{"id":604,"date":"2006-06-02T16:26:54","date_gmt":"2006-06-02T20:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/000af36.netsolhost.com\/wordpress1\/2006\/06\/02\/dont_buy_in\/"},"modified":"2006-06-02T16:26:54","modified_gmt":"2006-06-02T20:26:54","slug":"dont_buy_in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/2006\/06\/02\/dont_buy_in\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Buy In"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the key precepts of good public communications is to not allow yourself to buy-in to someone else\u2019s interpretations of the facts or false pretense.  <\/span>Yes, \u201cwe\u2019re all entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts\u201d as the late <\/span>Senator Patrick Daniel Moynihan <\/span>once famously said.  <\/span>But some facts conflict with others, and the glass can be half full or half empty.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Last night I watched Joe Scarborough.  <\/span>That\u2019s not something I usually do, but MSNBC got smart and realized that probably 3\/4s of Keith Obermann\u2019s fans were switching channels as soon as the obnoxious Rita Cosby came on, so they put Scarborough in her time slot following \u201cCountdown.\u201d  <\/span>And even he\u2019s beginning to think our president\u2019s elevator doesn\u2019t go to the top, so I\u2019ve watched a few shows lately.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Last night, he ad three guests to talk about the immigration issue.  <\/span>Here are four snippets of what Scarborough said<\/a>.<\/span>\u201cNow, with 77 percent of Americans supporting a freeze or reduction in immigration levels, it\u2019s no wonder the president\u2019s plan is no wildly unpopular in middle America.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2026. You [REP. HILDA SOLIS (D), CALIFORNIA] saw the Pew poll that says 40 percent of Americans want to keep immigration levels frozen, 37 percent actually want \u2014 actually, 40 percent want immigration levels decreased, 37 percent want to hold it steady. Only 17 percent support what the president\u2019s talking about doing. Why is it that there\u2019s such a disconnect between what you support and what the president supports and what middle America supports?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u2026You\u2019ve [ PAT BUCHANAN, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST] been called just about everything that you can be called for taking a position that, again, according to this Pew poll, nearly 80 percent of Americans support. I just \u2014 I\u2019ve got to underline this disconnect. Look, add up the numbers.  Seventeen percent of Americans are against your position and yet, you\u2019ve been attacked for years …<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u2026 Certainly, you [BRAD BLAKEMAN, FORMER BUSH ADVISER] have to understand, as does Karl Rove and the White House, that if [the president] takes a position that 77 percent of Americans oppose, his poll numbers are going to go down.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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First of all, most Americans don\u2019t know that the president\u2019s proposal would increase immigration.  <\/span>Hell, I don\u2019t know.  <\/span>Mostly, what Scarborough was trying to say is that most Americans support the House of Representatives\u2019 approach of \u201csend them all home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Neither the congresswoman or the former Bush advisor challenged Scarborough.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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And one web site<\/a> would give you all the ammunition you needed.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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"Allowing illegal immigrants who have jobs in the United States to apply for legal, temporary-worker status"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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\n<\/td>\n

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<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Support<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Oppose<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\n<\/td>\n

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   5\/16-18\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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63<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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29<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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5<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\n<\/td>\n

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   4\/4-5\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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69<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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25<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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3<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\n<\/td>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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"Trying to send as many illegal immigrants back to their home countries as possible"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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   5\/16-18\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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55<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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31<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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3<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\n<\/td>\n

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   4\/4-5\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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57<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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31<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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7<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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5<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

FOX News\/Opinion Dynamics Poll<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. May 16-18, 2006. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE \u00b1 3.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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"Would you favor or oppose allowing illegal immigrants who have done the following to stay and work in the United States: paid a fine, been in the U.S. for at least five years, paid any back taxes they owe, can speak English, and have no criminal record?"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\n<\/td>\n

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Favor<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Oppose<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Unsure<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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5\/16-17\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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77<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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19<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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4<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

CBS News Poll<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. May 16-17, 2006. N=636 adults nationwide. MoE \u00b1 4 (for all adults).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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"Would you favor or oppose each of the following proposals? . . ."<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Favor<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Oppose<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Unsure<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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"Creating a program that would allow illegal immigrants already living in the United States for a number of years to stay in this country and apply for U.S. citizenship if they had a job and paid back taxes"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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  5\/16-17\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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79<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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18<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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3<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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CNN Poll<\/span><\/span><\/strong> conducted by Opinion Research Corporation. May 16-17, 2006. N=1,022 adults nationwide. MoE \u00b1 3.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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"Do you think illegal immigrants coming to this country today take jobs away from American citizens, or do they mostly take jobs Americans don’t want?"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Take Jobs<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>
Away<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Take<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>
Unwanted<\/strong>
Jobs<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Both (vol.)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Unsure<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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5\/4-8\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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36<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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53<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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4\/6-9\/06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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34<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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53<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

CBS News\/New York Times Poll<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. May 4-8, 2006. N=1,241 adults nationwide. MoE \u00b1 3 (for all adults).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pick a poll and they prove that Americans favor allowing illegal immigrants to stay or, as the Fox polls demonstrate, they\u2019re conflicted.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Also, note that what the poll Scarborough was referring to can be framed differently:  <\/span>A majority of American favor either keeping immigration levels the same or increasing them.  <\/span>Which sounds a whole lot more like the President\u2019s plan than the House\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first thing out of my mouth would be, \u201cJoe, you\u2019re misreading those polls.  <\/span>They show that most Americans think our immigration levels are about right or should be increased.  <\/span>That means that they are opposed to the House\u2019s plan to declare all illegal immigrants felons and send them back home,  <\/span>And by the way, how would you do that and how much would it cost?  <\/span>Should be raise taxes to do it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I love asking reporters questions in interviews.  <\/span>They look dumbstruck.  <\/span>Most are smart enough not to try to answer.  <\/span>But the next thing to do is not fill the silence.  <\/span>Let them ask the question again, which they would invariably do.  <\/span>And then give the same answer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the key precepts of good public communications is to not allow yourself to buy-in to someone else\u2019s interpretations of the facts or false pretense.  Yes, \u201cwe\u2019re all entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts\u201d as the late Senator Patrick Daniel Moynihan once famously said.  But some facts conflict with others,… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}