Thursday, September 20, 2012

One of actor Clint Eastwood’s remarks at the Republican National Convention that caught my attention was when he explained, “There are a lot of conservative people, a lot of moderate people, Republicans, Democrats, in Hollywood. It is just that the conservative people by the nature of the word itself play closer to the vest. They do not go around hot dogging it … but they are there, believe me, they are there” (“Obama’s Hollywood defectors,” Comment & Analysis, Sept. 5).

In reality, Mr. Eastwood was describing “the silent majority,” a term coined by President Nixon years ago. The expression has been abandoned, as most people think they can determine who is voting for whom based on polling. This argument was soundly refuted in June when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survived a recall election despite the efforts of a boisterous liberal attack led by the labor unions. Although liberals commanded the press, the “silent majority” of Wisconsin didn’t buy it and kept Mr. Walker in office.

The same will be true in our November elections. The polls lack credibility because they only measure such things as sex, race, religion, political parties, etc. They cannot measure “the silent majority” if they do not know who that is. Just as was the case in Wisconsin, the fact the national polls are now so close is an ominous sign for the political left. No matter how the media spin the facts, “the silent majority” is cognizant that the economy is broken, unemployment continues unabated, immigration is a threat to our well-being, energy independence should be our priority, and our foreign policy is in shambles.

Regardless of how pollsters try to measure it, this is the reality concerning “the silent majority,” and no amount of spin will sway it from ending the status quo in November. The Wisconsin recall election was but the tip of the iceberg. As Mr. Eastwood astutely pointed out, “They are there.”

TIM BRYCE

Palm Harbor, Fla.

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