GEOFF SCHUMACHER

Reid and the polls

When I was in journalism school, we had a few foreign students who were not yet proficient in the English language. During one class exercise, we were asked to draft a basic news report about a car accident. One of the foreign students described the crash as a "heap of mess."

Everybody chuckled over his description at the time, but you know, I've always liked that mangled phrase for the vivid image it calls to mind.

The news media are a heap of mess these days. I don't mean the closures, bankruptcies and layoffs that plague parts of the industry. I mean the way lots of media outlets are presenting information to the public.

The most egregious examples are the cable television political channels Fox and MSNBC. Fox is conservative and MSNBC is liberal. At one time, each tried to claim it was a legitimate news source, but they've pretty much given up that pretense now. Although they'd like to think they remain part of the journalism fraternity, Fox and MSNBC are not conduits of news but of ideology.

And yet tons of people get much of their "news" from one of these channels. Many people also get their "news" from talk radio, which has an even more tenuous connection to journalism.

This is bad for the news media and bad for the American people. I'm hardly the first person to say this, but it's true: When you get the bulk of your news through an ideologically warped lens, you are not getting the whole picture, and you are therefore less prepared to make sound, reasonable decisions.

Media bias is nothing new, but what is new, I believe, is that these boisterous purveyors of ideology have all but taken over the hearts and minds of large segments of the U.S. population. Once upon a time, the news was the news and opinion was distinct and clearly labeled. Today, it can be very difficult to draw a line between the two.

This brings me, at last, to the health care reform debate. The prevailing assumption -- based on what we hear from dominant ideological media sources -- is that most Americans are strongly opposed to the "public option," an affordable government health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers.

But this is not true. A recent poll for The New York Times and CBS News shows that a solid majority of Americans -- 65 percent -- support the public option. They want "Medicare for everyone."

Did you know this? Did you maybe hear something about it but dismissed it after the ideologues said it was B.S.? How come this fact is not the prevailing assumption?

How about this: A poll by Research 2000 of 600 likely voters across Nevada also shows majority support -- 54 percent -- for the public option. The support in Las Vegas is 63 percent.

Naturally, the conventional wisdom among the ideologues who dominate the airwaves is that us independent-minded Nevadans surely oppose such a government intrusion into the health care industry. But that's not the case at all. Nevadans are as worried as anybody about rising health care costs. So, why isn't this common knowledge?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., certainly knows about these poll results, yet he hasn't been a vocal champion of the public option. He's as nervous as many other Democrats about the vicious reaction from the ideological media if he ventures too far out on this limb.

My advice, for what it's worth, is that Reid should take these poll results and run with them. Nationally and locally, a majority of Americans want bold action on health care, not wimpy, muddled incrementalism.

Other poll results show Reid with a tough road to re-election. In part because he's been a favorite whipping boy for the ideological media, Reid's political clout and experience aren't enough to hand him an easy victory in 2010.

But that's only part of his problem. Another is that Reid is not seen as exhibiting strong leadership, according to that same Nevada poll. This is unfair in some respects. Reid is not a speech-maker, but he's politically savvy behind the scenes. He's a respected leader in the U.S. Senate, but it isn't reflected in his public persona.

That said, amid rising unemployment and sky-high rates of home foreclosure and bankruptcy, it's hard to point to specific things Reid has done to help revive Nevada's beleaguered economy.

The national stimulus package, for all its overall benefit, has barely registered on Nevada's economic radar.

Reid needs a game-changer, and passage of a health care reform bill that includes a public option could be it. Bucking the ideological media is not for the faint of heart. But the poll numbers are clear: Nevadans want true health care reform, not a heap of mess.

They not only want true reform, they need it: Ever-rising health care costs are a major impediment to economic recovery -- for individual Nevadans, for businesses and for the country.

If a majority of Nevadans is willing to contradict the ideologues, why can't Reid stand with them?

Geoff Schumacher (gschumacher@reviewjournal.com) is the Review-Journal's director of community publications. His column appears Friday.

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Comments

Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

1. Dennis.Gergen Oct. 24, 2009 | 7:05 p.m. Report Abuse

   To sometimes understand try to follow the money. Ask why the person or group is saying or doing what they are. Maybe even ask would the world be a better place to live if we supported this or that, why or why not. Ask who is against it and why?

