Why does a constitutional republic work while a true democracy would not? Because the general public in most countries and particularly in the United States form political opinions based on the wrong factors while not spending the time actually researching the facts, opinions, projections, and options. As I’ve said in a previous video about sheep, these four components go into what I call the “FOPO method” to form my own political perspectives. Unfortunately, most Americans either check to see what their preferred political icon of the moment says on a subject or they make a gut reaction without knowing the full implications of what they support.
Depending on what side of a debate the media and each political party is on will determine how much attention is paid to polls. But that attention only goes towards making an argument, whether it’s an argument for a particular piece of legislation, a political stance, or the vote for or against a politician. But when it comes to actual actions made by the federal government, the will of the people is usually ignored. It’s all about public relations, not actual policy making.
We’ve seen in recent days the poll numbers that show Republicans and the President are taking most of the blame for the government shutdown. We’ve also seen most Americans are apparently against building a border wall, thanks in large part to the first poll that shows Americans want the government shutdown ended, not to mention mainstream media’s incessant onslaught of anti-wall propaganda. I could go on for hours about how using the shutdown now is a failure on the part of the Republicans for not tackling the border wall when they had the power to do so, but that’s the past. It’s time to look ahead and figure out how we’re going to get it done now that Democrats are in charge of the House.
One thing is certain: the polls are wrong. It’s not that they’re inaccurate, but the way polls are administered helps determine the outcome. In nearly every case, poll questions are worded in a way to deliver the desired outcome. If the questions were framed differently, the results would be very different. For example, if you asked Americans the following question, I believe most would support building the wall.
“Should America adopt similar security efforts that Israel applied to their southern border six years ago, which decreased illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and terrorist incursions by over 95%?”
What Israel did six years ago was, of course, build a wall. That wall worked. Even the most progressive anti-wall activists in the nation had to acknowledge it did what it was supposed to do.
There are three reasons we shouldn’t simply listen to the polls to determine policy.
- The people are often wrong. Most Americans supported invading Iraq. Few can now argue this was a good move. Most Americans were against getting involved in the World Wars. Even fewer can argue that we should have let Germany win either war, which they would have had the United States gotten involved. It’s not that Americans are dumb. It’s that our sentiment is too easily swayed by propaganda and the will of those we idolize.
- Even when the people are right, government doesn’t act on it. 82% of Americans support term limits on Capitol Hill. We occasionally get an upstart politicians who tackles it, but when was the last time term limits were seriously discussed on the floor? Oh, right. Never.
- Opinions change too quickly. Around a decade ago, gay marriage was opposed by a majority of Americans. In fact, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were against gay marriage when they ran for president in 2008. The same poll today reveals much different numbers.
We need a steady hand in government, one that does not bounce around from one public sentiment to the next. This is why it behooves the President and Republicans on Capitol Hill to not bend or break over the border wall issue. Is it losing popularity? Yes. They definitely need to do a much better job of selling it to the American people instead of playing the Democrats’ game of rebuking their talking points. They need stronger talking points of their own. Then, they need to get those talking points out to the people through friendly media outlets. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the strategy they’re employing today.
There is only one appropriate resolution: Congress funding the wall properly. Not building the wall shouldn’t even be on the table. Declaring a national emergency to fund the wall will end up wrapping it in so much red tape it’ll never actually happen. This shutdown is extremely unpopular and growing more so every day, but it’s the last opportunity America has to get funding for the wall any time in the next two years. If the President bends or breaks on this now, the border crisis will have no end in sight.
I’m JD Rucker. Thank you for listening.
