I think that that possibility was implied in some of the replies to your first post below.

Sorry, Jason, but that just throws on an extra layer of puzzlement.  If the people there are Republicans and proud of the fact, why didn't they just say they were voting for McCain?  It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Well of course they're Republican. But why are they, you know, ahem, THAT WAY? That thing that we're not supposed to call "stupid"? Ok I have a theory. All these people seem to be rather old. And resistant to change of any sort, even for old people. That's why they didn't leave Findlay when they had the chance. Or Ohio generally. My boyfriend came from Ohio. He left. He insists it's the epicenter of this . . . quality. It's not because they're Republican [not all Republicans are . . . that way]. It's because they're in Ohio.

Partisanship has always led to rumor-mongering in contested elections. In 1856 Republicans trying to win over moderate Nativists had to contend with rumors that John C. Fremont was Catholic. In 1860 many Democrats believed that Lincoln's running mate Hannibal Hamlin was a mulatto. I think a nasty rumor could probably be found for just about any major party candidate throughout US history.

ironyroad, your query would be reasonable if voting communities were collections of reasonable people; but as someone who did a lot of his growing up in a town that was so Republican, Hitler could have been elected mayor on the GOP ticket, it makes a lot of sense.  In fact, the same is true in certain communities of the left (I spent many years on the upper west side).  Inanities echoed among neighbors or comrades provide an emotional justification and a subliminal defense for eschewing a critical stance towards one's pieties.

Besides, it makes no sense to respond the question, "What do you know about Obama?" with "I'm voting for McCain."  That's a non sequitur.

Am I the only one who thinks that these people might have been putting on a show for reporters, even inventing some crackpot theories on the spot?

Good for you Jason.  I have noticed for years that the press, the WP and the NYT especially, love to poke a stick in to the cages of the most entertaining animals to get a titillating story about what savages they are.  Then we, the enlightened masses, can tsk tsk.  Its perfectly valid to ask what the heck the reporter was expected would happen by poking a stick in that particular cage.

Twas ever thus. This is same story written for every election, just replace Muslim with draft dodger or French or what have you.  

I think Bush's disastrous policies and incompetence have confused some Republicans, especially those who are not political zealots but simply inclined toward conservative politics. So you get this odd mix of wingnut beliefs AND an openness to alternatives to the GOP.  Add into the mix that many conservative activists are not McCain fans, and people whose minds are not filled with political facts and passions are probably feeling a little confused.

Hard-core conservatives tell me all the time now that they're conservatives, not Republicans. The one-two punch of an incompetent Bush and a conservative arch-enemy like McCain has soured them on the GOP, but they don't have any other alternatives, so they're just poisoning the well for Obama.

For older people who grew up with what they remember as a much less complicated (or diverse) political environment, with a much narrower dynamic range, this is all just too much. How did we get into this mess in Iraq? How did we wind up with someone named Barack Obama as a presidential candidate? So they listen to their wound-up crazy friends who really do read all this nasty stuff on the Internet. They try to process it all, and out comes -- a confused mush.

This piece reminds of the brilliant 2006 film 'Idiocracy'.

I loved Idiocracy! Including, but not limited to, the fact that in the future everyone is wearing crocs. Which, given this future, is a scathing insult to crocs. Which I'm wearing as I type.

a wise post gary21cp.

"They believe all the smears about Obama not because they're stupid or racist; they believe them because they're Republican."

I think it's safe to say, a) both, and b) they're related.