American Morning
Republican pollster: Americans angrier than ever
From town halls to tea parties, a lot of people across the country are really ticked off. Last week in our special series "Mad as Hell," we looked at the sources and potential solutions for all of that national anger.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/09/28/luntz.frank.cnn.art.jpg caption="Pollster and Republican Party adviser Frank Luntz says Americans are angrier than ever."]
Frank Luntz is a pollster, communications expert, author of the new book "What Americans Really Want, Really" and has advised the Republican Party on hot-button issues like health care.
Luntz joined John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Monday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.
John Roberts: So people in America, are they really angrier than they’ve ever been?
Frank Luntz: They are. 72% of Americans define themselves - we took a survey of 6,400 people, that's five times the typical CNN media poll – 72% of Americans are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. And they're mad at politics because they think there's no accountability in Washington.
They're mad at business because they think that their employers don't respect them. And they're mad at Hollywood for the coarseness of the culture. So you've got all three things going on at the same time and they don't find a solution to it.
Roberts: Let me quote from your book here because you say what's so important is not necessarily that Americans are mad as hell. You say, “It matters more that they're not going to take it anymore. Americans have hit a tipping point with Washington and, moreover, its political parties.” So we're at this tipping point. What does that mean for the country? You gave us the background of what people are mad at but why are they mad at all of this and what is this tipping point?
Luntz: They feel like the politicians aren't listening to them. And those elected officials who canceled their town hall meetings, boy, did they make a mistake. I wrote this book and I added that extra "really" to “What Americans Really Want” because the definitions of this anger the elites don't understand. They think the town halls are an aberration.
The people you should be listening to at the town halls are not those who are yelling in the front, it's those that are grumbling in the back. Because there are tens or hundreds of thousands of people that have come to these town hall meetings that have never participated in politics before. They're going to vote in 2010. I've offered a lexicon for them to be more effective in this book because in the end, the shouting really doesn't move people. They need to know how to communicate more effectively.
And it's not just politics. It's also in the workplace. There are the three rules of how not to get fired. Three things you should not be saying. And I'll make them read the book. There's even fear for our kids. I’ll give you two more statistics. 57% of Americans believe that this country will be worse for their children than it was for them. And only 33% believe that the next generation will have it better than them.
Roberts: A question that I have about all of this anger is how much of it is organic and how much of it is ginned up by the opposition to try to give Democrats a hard time? President Clinton was on NBC’s "Meet the Press" yesterday and he said the vast right-wing conspiracy in America is still very much alive, maybe not as strong as during his time in office, but still extremely virulent.
Clinton: 'Vast right-wing conspiracy' virulent
Luntz: See, he doesn't get it because these are not Republicans who are going to these town halls. These are not Republicans that are angry. More often they're independents that reject both the Republicans and the Democrats. They're dead-center politically and they've had enough of both political parties. That would be point one. And point two is, until they feel like someone's listening to them and someone cares about them, they're going to remain agitated. And I do believe they'll participate. But just to be angry doesn't solve anything. We're afraid for our children. We're afraid that they're going to get addicted to drugs. We're afraid that they're going to drink. We're afraid that they'll have bad circumstances in their life. And that's what makes us so nervous about the future.
Roberts: You mentioned the town hall meetings during August on the health care debate. That's where we saw the anger in full foment. You wrote a memo to the Republican Party, giving them suggestions on how to oppose the health care plan. You suggested that they use phrases like "it's a bailout of the insurance industry," "Washington takeover of the system." All of these words were out there. My question to you, Frank, is did you help contribute to this anger?
Luntz: But what is the first page of the memo? That you must support health care reform. This is exactly what the American people would say. We need to cover those people who aren't covered.
Roberts: But when you use charged language like that, are you not contributing to the anger?
Luntz: Because what Americans are asking for is a slow and steady reform of the health care system, not something radical. And the politicians in Washington aren't listening. We believe that our health care system is the best in the globe. And we don't want to change that. And there's language in here – and by the way, you want to know what Americans really want?
