Opinion

Memo to Huffington Post: Check Your Sources

One of today’s front page stories on Huffington Post claimed a majority of Republicans support the barbaric notion of increasing taxes on the most productive as well as the newly coined “Buffett Rule.” As with all Leftist thought, there are problems with both the premises and reporting of this issue.

Misdirection

The following pictures are screen caps. First, from the front page:

Now, from the main article:

Somehow we switch from “GOP Voters” to “Vast Majority of Americans.” What both groups seem to be supporting changes slightly also, going from simply raising taxes on the rich (class warfare) to instituting the new beltway catchphrase “The Buffett Rule.”

The Poll

Just by reading those two headlines, we’re meant to think that the mainstream GOP voter now rides in the immature class warfare bandwagon. The article itself supports that point, claiming that two-thirds of Republicans are for the “Buffett Rule” and 75% think tax increases on people making $1 million is ok.

If you’re wondering “Where did they get those numbers from,” move to the head of the class.

Backtracking the links, Huffpo reported the numbers from the Daily Kos, an organization that is about as scholarly and unbiased as a Klan rally. The poll itself was conducted by Public Policy Polling, or rather, that is what Daily Kos is claiming. Public Policy Polling didn’t think highly enough of the poll to even list it on its website.

The relevant question is as follows:

“Do you support or oppose ensuring that people who make over a million dollars a year pay the same percentage of taxes of more on their total income as those who make less than a million dollars a year?”

The results are essentially what was reported. Of course, the obvious thing that should jump out is the phrase “pay the same percentage.” This would mean that supporters of a flat tax would fall into that group, which, of course, could very well skew the results by a large percent.

As is typical with Leftist thought, the question is short-sighted, vague, and/or all-encompassing at the same time. It mentions “total income” without bothering to answer what that could mean. For example, someone working overseas could generate sales while working at the office in a foreign country, which is then subjected to that country’s tax code. If he were to repatriate those dollars to the states, is he to be taxed again? What about investments, dividends, savings, IRA’s, or a jar of old coins you find in the back yard? Are they “made,” as the question suggests, and should such long-term investments be subjected to yearly taxable rates even if they are not touched for 30 years?

The Daily Kos and SEIU do not bother thinking along such lines. They simply see some people with more than they have and are seeking to use the law to plunder those private coffers. Such practices are detestable and should be called as such.

PPP makes its living off of polling, so I am hesitant to think they would come up with such a biased and predictable question themselves. I think it more likely that Daily Kos gave them the set of questions to ask, which would account for what is either an elementary mistake or a clear attempt to skew results in one’s favor. Since the results were posted on the “Daily Kos/SEIU Weekly State of the Nation,” I leave it up to the reader to decide.

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Rich Mitchell

Rich Mitchell is the editor-in-chief of Conservative Daily News and the president of Bald Eagle Media, LLC. His posts may contain opinions that are his own and are not necessarily shared by Bald Eagle Media, CDN, staff or .. much of anyone else. Find him on twitter, facebook and

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