Thursday, May 26, 2016
Luntz misses half
Focus-grouper Luntz is missing half of the picture. He observes:
The underlying principle that explains candidate messaging and voter rancor this year: someone has to be punished. I call it the American Anger Agenda—a litany of people and policies that have wronged us in some way and need to be held up for mockery and ridicule. Similarly, voters endorse candidates whose mission is to inflict pain, not feel it; candidates who give voice and volume to their outrage. Hillary Clinton gets the most applause when she attacks her opponents, rather than putting forward her own agenda. The same with Trump, obviously, and even Sanders. The mentality of the 2016 voter is both clear and contagious: It’s our turn now, and we don’t care if we offend you. In fact, we have been so ignored and so disrespected for so long that we actually WANT to offend you. You’re all the same. But what they mean is, You are nothing like me. You don’t understand my life or what it’s like to walk in my shoes.Give him credit for reporting his observations properly instead of twisting to suit standard Satanic delusions. But his theory is completely disproved by his own observations:
Today, our politics reside in an intellectual cul-de-sac. People only want to hear themselves pontificate, or listen to those who confirm, affirm, and validate. Proof? How many Democrats regularly listen to Fox News? How many Republicans frequently tune into MSNBC?True until a few years ago. Partly true now, but has NOTHING to do with the anger. Fox was all for Jeb, then switched to Cruz when Jeb dissolved. Everything else is total Hillary. All of the media, both R and D, have been SMASHING Trump and Sanders ferociously from the start. Therefore: The people did NOT follow the commands of the R and D echo chambers this time. We rejected the media along with the rest of the Establishment. We made our own decisions, which was formerly considered to be appropriate. Now it's forbidden. ¶ 5:42 PM
