Consider the following proposition. “Suppose your favorite candidate loses a close election. But those in the campaign know that if they cheat, they can win without getting caught. Would you rather win by cheating or lose by playing fair? Only 7% of Americans said they would win by cheating. That’s according to a surprising new poll by Scott Rasmussen.
Rasmussen then asked this question of what the pollster calls the “elite 1%.” They earn more than $150,000 a year, have graduate degrees, live in densely populated areas, and give President Joe Biden an 82% approval rating.
Why vote for this group? Rasmussen said, “A significant concentration of them went on to one of 12 elite schools.” [H]Half of the government’s policy positions and half of America’s corporate board positions are held by people who attended one of these dozen schools. ”
Thirty-five percent of this group said they would rather see a candidate win by cheating than lose by playing fair. becomes terrible. Rasmussen posed a question to some of this elite 1%. They are what the polling organization calls “politically obsessed people,” defined as people who talk about politics every day. Among this group, the number of people who want to win by cheating jumps to 69%.
“Most Americans think we don’t have enough individual freedom,” Rasmussen said. “Among the elite 1%, about half say, ‘No, we have too much freedom.’ And among that politically obsessed group, 7 out of 10 say “America has too much personal freedom.” ” (Related: Larry Elder: Why Kamala Harris is a bleak future for the Democratic Party)
As for why they think this way, Rasmussen said: “…part of the reason is because they trust the government. In America, it’s been 50 years since most voters trusted the government to do the right thing most of the time. But 1 % of elites, 70% trust the government…they truly believe that our lives would be much better if they could make the decisions and get us out of the way. .”
Now let’s talk about National Public Radio. The radio’s listeners are predominantly white and comprised of people who are more affluent and more likely to have college or graduate degrees. (I’ll leave the question of why taxpayer-supported public television and radio still exist in the information-overloaded world of the Internet, filled with radio and television channels, podcasts, and numerous news outlets) for another time. )
Now, this elite 1% absolutely, positively loves NPR. Uli Berlina, senior business editor and reporter, is a 25-year veteran of NPR. He claims that NPR “lost its way when we started telling our listeners how to think.” In a surprisingly frank article, Berliner writes: We were nerds, but we weren’t knee-jerks, activists, or scoldings.
“But things have changed in recent years. Today, people who listen to NPR or read its coverage online are aware of something different: a distilled worldview of a small portion of the U.S. population. Masu. …
“By 2023, the picture was completely different. Only 11% described themselves as very or somewhat conservative, 21% were moderate, and 67% of listeners said they were said they were very or somewhat liberal.” It wasn’t just conservatives that we lost. Moderates and traditional liberals were also losing ground. …
“At NPR, we hitched our wagon to Trump’s most visible opponent, Congressman Adam Schiff.
“Mr. Schiff, who was the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, became NPR’s mentor and ever-present muse. By my count, NPR hosts interviewed Schiff 25 times about Trump and Russia. In many of those conversations, Schiff hinted that there was evidence of collusion. Schiff’s talking points became the drumbeat of NPR News reporting.
“But when the Mueller report found no credible evidence of collusion, NPR’s coverage became noticeably sparser. Russiagate quietly disappeared from our programming. (Related: Larry Elder: Biden and Trump’s ‘lies’ — the difference the administration makes)
“It’s one thing to be swayed by an important story, it’s another to miss it. … What’s worse is to pretend nothing happened and move on without any guilt or remorse.”
Who listens to NPR? Berliner said: “Our news audience does not reflect America. It is overwhelmingly white, progressive, and concentrated in coastal cities and college towns.”
It’s like the 1% elite.
Larry Elder is a best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host. To learn more about Larry Elder or to become an Elder, please visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on Twitter @larryelder. To read features by other of his Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit his webpage on Creators Syndicate. www.creators.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Copyright 2024 Lawrence A. Elder
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