Roberts: Some people would argue that the delivery of health care in this country is the best in the world but the way you get to it, through insurance, certainly is not a model for anybody.
Luntz: 85% of Americans are satisfied with their health care. I think that says a lot.
Roberts: But there are a lot of uninsured people in this country.
Luntz: That’s why I wrote this book. I wanted to correct the misinterpretations. If you want to know if you're in the majority or minority, if you want to know what the public really thinks, this [book] is the place to go.
Roberts: The book is called "What Americans Really Want, Really" from Frank Luntz. Good to have an opportunity to have you on this morning. We've known each other for a long time.
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robbi Frank Luntz is a very respected pollster and really knows what he is talking about thats more than I can say about you, you are an arrogant imbecile.
I have phoned, emailed, and talked directly to my representatives, and they have patronized me, blown me off, and not listened. Yes, I'm mad as hell, and when I vote, I will vote against them. (And I always vote.) I'm very middle of the road in my politics, but for some reason, being balanced and sure-footed with a firm foundation to work from is not on their agenda. I've watched them run headlong into terrible boondoggles, which have yet to be resolved. I've watched "Cash for Clunkers" bounce, slide, and stick it to just about everyone. (It was a good idea, but no one took the time to plan it out as it should have been, and when I say time, I'm just talking a few months.) Our whole administration is failing on these same issues. Yes, we need fixes, but they need to be well planned, not slap dashed together–as the bailouts and CEO/administrator bonuses have clearly shown. Again, even a little planning would have gone a long way. But who am I, except a poor little voter who will be carrying the $80,000 (bill per every person in the USA) for those bailouts, bonuses, $4Clunkers, etc. And don't even get me started on Afghanistan.
this guy is nothing more than a water man for the republicans, he is a republican, he said that these people who goes to the rallies are not republicans and they are democrats, hahah tell me mr, where do you buy your weed from?. clinton is right, the vast right wing is still out.
Keep thinking that Robbie. And make sure you call your Democrat congressmen and Senators and tell them that they should ignore the polls. Your problem is you get your 'news' from CNN and the other liberals in the main stream media.
I don't appreciate having this loaf speak for me. I am happy as ever, and guess what? My taxes are going up and I can't sell my house that's been on the market for two years. But life is GOOD. Health, faith, happiness, etc. so please, speak for yourself Frank.
Put the blame where it belongs: Bush and Cheney.
I have a hard time believing 85% of americans are happy w/ their insurance.
This guy is so biased, not sure how you can seriously post anything he says. He has zero credibility.
These are the types of people that instigate discord. I for one am not mad as hell. I have the things I need to live, maybe not everything I may think I want, but God has blessed me with the necessities.
First I thought he may be on to something because I personally am sick of hollywoods' filth hence my removal of cable television from my home and my very rarely going to the movies. Then come to find out this miscreant has been crafting language in the health-care debate which fuels dissension. Just another liar trying to appear impartial, hmm maybe you should get a job on the fox network.
Robbi, you certainly cannot write a book. Before you do so you need to know how to use capital letters and punctuation. I guess that's part of the problem: lazy and/or uneducated people being given too much of a voice.
So I'm supposed to believe a GOP hack? This is the same guy who believes we have the best health care in the world? Health care reform is more that just getting more Americans insured. It's about stopping insurance companies denying care to customers who already pay. This guys is a fool who lives on division. hate hate hate.
Where have you been? Americans have been angry throughout their history. Our bloodiest war was among ourselves. I couldn't stand any of the Bush policies...where was your anger then. We're getting over the mistakes of the past 8 years and that is more the source of my anger. The tea party idiots and town hall distrupters will always be angry. There are people out there now who hate non-whites, mistrust government and want their guns.
