Inside the Beltway: ‘Conservative media’ most accurate of all

NEWS AND OPINION:

Those voters who partake of information supplied by conservative news organizations are more likely to “get the facts right” on important topics. Those who rely on “left-leaning media, approve of President Biden, and identify as Democrats or liberal” are least likely to get basic news facts correct.

So says a painstaking but unique new poll from the Heartland Institute — a national free market think tank.

“Generally speaking, respondents who identified CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, or NBC as their ’favorite’ TV news outlet were more likely to incorrectly answer questions about the national debt, the income tax rate paid by the wealthy, and the percentage of the population that’s uninsured than viewers of Fox News or ’another’ cable or network news station such as The Blaze TV or Newsmax,” wrote Justin Haskins, editorial director for the Heartland Institute, in an analysis.

And a few examples of this phenomenon?

“About 30% of CNN viewers and 32% of CBS viewers said the national debt was only $5 trillion or less. For context, the U.S. national debt has not been that low since 1995, more than 25 years ago,” Mr. Haskins said.

Yes, well. As of Tuesday, the U.S. national debt was $28.1 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.

Meanwhile, Fox News viewers and audiences who watch one of the aforementioned alternative networks were most likely to accurately identify the national debt, with 35% and 37%, respectfully, making the correct selection.

The intricate poll of 2,000 likely U.S. voters was conducted by Rasmussen Polls for the Heartland Institute April 29-May 3 and released Tuesday. The survey queried respondents on the U.S. national debt, the percentage of Americans without health coverage, and tax rates paid by wealthy individuals and families. Find the results at Heartland.org.

KIMBERLY YEE HAS A SAY

Conservative Republican candidates are emerging in critical state races as the clock relentlessly ticks towards the 2022 elections. In Arizona, that candidate would be Kimberly Yee, who has embraced former President Donald Trump’s border policies and hopes to be the next governor.

“Washington D.C. is simply not going to protect Arizona — refusing to enforce the laws, opening our state to drug cartels, violence and human traffickers, and putting partisan gains over safety and security,” Ms. Yee advises in a new campaign video.

“I will continue Trump’s fight to secure our southern border — every single inch of it,” she vows.

“I’ve seen first hand what socialist policies have done to states like California. As a small-business owner raised by small business owners, I know the importance of doing business the right way Trump’s ’America First’ agenda had our economy coming like never before. But now, our way of life is under attack by the corrupt press, reckless corporate leaders and politicians who put socialist ideals over people, our freedom of speech and our elections,” Ms. Yee continued.

President Biden and certain lawmakers in the nation’s capital are also on her radar.

“Joe Biden and the Washington Democrats are trying to strip away the values that make our country great by disincentivizing hard work and personal responsibility. I will work to promote opportunity over handouts because I know that Arizonans would rather earn a living than collect a government check,” Ms. Yee said.

She has attracted the ire of the Democratic Governors Association, in the meantime.

“Kimberly Yee has continually put partisanship and far-right propaganda above the needs of Arizonans,” said Noam Lee, executive director of the organization, who calls Ms. Yee a “staunch ally of far-right extremists like Donald Trump” and accuses her of using “fear-mongering rhetoric.”

IVY COVERED HALLS

Columbia University students have launched a social group called “Columbia Communists,” complete with a logo that includes the school’s famous crown emblem topped with a hammer and sickle.

“Do you want to be a part of leftist discussion, engage in mutual aid, and better understand leftist theory,” the group asked in its pitch.

Joseph Silverstein, an analyst for The College Fix, a student-reported news source which includes “right-minded” fare, points out that “communism, a revolutionary ideology founded by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is responsible for 100 million deaths in the twentieth century.”

The first “Columbia Communism Club” meeting is this week, he says.

“The Columbia Communist Club’s establishment is not surprising to most on campus,” the Columbia University College Republicans told Mr. Silverstein. “It publicly reveals something we already know, the university fosters failed Marxist ideology. It’s ironic how students at an extremely selective, prestigious university with a 3% acceptance rate can preach communist theory.”

FOXIFIED

During the week of May 10-16, Fox News ranked as the highest-rated cable news network in throughout the day and in prime time for the 13th consecutive week, according to Nielsen Media Research. During prime time, Fox News enjoyed 2.3 million viewers, compared to MSNBC with 1.5 million and CNN with 932,000.

Meanwhile, Fox News Digital closed out the month of April with a total of 3.5 billion minutes of views across its assorted platforms, and encounters with 89 million unique visitors, according to Comscore. For the 80th consecutive month, Fox News was the top performer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — with over 33 million interactions on Facebook alone during April, according to Socialbakers, an industry source.

POLL DU JOUR

• 88% of employers in the U.S. and other nations will require or encourage COVID-19 vaccinations for employees.

• 8% of employers have no vaccination policy; 4% neither encourage nor require employee vaccinations.

• 84% would allow vaccinations to be administered to employees at their facility.

• 60% will require employees to demonstrate proof of vaccination.

• 59% have plans to incentivize employees to be vaccinated.

Source: An Arizona State University / Rockefeller Foundation survey of 28,800 company and trade association leaders in 31 countries, conducted March 1-15 and released April 29.

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.