The Political Math Still Works Against Republicans and Conservatives

From the archive — six years ago today:

Once again let me make a public plea to my fellow Republicans and conservatives: please don’t be fooled by the fact that we’re going to have a good mid-term election cycle. Please don’t forget that we’ve had good years before: 1980, 1984, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, & 2010. After exactly none of those “good years” was the downward trajectory of the nation corrected. As part of my plea, let me remind of you of two names: Mitch McConnell and John Boehner. If you want a third, I’ll throw in Karl Rove.

Let’s also do a little math. First, earlier this month National Review had a short post that opened with these two paragraphs:

The percentage of journalists identifying themselves as Republicans has decreased dramatically over the years, according to a new study by Indiana University. The survey found that just 7.1 percent consider themselves Republicans, compared with 18 percent in 2002 and much higher numbers in earlier decades.

While self-identified Democrats also fell over that time — from 36 percent to 28 percent — four times as many journalists still consider themselves Democrats as do Republicans.

So the first part of our equation is this: Just 7 Percent of Journalists Are Republicans.

Those of us who have been news consumers since the 1970s are well aware of how that helps create so many low information voters. If you’re among those who doubt the existence of media bias, check out the Media Research Center’s report “Media Bias 101: What Journalists Really Think — and What the Public Thinks About Them.” As an emphasis, here’s their subtitle: “Decades of Research Showing What Journalists Think, How Journalists Vote, What the Public Thinks About the Media, and What Journalists Say About Media Bias.”

The second part of our equation can be summed up in this report from the Culture and Media Institute:

Warren Buffett: The Billion-Dollar King of Abortion
‘Oracle of Omaha’ gave $1.2 billion to support pro-abortion groups.

They say the key to Buffett funding successful investing is diversification. But Berkshire Hathaway Chairman & CEO Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” is a one-issue man — and that issue is abortion.

Through the foundation he financed with more than $3 billion of his own money, Buffett donated $1,230,585,161 to abortion groups worldwide from 2001 to 2012. These groups, including Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the Population Council, either campaign for pro-abortion legislation, perform abortions themselves, or helped develop the controversial abortion drug RU-486. Buffett gave an additional $21 million to these groups between 1989 and 1996. (Tax forms between 1997 and 2000 are not available.)

My point extends beyond abortion to every other public policy issue that’s being debated. Liberal donors, as I’ve noted here, here, here, here, and here, are politically smarter than conservative and libertarian donors. One of the key differences between conservative and liberal money people is the old carrot and stick. Conservatives fear the stick of being maligned in the press. What do you think that coordinated attack against the Koch Brothers was all about? Don’t doubt that it succeeded in scaring off many right-of-center donors from entering the fray. On the other hand, liberal donors live for the praise that follows when guys like Michael Bloomberg commit $50 million to the gun control cause.

If you want to really be disgusted, check this out: Forty Years of LGBTQ Philanthropy. Check out the many monstrous lefty foundations that are listed and then scroll through to see how idiotic much of corporate America is when it comes to common sense and virtue.

As I’ve been arguing for a long time — the political left is serious about winning the information war and the political right, well, it’s not easy for me to be kind. Just two points. One, many wealthy conservatives I’ve spoken with think Karl Rove’s hundreds of millions of dollars worth of TV ads can save the day. Two, many conservatives think the Tea Party is successfully reaching the uninformed and misinformed with facts. While Karl Rove gets rich, many Tea Party leaders develop rich fantasy lives.

Liberals get the kids starting in kindergarten and keep ’em through college. They fill the heads of every generation with all of the cultural rot and left wing propaganda that pop culture and Hollywood can produce. The old but still dominant liberal media confirms just how evil conservatives are and how stupid Republicans are via countless news reports daily.

Oh, but the polls say 2014 is going to be a banner year, much like 2010. I’m sorry, but the math still doesn’t add up.

Image credit: newsmachete.