Where did the $4 Trillion dollars from the bail-out go? Everyone I know is asking about that. For $1 Trillion–the US Congress could have given every American a $100 a month health care plan–catastrophic coverage fort those who live a health lifestyle–no drugs, alcohol or smoking–and paid for the college education of their kids on top of that–for ten years. Why doesn't Frank Luntz write a book on THAT? Why wasn't THAT choice offered to American voters? Why do Americans have to chose between Democratic Party of organized crime/labor unions–and the Republican Party of International globalization? Why the fake choice? It is like–we are forced to pick between two parries of organized crime–one serves the left, the other the right. But–they are both parties of crime. It is as if–the USA really is controlled by a kind of organized crime insinuated into the very structure of business, education, health care, and politics today–because–the choices the US Congress is making are so irrational. The choices Congress are making–are being made strictly for money–to suck out and gut out as much as certain entities can–from the middle class–the shrinking 15% who have kids, who have any cash or money at all. Then poof–we will be a county of the 1/ 2 of 1% at the top–the next 7%–their managers–and then 93% poor. That is where we will be in ten years. What we are seeing–is like a corporate take-over of the middle class, and this "take-over" is being obfuscated by people such as Frank Luntz.
We're not angry at Washington, but at political hacks such as Luntz who are out only to stir up trouble and earn a dollar off it; those who modus operandi is "Take the money and run."
I love how every time someone disagrees with what they assume to be a Republican backed opinion piece they ALWAYS resort to name calling. If people can't be so unbiased as to look at the facts presented to them, how can they ever understand what is going on? Some people need to take a break from drinking only kool-aid and drink water once in while. What I mean is, watch CNN, watch NBC and ABC, but watch FOX as well and then you'll have all the information you need to arrive at an informed decision.
Luntz is right on target. Politicians that don't get it are like their faithful supporters following blindly behind them as they approach the cliff.
Maybe what these people should be so angry about is the Republican party intentionally fanning the flames and using them to fight their battle against the Democrats. I agree that a lot of these people are probably extremely disillusioned by BOTH of the major political parties and I have, however, if that is really all there is to this story, where were they during the Bush Presidency? Interesting how all of a sudden with a Democratic majority in Washington they are EVERYWHERE. There was plenty to be mad as hell about 2 years ago as well. These people are being pushed and pulled by the Republicans and as soon as the GOP takes a majority over in Congress I think we'll find that we aren't hearing so much about how angry they are anymore.
Frank Lutz need look no further than the results of the last two elections to see what Americans are mad at and what they're going to do about it. In the end, the only opinion that matters is that of a majority of the voters and they expressed that opinion very clearly in 2006 and 2008. There are obviously folks that disagree, however they are most decidedly in the minority and will stay that way unless the Republicans change their approach. There are plenty of middle class conservatives that have suffered as a result of Bush policies and until Republicans address that situation they will continue to be in the minority.
I love the Republicans who are disgusted with the coarseness of the culture. While one of their leaders shouts "shut up" at the president of the United States? Perhaps they had better clean out their own house first. And disgusted with big business, while big business continues to be their biggest contributors? And as for the economy, which party drove us into this mess?
"85% of Americans are satisfied with their health care. I think that says a lot. "
Right! I guess he didn't bother to ask the 40 plus million US citizens who don't have any, despite the fact that many of them paid into the system for most of their working lives but then either lost their jobs or got too sick and were dropped.
One shouldn't judge a book by it's cover let alone a man by his looks but he looks a bit too smug comfortable and pudgy for me to trust him. Plus he's full of it ...He is right about one thing, the Democrats and the Republicans are two sides of the same counterfeit coin.
It's past time for some real leadership and it is not going to come from either of those political parties.
"They're" mad at Hollywood for the coarseness broadcast everywhere 24/7? But that's what sells! Gentleness and gentility don't –just ask anyone who wants to make an "art-house" movie.
I guess whoever screams the loudest must be right.
That 'vast right-wing conspiracy' Clinton referred to is called 'the American people'. And maybe Nancy Pelosi is right. If the Democrats push through a health care bill that most Americans oppose, especially if it includes coverage for illegal aliens, as some Democrats are now demanding, we may not have to wait for a revolt at the polls in 2010. We may see a revolt in the streets in 2009 (but I pray that we don't!).