2. old vet Oct. 23, 2009 | 7:49 p.m. Report Abuse

   Uniform Health Care in the utopian sense sounds great, the devil is in the details, a few of which follow:
   1. Young people, especially males don't need it.
   
   2. Those that want it can certainly buy it.
   
   3. The Federal government has defined and limited powers, I can't put my finger on the universal health care clause.
   
   4. Half of the US is occupied by non profitable tax consumers, why wouln't they want another freebie.
   
   5. You can't fight the government very easily but you can sue the hell out of an insurance company VERY easily and when you threaten it, they become nuch more understanding because poor little mistreated policyholder is sympathetic against monolithic insurance company. Furthermore, they are not immune to punitive awards in outrageous caes.
   
   6. These bills are being written behind closed doors, our representatives are pushed to vote on them without reading them and all manner of chicanery is being inserted into the 1500+ pages of the bill. The Constitution of the country was only a couple of pages depending on the font size.
   
   So in summation, we have a bill that costs nearly a trillion dollars( government estimates are always notoriosly low0, is unconstitutional, nobody knows what it requires or entails except that the government, the most wasteful, abuse-plagued, inefficient and uncaring system provider is taking on more of our health care. Not to mention that Canada, England and many other government provided heathcare systems are a shambles and their citizens come here when they are sick.
   
   So what's not to like? Where do we sign up? Free health care from Obama's stash? Yea!

3. blackvegas Oct. 23, 2009 | 7:26 p.m. Report Abuse

   Wow!
   Where does the R.J. hide this guy? Mr. Schumacher your comments are absolutely spot on! This unbiased commentary coming from this newspaper is startling considering it's normal "Faux News wannabe" style.
   
   As a life long Republican, I can't understand why the leaders of my party continue to destroy our best chances of affecting true legislative reform in this country.
   
   With the weakest group of politicians ever given the greatest power in the nation, the opportunity to significantly affect our nations future while avoiding culpability goes wasted.
   
   Can you imagine the popularity a strong Republican would garner by appearing partly responsible for policies the citizens approve of, while campaigning against the ones we don't?
   
   After Sen. Reid's supporters inform Nevadans how invaluable he is to us, I'm confident the citizens will not commit political suicide by dumping the most powerful advocate this state ever had.
   
   It seems Sen Ensign's parents care more for this state than the Closet Christian Supremacists who hide behind the Libertarian label!

4. blackvegas Oct. 23, 2009 | 7:22 p.m. Report Abuse

   Wow!
   Where does the R.J. hide this guy? Mr. Schumacher your comments are absolutely spot on! This unbiased commentary coming from this newspaper is startling considering it's normal "Faux News wannabe" style.
   
   As a life long Republican, I can't understand why the leaders of my party continue to destroy are best chances of affecting true legislative reform in this country.
   
   With the weakest group of politicians ever given the greatest power in the nation, the opportunity to significantly affect our nations future while avoiding culpability goes wasted.
   
   Can you imagine the popularity a strong Republican would garner by appearing partly responsible for policies the citizens approve of, while campaigning against the ones we don't?
   
   After Sen. Reid's supporters inform Nevadans how invaluable he is to us, I'm confident the citizens will not commit political suicide by dumping the most powerful advocate this state ever had.
   
   It seems Sen Ensign's parents care more for this state than the Closet Christian Supremacists who hide behind the Libertarian label!

5. Michael Green Oct. 23, 2009 | 5:20 p.m. Report Abuse

   Geoff, have you noticed that when you do a column on a politically charged issue, nuts from the far right invade the comments forum with nothing to say but a lot of vitriol and hatred? And that when you do a column on an issue that is not politically charged, the same thing happens? Could it be that they are so illiterate, they cannot make a reasoned argument or recognize one? And therefore they have no desire for a legitimate debate because they don't know how to have one?

6. Moe.Greene Oct. 23, 2009 | 1:18 p.m. Report Abuse

   I don't think Geoff should be bashed for stating his opinion. What I find funny is that he has the gall to tar and feather both Fox and MSNBC as not being legitimate and he works for a paper that is so in the pockets of pretty much everyone they cover that it is sickening.
   
   The RJ never tackles a really tough issue, they are almost afraid of being critical of the police and the only time they get in Harry's face is when he makes a smarmy comment about the paper.
   
   As for Schumacher -- he is a partisan and will pick through polls until he finds numbers that go along with his views. He is a tool of the DNC as much as Fox is of the RNC.

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