News organizations, both left and right, consistently publish polls showing where public opinion stands on certain hot-button issues. Regardless of what they show public opinion to be, we should not take solace in these polls. And this has nothing to do with their reliability, which almost always errs leftward. But conservatives sometimes look at polls that lean in our favor and mistakenly take this for “breathing room” of sorts or maybe even a politically profitable issue. This stems from the mistaken assumption that the Left cares about public opinion.
Even if it did, public opinion seems to always move in one direction: leftward. According to a recent poll by UC Berkeley, a majority of California voters oppose reparations to black Americans for slavery. Fox News describes this opposition as a “strong rebuke.” But just how strong was this “rebuke”? An unimpressive 59% of Californians oppose cash payments. An alarming 29% support the idea. Apparently, the remaining 12% of undecideds can’t be bothered to form an opinion on the morality of stealing from people who have never committed a specific crime to “compensate” people who have never suffered a specific crime—the crime in question occurring centuries ago and nowhere near the state of California.
And by the way, this poll found that 5% of Republicans support reparations. So, either the McCain and Romney family trees branch out further than we thought, or we are losing ground even within our own party rank-and-file on this issue. Strong rebuke? I’d call it whistling past the graveyard.
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For an idea of how quickly these political winds can shift, let’s revisit some previous issues opined by Californians with almost identical support/oppose ratios. In 1994, Californians voted on ballot measure Proposition 187, which ended welfare and other benefits for illegal aliens, and approved the measure by 59% to 41%. That it would be quickly ruled unconstitutional by a single activist judge was a foregone conclusion, but what would you wager the percentages of such a vote would look like today?
Likewise, Californians voted on two separate ballot measures, in 2000 and 2008, respectively, on the issue of legalizing gay marriage. In 2000, they voted against gay marriage 61% to 38%. In 2008, they voted against gay marriage 52% to 47%. That’s a near 10-point shift in under a decade. We know how the story ends, with “swing vote” Anthony Kennedy giving on-the-job training to John Roberts on how to rhetorically dodge and weave the actual definitions of words in order to discover that the Constitution actually enshrines “rights” like Obamacare, partial-birth abortion, and whatever-your-bag marriage.
But again, if that ballot measure were voted on today, where would the percentages fall? In 1996, 27% of Americans supported legalizing gay marriage. Today, 71% of them do.
So, when recent polls show 59% of Californians oppose reparations, conservatives think, See? Common sense prevails, even in a wackadoodle state like California! Leftists think, Less than six in ten? That’s all you got? See you in a decade, suckers. Who has history proven right in every public opinion trend to date?
Polls today read just as ominous. A recent Gallup poll found that 69% of Americans think athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that correspond to their actual gender. The quoted sources denounce the 69% as a revelation of unconquered bigotry rather than the 31% who find it acceptable, even preferable, for some 6’3” bearded “woman” to break your daughter’s bones and rob her of scholarships. I realize that public opinion on this particular issue has recently oscillated. But this reversal of the pendulum is barely perceptible and, unfortunately, probably temporary.
Conservatives shouldn’t revel even in polls that seem to lean exclusively in our favor. A poll taken in 2019 by the left-leaning ThinkNow found an overwhelming 98% of Hispanics reject the term “Latinx” to describe themselves or other members of the Hispanic race (with only 3% of the 18-34 age range). In the four-year interim, has the Left stopped using this offensive phrase out of respect for the minorities in whose name they claim to speak?
Not a chance. They plow full steam ahead with their forced manipulation of language, which, in turn, forces the manipulation of thinking. So what if they lose a small percentage of the Hispanic vote? Because by now, that 98% opposition might be down to 95%. In a few years, it might be down to 85%. The rest is history.
Leftism has been described as a religion. This is incorrect, as most religious people of all faiths can co-exist with others without engaging in forcible conversions, and can discuss areas of disagreement in a peaceful and civil manner (with notable exceptions, of course, as the “Palestinians” just reminded everyone for the umpteenth time). Religion also demands humility, from which derives recognition that I and my immediate gratifications are not the center of the universe.
Rather, Leftism is an ideological and secular cult. Its outlook is rigidly Manichean, and its members aren’t allowed to interact with The Enemy, much less treat them or their opinions with respect. This cult mentality allows its members to operate unencumbered by the counterforces of reason, evidence, and the rights of others to live unmolested. Like their Gazan brethren, Western Leftists are forging a path to their Promised Land, and you’re simply a roadblock to be rolled over. Electoral setbacks barely slow their pace, and they certainly aren’t fazed by opinion polls.
Leftists destroy statues. They desecrate art. They block traffic. They crash theater and symphony productions. And as they do so, they scream at the top of their lungs that they’re right and you’re wrong. About what? About whatever they decide. And that is during their “peaceful” proselytizing. With increasing frequency, they impose their faith through murder and arson.
If we’re going to fight and win the culture wars, we need new strategies. I’ll leave it to those smarter than me to devise what those might be. But opinion polls are no relief, and are simply a reflection of how much inroad the Left has made against us.
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