"85% of Americans are satisfied with their health care"
no, 85% of Americans have health care...not all 85% of us are satisfied.
how can you be satisfied with your insurance when your premium keeps going up, your coverage keeps going down and you arent sure if you lost your job or switched jobs, that your new provider will cover you and not considering somethign a 'pre-existing" condition and therefore not cover you.
I'm sorry...but that 85% is BULL
Wow robbi you really are an idiot.
We are indeed angry at Washington and have been for years. Remember Ross Perot? Remember how he became so popular (before he ended up being...well...Ross Perot?)
He got popular because he threw in the "these bums (R's and D's) have been fighting for years and don't care about you anymore"...and he was RIGHT!
That was 17 years ago, and now it's even worse! And now we even have idiots all claiming that our anger is 'astroturf'? Wow...
We'll I guess I'm one of those idiot's as well. I'm a independent voter. I would suggest that the administration listen to us. Voting time is coming very soon and we will remember.
This guy is just anothe talking head who is accountable to no one and is out to hype his book.
I don't know of a more disreputable source.
Every generation since generations began has worried about these things for their kids. I think once and if health care reform happens that people will finally understand how much better off they are. As for the insurance industry getting a big lift from it, that will be exactly what Republicans and some Democrats want so that's very deceiving to be telling people. Especially when actually health care reform will MAKE insurance companies be more affordable because they will have to finally compete.......It's ridiculous to say that these people are worried about these things for their kids only now when it's been going on forever and always will.
Hmm, this anger scenario seems to be one that is largely created and fostered by the media; it's certainly a sexier story than folks generally satisfied with the way things are going. Let's take one specific example that Luntz cites, the health care debate. The new Pew poll indicates that even a majority of REPUBLICANS want a public option, and that 49% think the Republicans have largely political motives on the issue. Sounds like the Obama administration on health care is both being accountable to the public's sentiments, and is in step with them.
72% of Americans are angry. They are angry that idiots like Luntz gets media attention. Of course he also gets paid a lot of many for treating other people like idiots. Oh, maybe he is not the idiot, but those people (who are not wealthy) who give him money.
We don't like the way Washington does things.
How did this Al Gore 369,000.000 get passed for his company to built electric cars in FINLAND. Costing 89,000 per car.
That big fat blob has been pushing for global warming and that is also a joke. There is no global warming. All he wants is more money to make himself richer. He is brain dead. Or maybe it is congress for giving him the money.
robbi,
YES it IS about the healthcare indirectly. Specifically how they are trying to go about it ramming their solutions down our throats. Threatening to use the nuclear option if enough of the dems don't back it because of the response of their constituents?
If you're not outraged by that then you're one of those who doesn't want to work and earn what you get. I started out as enlisted in the military with no help from anyone. I went to college and over the last 30+ years I am now in a 100k+ job. Nobody gave me anything. The opportunity is there.
I was working full time the whole time I was going to school and still managed to get a 4 year military commitment and a 4 year degree in 5 years total.
What the other 15% want is for the 85% who have done what I have to just hand over enough so they can keep their low-paying job, with little or no responsibility, and not have to put in 12-16 hours per day.
I've voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the past depending on the person and what they stood for. The problem is that they all LIE. The two platforms don't mean anything anymore.
What do I want? I want the givernment to stay out of my pocket and my business!!!
When politicians go to town hall meetings, what did they expect? Even now politicians are trying to push through party politics as "health care reform" even after the town hall meetings. I agree, they just don't get it. They are SUPPOSED to represent people, not their party. For some reason they think their party is more important than listening to the people that pay their salary. Big mistake.
"We’re afraid for our children. We’re afraid that they’re going to get addicted to drugs. We’re afraid that they’re going to drink. We’re afraid that they’ll have bad circumstances in their life. And that’s what makes us so nervous about the future. "
What a fear monger. Like the government really has anything to do with kids drinking or doing drugs, give me a break!
