The poll-driven pundit

One school of punditry seems locked into the idea that because anti-immigration positions poll well, Democrats should not waste political capital on the Trump administration’s abuses, however egregious. While polling data may be useful at times, it seems some vaunted experts are stuck in a static, outdated paradigm that completely ignores how the media landscape has changed in the 21st century. Some still seem reluctant to acknowledge that bad faith actors have been manipulating the public through propaganda, and this is why so many Americans believe what they believe. This goes against our wishful thinking about the nature of intellectual debate and what constitutes journalism. Ludicrous ideas aren’t exactly emerging organically from the cornfields. Polls are a reflection of an already deeply devolved media environment, and the more you let them dictate what is acceptable for Democratic leaders to say, the further into authoritarianism we slide. I recommend this article.

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