Bill O'Reilly with another big, heaping helping of projection during his latest Talking Points Memo. It's upside down land once again over at Faux "news." Sorry Bill-O, but if you're describing anyone here, it's your viewers.
Bill O'Reilly: More People Are Liberal Because More Are 'Simply Ignorant':
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said on Wednesday night that more Americans identify as socially liberal because fewer Americans now "understand important issues."
O'Reilly referenced a Gallup poll released last week, which found that for the first time since 1999, Americans are equally likely to identify as socially liberal as they are to identify as socially conservative.
"More Americans are simply ignorant of the consequences involving social behavior," he explained. "The rise of the Net has taken people away from the real world and put them in a fantasy world."
"I believe only about 50 percent of the American people take the time to understand important issues," O'Reilly continued. "Half the country does not. They are simpletons, unwilling and unable to discipline themselves into formulating a philosophy of life."
Here's the entire transcript from O'Reilly's blog: Liberal vs. Conservative Americans:
A new poll by Gallup says that right now in the USA, left and right-wing Americans are tied in numbers.
A poll of more than one thousand adults asked Americans to describe themselves on social issues.
- 5% say they are very conservative
- 26% conservative in general
- 33% moderate
- 21% liberal
- 10% very liberal
- 4% don't know what they are.
That's the first time since 1999 that conservatives have not outnumbered liberals.
So why is this happening?
I call it the Watters' World syndrome, that more Americans are simply ignorant of the consequences involving social behavior.
As Talking Points has often pointed out, the rise of the Net has taken people away from the real world and put them in a fantasy world.
That's one of the reasons I created Watters' World, where Jesse Watters asks folks about what they know about the real world.
On liberal issues, it's kind of frightening.
JESSE WATTERS: “What is Obamacare?”
MAN: “No idea.”
WATTERS: “So you support Obamacare, you just don’t really know how it works.”
((EDIT))
WATTERS: “Vermont is a very liberal state. Why do you think that is?”
MAN: “Umm…”
WATTERS: “Do you know what liberal means?”
MAN: “Nope.”
((EDIT))
WATTERS: “What benefit does it have to the country to legalize weed?”
MAN: “I mean...” (silent, shrugs shoulders)
((EDIT))
WATTERS: “What is Earth Day?”
WOMAN: (laughs, shrugs her shoulders)
((EDIT))
WATTERS: “So if the Earth is warming, you get more snow?”
WOMAN: “Yes.”
WATTERS: “So if the earth starts to cool, would we get less snow?”
WOMAN: (silent)
WATTERS: (stares skeptically)
Now granted Watters' World is just a small slice of life.
But I believe that only about 50% of the American people take the time to understand important issues.
Half the country does not. They are simpletons unwilling and unable to discipline themselves into formulating a philosophy of life.
The second factor driving the trend to the left in the USA is the media.
But not the news media. Most Americans don't even bother with the news anymore.
It is the entertainment industry, combined with social media, that are putting forth a more libertine lifestyle.
There is no question about that.
In cyberspace, progressive websites vastly outnumber traditional websites.
That's because traditional people don't use the Net as much as their progressive counterparts.
So the stars are lined up in favor of liberal thought, and that is a powerful influence.
Now let's take a look at the social issues themselves.
In 2001 just 40% of the American public believed gay or lesbian relations were morally acceptable.
Now that number stands at 63%, a huge change.
That's because the entertainment industry has mainstreamed the gay lifestyle.
“Modern Family,” for example. One of the most successful programs in the world, and even though it's a comedy, the message of tolerance sinks in, especially among younger Americans.
Then you add a heavy dose of the stars themselves being liberal on gay issues and you have the change agent.
Also on the gay marriage issue, those opposed to it have not been able to vividly articulate their vision.
And some who support gay marriage have branded the opposition as bigots, a powerful indictment.
Second issue, having a baby outside of marriage:
In 2002, 45% of Americans found it morally acceptable.
Today, 61%.
Again, that is driven by the entertainment industry and lack of peer pressure to keep child rearing within the marital arena.
Although some Americans can raise children outside of marriage very well, this trend has badly damaged our society, often leading to poverty and lack of supervision. Millions of kids are getting hammered.
On the subject of abortion:
In 2001, 42% found it morally acceptable.
Fourteen years later, 45% do.
Now this is an area where the entertainment industry and the progressive movement have failed to move the dial.
Most Americans well understand that destroying a potential human being is not a righteous act.
Science has now established that human DNA is present on conception, so there really isn't much debate about it. If human life is sacrosanct and that is one of the pillars of the American Constitution, then abortion is a troubling situation.
Unless, of course, there are drastic medical circumstances in play.
So the progressives have not made many inroads when it comes to shutting down life.
Same thing with the death penalty:
In 2001, 63% of Americans found it morally acceptable.
2015, 60% do.
Again, this goes back to the sanctity of life, even if the person receiving the death penalty deserves the punishment.
Talking Points opposes the state putting anyone to death. However, the punishment I would give heinous criminals would make them wish they were dead.
They would be totally isolated in a hard labor facility.
Finally, Americans are appalled socially by one act:
Adultery.
In 2001, only 7% of Americans condoned marital affairs.
In 2015, just 8% do.
That goes directly to the personal.
Few who are married want to be betrayed, so all theory and politics fly right out that window.
America isn't France.
When it comes to marital behavior, more than 90% of Americans want exclusivity.
Gallup also did a poll on economic issues, and here Americans are far more conservative.
Thirty-nine percent of Americans say they are conservative when it comes to how the government runs the economy.
Just 19% describe themselves as liberal.
That's fascinating because we the people twice elected a man who believes that capitalism must be dramatically changed.
Barack Obama is the most liberal president on economic issues the republic has ever had.
Again, I think it goes back to understanding many Americans simply have not grasped Mr. Obama's political philosophy.
They voted for him because of his charisma and his historic position as the first black man to achieve the White House.
Going forward, Talking Points believes America is in for a big shock.
I don't know how that shock is going to be delivered, but I do know that we are heading in the wrong direction on just about every important issue.
And the polls back me up.
Two-thirds of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Whether it's another brutal terror attack here or an economic collapse of some kind, I can't tell you.
But what I can say with certainty is that the public school system is on the verge of collapse, that chaos in the minority precincts is as bad as it's ever been, and that the drive to legalize marijuana and other drugs will sap initiative and create millions of addicts.
Also, our foreign policy is in absolute shambles.
With all that in play, Americans are evenly divided ideologically.
But when the bill comes due and something awful happens, this country will quickly snap back to traditional thinking.
And that's the memo.