I hope he is not trying to infer that this is the opinion of the majority of people. His comments are typical of the Republicans when they are out of office. At least the Democratis can argue among themselves, but the Republicans are lockstepped when they are in or out of office. The poll was obviously done with Republicans. Reminds one so much of what was done during the Clinton years.
WTF? This guy said that %85 of Americans are happy with their Health Insurance...WHAT Health Insurance? lol! I really think "right-wingers", like this guy seems to be, really have no cause to stand behind so it manifest itself in anger. They KNOW health care is in the best interest of the country and are ANGRY because it will be The Obama Presidency and Democrats that give it to the country. Bill Clinton is right to call these people virulent...
This guy is trying to sell a book, making a blanket statement about every sore topic just to get people to pick up and read his BS. He seems totally contradictory and I wouldn't trust him to have any real position on any serious matter.
Mr. Lutz discounts his arguments in the first paragraph of his work, relying on what he obviously perceives as the lower educational standards of the average American (but we are fooling him, being much smarter than he gives us credit for). He says, "...we took a survey of 6,400 people, that’s five times the typical CNN media poll." Here he takes a swipe at the rest of America through CNN by claiming his poll is better based on its size. While it is true that a larger poll becomes slightly more accurate, it does not become hugely more accurate. And the quality of the poll is not in the quantity of people asked, but the selection of those people (using random selection and stratification) and the quality of the questions asked to avoid survey bias. I suspect that this expert poller, being not so expert, asked, "are you mad as hell" and 73% answered yes. The poll is likely ginned numbers. On the other hand, professional polls from unbiased sources may ask fewer people, but they start out from a neutral assumption. That is why a poll by Quinnipac or Franklin Pierce / Marlin Fitzwater is worth its weight in gold, while published Democratic and Republican polls are often hogwash.
Yes, we are – at the GOP and their record debt and deficits, bogus wars and how they have become the party of hate... GOP = Got Zero Plans
Yeah, right, just because a handful of Americans, mostly uneducated, naive, brainwashed, bible thumpers are upset........you can't say Americans in general are mad as ever. You can say a handful of uneducated, naive, brainwashed bible thumpers are angrier than ever. That's it, nothing more. Now go away. Help Sarah writer her book.
85% of Americans are satisfied with their health care? I don't buy that one bit, unless a vast majority of people polled were on medicare/medicaid. I know very few people satisfied with their insurance, and frankly I'd dump mine in a minute if I could afford something outside of my employer provided garbage.
"If you want to know whether you're in the majority or the minority....this book is the place to go." I thought leaders weren't supposed to govern by polls. Luntz would like our government to use the apathy of the majority toward minorities as a weapon against those minorities. So much for the "moral" majority.
Frank Luntz, whose BFF is Sean Hannity, doesn't have very much credibility anymore, to say the least.
This is the guy I saw hosting those obviously rigged town hall meetings just before the election on Fox News. He asked a "non-partisan" group after each debate who won the debate, and predictably McCain was always the big winner. Partisan hacks like this guy, on both sides of the issues, have no legitimacy in my mind.
I can believe that 72% of Americans are pissed off. But for you to take this as a signal that they agree with your neo-con right wing viewpoint is a very big step away from reality.
Most of us are pissed off that the last administration was so blind as to lead us into this mess.
How much of the 85% of Americans that are satisfied with their health care have had a major health problem in the past five years?
'85% of Americans are happy with healthcare' WRONG. It is only 85% of the people you ASKED in your little biased survey. What a load of crap.
I've seen Mr. Luntz on television many times. Mostly on Fox. He is not a professional pollster. He's a bag man for the GOP. If you believed him in the summer and fall of 2008, Obama would have lost by big margins to McCain and Palin. His polling methods are constructed on getting a pre-determined result. Shame on CNN. Of all the professional polling people and companies out there why would you pick this guy? Are you trying to be fair and balanced by putting politics over substance and knowledge?
