ABC Highlights Study Linking July 4 Parade Attendance to Voting Republican

July 3rd, 2011 9:38 PM

 On Friday's World News on ABC, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi detailed findings of a Harvard study which claims a correlation between attending July 4 parades and voting for Republicans.

Substitute host David Muir introduced the story: "And tonight, a provocative new study suggests the simple act of taking your child to see the parade shapes not only their patriotism but their politics. Who will they vote for?"

Alfonsi got right to the answer as she began her report with a play on the words "independence" and "independents":

Forget independence (independents). Researchers say the Fourth of July is really for Republicans. The study out today shows that Fourth of July parades not only boost GOP turnout at the polls, they boost the likelihood that the kids watching will become Republicans. Yes, Republicans.

After showing a clip of an apparently liberal woman in Boston disagreeing with the study by exclaiming, "Bull!" the ABC correspondent continued: "Researchers from Harvard claim that every year a child goes to a Fourth of July parade, it raises the likelihood by two percent that they'll become a Republican."

Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Friday, July 1, World News on ABC:

DAVID MUIR, BEFORE COMMERCIAL BREAK: And when we come back tonight, a question for you: Will that parade this weekend determine which party your child votes for when they grow up?

...

MUIR: Twenty-eight million of us will attend a parade this weekend. And tonight, a provocative new study suggests the simple act of taking your child to see the parade shapes not only their patriotism but their politics. Who will they vote for? Here's ABC's Sharyn Alfonsi.

SHARYN ALFONSI: Forget independence (independents). Researchers say the Fourth of July is really for Republicans. The study out today shows that Fourth of July parades not only boost GOP turnout at the polls, they boost the likelihood that the kids watching will become Republicans. Yes, Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Bull! Bull!

ALFONSI: Researchers from Harvard claim that every year a child goes to a Fourth of July parade, it raises the likelihood by two percent that they'll become a Republican.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: They might already be Republicans.

ALFONSI: But not everyone is ready to hand the holiday over.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Do not tell me that is a conservative holiday. Do not tell me they’re the only people who love America. It's not true. It's not true.

ALFONSI: After all, the parade in her hometown, Boston, one of the oldest in the country, hasn't exactly turned the political tide there. That city hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1926. Most people adamant today the fourth is our birthday party, not a political one. Sharyn Alfonsi, ABC News, New York.