Chuck Todd (cc photo: Tarek Rizk/Aspen Institute)
On two Sunday shows this weekend, the hosts made the same point about the White House’s plan for modest gun control efforts: The public isn’t going along.
On NBC‘s Meet the Press (3/31/13), guest host Chuck Todd said this:
We’ve seen the polling. We know the president came out and urged and noted, it was less than a hundred days. We’ve seen the polling that support for stricter gun laws is slipping.
He touched on it again with one guest, former Obama adviser David Axelrod:
TODD: The president–one thing he’s used the bully pulpit for is to try to re-energize this issue of the gun debate. But the polls are sort of speaking pretty loud here. Public doesn’t seem to have the same desire as him.
AXELROD: Well, yes and no. If you look at that same CBS poll you cited, 90 percent still support background checks.
On ABC‘s This Week (3/31/13), it was George Stephanopoulos‘ turn:
One thing that you don’t see moving in the president’s direction since the inaugural is support for his proposals on gun control…. Look at the latest poll from CBS. Support for gun control in December of 2012, 57 percent for new gun control laws, stricter gun control laws, now down to 47 percent.
That prompted this response from Nation editor Katrina Vanden Heuvel:
The fight is not over. You cite the CBS poll. Cite your own poll, the ABC poll, which when asked, not about stricter gun regulation, but about universal background checks, 90 percent support that. How many things in American do 90 percent of Americans support? Sixty percent, military-style assault weapon ban.
Indeed it is strange–but perhaps not surprising–that reporters treat these polls that ask a broad question about gun laws as if they are more important than the specific questions about precise policy questions. But it’s harder to understand why Stephanopoulos was citing the CBS 47 percent number, when ABC‘s own poll found 52 percent support stricter gun laws–not much of a shift since Newtown.
And what’s even more curious: NBC has its own recent poll that, as of late February, was still showing strong support for more strict gun laws–stronger than their immediate post-Newtown poll (courtesy of PollingReport.com):
Of course, it’s entirely likely that Congress will not reflect the public’s view on gun laws and will fail to do much of anything. But reporters shouldn’t blame that on the public–and leave it to liberal-leaning roundtable guests to point out the facts they’re leaving out of the discussion.
But it is the old stand by; if your bosses tell you to play it down, you say the exact opposite of the truth; the average american viewer pay no attention to the reality, only the voice of the speakers. If they say that “black is white” you will have a large majority swearing to whatever Deity they follow that “it is so”. In this way, the corpress can claim ‘they didn’t start the fire”.
Truth in media in nonexistent! Socialist party Bloomberg/Obama is in control of the media machine, the polls and news says what the boss say to write.
Polls are swell. Much as intercepted e-mails, they give news readers red meat to feed to a generally confused, suspicious and miserable public.
However, if a poll of sincere, citizens showed that 51% believed in ghosts and 86% believe in Hell, is the government and media obliged to treat the questions as answered?
If a majority believes that our wars against Vietnam, Iraq, Panama, Afghanistan, etc., were justified, does it make it so?
Do children not read “The Emperor’s New Clothes” any more?
Does opinion trump fact?
When Chuck Todd rolls up his shirtsleeves, are we to feel a common affinity?
Take a poll. Please.
Flash, steve shuttleworth, those were truly odd comments.
Flash: If you think Mike Bloomberg and Barack Obama are socialists, you really, really need to get out more.
Steve shuttleworth: The issue at hand is media figures claiming that support for gun control among the public is declining. So –
“if a poll showed that 51% believed in ghosts and 86% believe in Hell, is the government and media obliged to treat the questions as answered?”
Yes, if the question is does a majority believe in ghosts and hell.
“If a majority believes that our wars were justified, does it make it so?”
No. But if the question is does a majority believe that, then the answer is yes.
“Do children not read “The Emperor’s New Clothes” any more?”
Please ask a relevant question.
“Does opinion trump fact?”
Yes, if the question is one of opinion.
“When Chuck Todd ….”
Don’t waste our time.
this is moronic. The public does NOT support abolishing the first amendment, which is what gun control is. Yes most of the public can have their opinion manipulated by the wording of the question, and 60% of the idiot pubnlic does not even know that “assault weapon” is a made up term to scare them, it means nothing but cosmetic features on a rifle, the term is taken from “assault rifle” which means a fully automatic rifle which are not legal except for soldiers, who BTW killed over 250 million in the last century.
“The public does NOT support abolishing the first amendment, which is what gun control is.” – – wow, where do we begin with that? – – yeah, unlike the DNC line proffered by FAIR, MSNBC, Democracy Now!, etc, on gun control, I don’t agree – I also don’t agree that “guns make us safer”… but gun control should start (and probably end) with the police-state, the national guard, private security for capitalists, and the military. That’s where I’d start with gun control… and I’ll bet the Black Panthers would’ve agreed.
A Quinnipac follow up question asks if such background checks can lead to gun seizures and 50% said “yes.” Best to have all the pertinent Q and A out there.
If Obama is a Socialist it is for the Plutocracy. Since socialism for the businesses class is Fascism after all. Of, by and for them not us.
So, the corporate stream media has been instructed yet again to propagandize the gun debate in favor of industry. Shocker.
Well in the end this argument is not about what the people want today,tomorrow, or in 1959.It is about the 2nd amendment.Will we abide by it to its letter….or move to change it.Just as it does not matter what the people want concerning the 1st amendment.More important at this point is why has Dept of Homeland security bought 1.7 billion rounds of ammo?Drying up ammo supplies even in detriment to our police forces?More ammo than our armed forces used in 24 years of military engagements?This past week they moved to buy three hundred thousand rounds of hollow points.Even the marines and seals don’t train with hollow points.Yet they have indicated they need it for training.They also bought 3000 armored,armed,minesweeping vehicles(they say they need them to serve warrants) stored now in new mexico with the ammo.Can you imagine in the tea party had done this?Obama,the libs would be crying foul.Yet not a word.Not a word on FAIR.Not a word to explain why the press has covered this up.
Obama said he wanted an army outside the usual channels(and checks and balances).And it looks like he is building it.Gun control????Get real.The reason for the 2nd amendment is to hamper tyranny.In 1965 62% of homes had a gun.Today it is only 32%.We are forgetting who we are.We are being taught to forget by a compliant liberal mindset,and press.
Hey Frank how about you answer as to what homeland security is up to.Since your president stays silent.
Michael the NRA was formed originally to fight the KKK.Today they represent a line in the sand called the constitution of the United States.Specifically it’s second amendment.They speak with one voice saying “None shall pass”.If i was a weasly politition trying an end run around that document….yeah Id be scared too!
No, michael e, the NRA is nothing more than a lobbyist front group operating under the (very weak) guise of “constitutional rights” for the sole purpose of boosting profits for the gun manufacturers.