What I really *really* want is, Republican pollsters to stop manufacturing stats to claim what I really want. I'm getting to the point where I just can't wait until the 2010 elections, when all the people who DID vote for Obama and DID want him to do what he's doing, get out there and vote to retain his Dem majority in the Senate /House. THAT'S what I want. And I'll be out there working for him like last election, with a helluva lot of other people.
Yes we need health care reform. It took more that six months to get the system where it is today and it will need more that six months to fix it. Lets slow down, take some time and do it right.
@robbi - well put...
Luntz is WAY off. Tea party participants are quacks who don't represent anyone but fringe nuts and corporate and political interests who stand to profit from their display of craziness.
If 72% of us are mad, it may largely be at supposed pollsters who shape results to fit their agenda!
Well...here is another "out of touch Republican" trying to represent a bigger case that just simply is not so..there are many examples of this in the interview, but his comment "85% of Americans are satisfied with their health care. I think that says a lot," says it right there. These "JUST SAY NO REPUBLICANS" have got to do a better job and tone down their rhetoric and provide meaningful alternatives. I do think Obama needs to have a stronger backbone with regard to Healthcare and he absolutely needs to go to the American people and explain his Afgan policy, because it appears he is not keeping his campaign promise regarding the Afgan & Iraq war.
He's right... wait till the 2010 elections. That's when you'll see our anger in action!!!
"Because what Americans are asking for is a slow and steady reform of the health care system"
yeah, we've only been trying to do this since forever ago...how much slower can this get?
Is he for real? Does he not remember CLINTON trying to reform health care and going nowhere? Or does he think this is a "new topic"?????
maybe he wants this to take 200 years to achieve...im not sure it can get any slower without stopping altogether.
Quick someone call the Wambulence! we put up with that idiot Bush for 8 years... you're mad!?!? now you know how half the country felt from 00-08.
You are right about one thing. We are angry. But you are part of the reason we are angry. BS all the way. I notice you didn't answer the question of being part of the problem.....would I read your book? Nope!
The real rage among Americans is how the Greedy Obstructionist Party (GOP) dismantled the regulatory framework for our financial markets that led directly to its meltdown, as well as the international financial meltdown. Most reputable polling shows that while most may rank the Democrats lower than at the first of the year, a plurality of Americans trust the GeeNoPee even less than Charles Manson when it comes to trusting them to turn the country around or make a difference when it comes to health care and jobs.
I agree people are angrier than every. The bad economy puts stress on everybody and it seems the average American has turned into a "I gotta get mine! If I don't I don't want ANYONE to have it good!!"
We've gotten so self-absorbed and feeling so entitled that we've turned into a Nation of Whiners. We've been told by marketers that we should be able to get exactly what we want, when we want. We've been told by the media that "you decide" what is fair or not.
Sorry but the country has gotten fat and lazy and so now stamps their feet and gets angry when we don't get our way.
This article is okay but people are angry period and not just solely about politics. We want things our way and it makes us angry we don't get it.
The biggest problem with American culture is that we don't want to take responsibility for our own actions. We voted the politicians into office and now we are complaining about it?
..... character does count!
Both Rebulicans and Democrates are mad. Independants as well. The congress is about to get a wakeup call in the 2010 elections. You will see a lot of change. I know a lot of people that voted for Obama who now wished they had not and they will either vote rebublican in the 2010 election or libertarian/independant. Obama will not get a second term in office in 2012. No one likes his policies and it has nothing to do with race like Jimmy Carter said. It's about policy stupid. It started with Bush and continues with Obama. They don't listen to the public anymore. They will soon though I guarantee that.
a republican pollster...this has got "random" sampling, or lack thereof written all over it. Of course the results will generalize back to some undefined sub-population that represents who knows what, but it'll sure give great sound bite news.
One simple question. So as per a GOP pollster only now Americans are mad as hell? Where was the anger when Bush was making fun of every constitutional rights....Oh! I See. It just that the republicans lost. Americans were mad at the voodoo economics and we saw what they did to the GOP in November.
