houses its official website at www.GOP.com.

No matter what GOP stands for, if it involves politicians, people don’t trust it. Another question in the same poll found that 76 percent of respondents trust (gasp!) journalists more than pols (that’s short for "politicians," by the way), while just 6 percent place more faith in their elected representatives.

The poll was based on a random sample of 1,165 adults across the country, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. Full results are available in PDF form here.

Have a better suggestion for what GOP should stand for? Something involving "guns" or "pachyderms" perhaps? Have at it in the comments section or on Twitter (@slatest #GOPacronyms).