I'm not happy with my health care. Actually, I'm not happy with
my insurance company. Health care is fine. It's the insurance
companies that are the problem. And they're paying people plenty
to make sure they remain the problem. They don't want their
game to end and it looks like it won't this time.
But heck, in ten to twenty years we'll all bu running out of water to drink, so
compared to that health care issues are literally a drop in the bucket.
85% ARE HAPPY WITH HEALTH CARE... I LOVE REPUBLICAN POLL TAKING. 85%???????
Interesting that he didn't answer the question about whether he was contributing to the anger. That's because the answer is YES! He does contribute to the total disintigration of civil discourse in this country. Guys like him and left and right wing talk show hosts are a much greater threat to our country than Al Qaeda. They are fomenting hate of anyone that disagrees so they can line their pockets with money. We as a society need to turn them off before they start a civil war!
Frank Luntz hit the nail on the head...Congress and the President only seem to listen to the far left. Last time I checked, the far left is not the majority. Speak loudly America, next time we may get Change we can believe in.
Nice side stepping of the contributing the the anger question. What a toolbox. What I really want is for scumbags like him to go away and not assume that he knows what I want.
robbi....You said it all.
Thank you!!
I know why Americans are so angry. It's because we are used to getting everything yesterday! Fast food, fast cars, instant coffee, microwave ovens and we expect everything to be as fast. Because of the last administration we're screwed for a while and the public can't stand it. I agree that politics is like a snail riding on a turtle's back but there isn't much we can do about it. Vote for someone else? Sounds good but, let's face it, ALL politicians are alike. Some are just smarter than others but it doesn't matter, it still takes, even the smart ones, forever to get something done. The Republicans are bullies and the Democrats are woosies. The only difference now is that we have racism injected into the major issues. I think the Republicans just can't believe that a black man was elected. I retired from a fire department in RI and moved to Key West and I am just waiting to die. Best thing i ever did. I am no longer economicaly viable and thrilled about it. Relax America and live for the day. Well, off to the beach.
I'll tell you what makes me really angry...right-wingers telling me how angry everyone is.
This guy just wants to sell his book. The majority of people at the town hall meetings ARE Republicans, not Independents! If 85% of Americans are satisfied with their insurance, then fine. They can keep it. But, if we don't reform health care now, their premiums are going to rise faster than their cost of living increases. I'd like to know what Frank Luntz's solution is to that, and to the rising number of Americans without health care.
It appears that if the Republicans keep saying "the American people are angry" about everything and anything Obama/Democrats do, that we'll believe it.
The constant attacks and ridiculous accusations are tiresome and troubling. It says to me that the big corporations will do ANYTHING to keep the unregulated profit machines as they are.
Anything to get on TV and sell a book. "There are 3 things to do to not get fired...they will have to read my book". He's a GOP advisor, how unbiased can he be? One thing I agree with is that our political system isn't working well.
Frank Luntz is a GOP hack. Don't believe a word he says. He's the same clown who changed the name of the estate tax to the death tax to scare people. He's a clown.
Were these so-called 75% idiots, "Mad as Hell" when Bush took 3 trillion out for Iraq? But they are "Mad as Hell" because Obama is using 1 trillion to fix the health care that is going to help almost all Americans.
Send all these 75% of the people who took the survey back to school, and teach them some common sense. Grow up people
What Americans are angry about it some waste of space, like this guy, tellings what we should be mad about. Back off slick, when I want your opinion I'll ask for it. Until them keep it to yourself. Politicians not listening to the voters? That is exactly what you are doing yourself! " Let me tell you what I think you want to hear. If I'm not right then I don't care who you are or what you think, you are wrong." You Frank Putz are the perfect example of what we are mad at!
"...our health care system is the best in the globe." Is he kidding?!! The U.S. are very far down the list for the best health care–we're not even close to France, which, based on our resources, is shameful. It's all about greed and making money off of sick people here.
All mainstream news is fake! We are awake. Fear a united population.
This guy is a joke. What I really want, is people like you (Frank Luntz) to stop trying to tell ME what I want. You are one of the elites, buddy. You're on a national news broadcast talking about your new book....Some of us are (wasting our time) reading this article during our lunch breaks. Back to work!
Frank Luntz is not a REAL pollster as one would place a Gallup or a Zogby. Luntz is a steerer , one who would sway voters to the GOP. To give this man any credibility is incorrect. And when Luntz is saying that Americans are angry, he wishes them to steer toward the GOP point of view. His occupation has been one of focus groups, or put another way, to steer such people toward the GOP persuasion. This is the guy who came up with catchy phrases intolerably wrong so as to create the incorrect move toward the REPUBLICAN objective. This man is the proverbial snake oil salesman. He will offer you anything for your vote, usually the incorrect point of view. This man should NOT be trusted anymore than THE DEVIL that he is.
Were these so-called 75% idiots, "Mad as Hell" when Bush took 3 trillion out for Iraq? But they are "Mad as Hell" because Obama is using 1 trillion to fix the health care that is going to help almost all Americans.
Send all these 75% of the people who took the survey back to school, and teach them some common sense.
Pier. Wow. Word butchery 😛 sorry. Much of it in that last paragraph!
Start off with irrelevant facts, bridge the middle with if's, but's, and non-facts and then close trying to sell you're book because it's "how to figure out if you're in the minority or majority".
Yep, sounds about right for an article aimed at actually discussing America's issues.
Ehhh this is just conservatives trying to make a bigger deal out of the Tea Baggers than their worth. Their astro-turf "grass roots" movement is way over publicized and exaggerated. We'll see in the next round of elections that people still aren't satisfied with Republican performance and platforms.
See, Luntz, himself, just does not "get" it. People DON'T want "slow" change to the health care system.
They want RADICAL change, and they want it NOW!
MORE REPUBLICAN PROPAGANDA....Republicans are not "all Americans". Republicans are mad....so what? Do you know how angry the rest of us have been for the last 8 years.....GET USE TO IT....THIS COUNTRY IS CHANGING POLITICALLY and DEMOGRAPHICALLY AND YOU ALL WILL SOON BE THE PERMANENT MINORITY.
National Priorities !
There is only one serious national problem that needs to be resolved now, no excuses or speeches, this problem just in case you politicians have not notice it, is the USA ECONOMY/UNEMPLOYMENT !
There are millions of USA families that have lost their homes, their employment, their pension, their dignity and even their marriage !....and what do we the people hear?.. that the president of the United States and wife are going to Denmark to pitch in personally to get that Chicago becomes the next Olympic site?.. What about going to New Orleans to pitch in for speedy resolution of the disaster that is still there?
Is this the rational way a president should act in times of SEVERE ECONOMICAL CRISIS?...when American families are being destroyed by the ineptitude of politicians?...
What kind of a nation are we that allows this total indifference against us? Where is the 4th Power, the MASS MEDIA, to put the pressure on this matter?
This is not a DEM or GOP issue, WH and Congress lets go back to work and get this crisis resolved now!... we do not want to hear that employment will start to ease by the end of 2010, it will be too late, do you understand that? You did react immediately with GOLDMAN and AIG didn't you? It took you less than a week to keep their mouth out of the water. What about us?
Next election lets be sure that we elect and independent professional mature individual to be our real acting president!
Sincerely,
Jose Paulo Castro
Forest Hills, New York
So a republican says everyone is angry? That's like a democrat saying everyone is happy. This is at the very least the most biased headline I've seen in a few days. I mean imagine republicans claiming everyone is unhappy. Don't just include me in your made up facts. I mean what americans really want is for you, everyone like you, lying politicians on both sides and CEOs who spend their days trying to find ways around laws that would force them to do the right things. To go away. I mean however you want to go away is fine. Grab all your republican and democrat buddies and take a long walk off a short peer. Stop manufacturing our consent with your non stop nonsense.
I agree anyone can write a book. No way will I ever trust this guy.
When an economy falls as ours did, taking 3 years in sliding steps, you can not expect an economy to rebound over night. Look back to the early 80s. Reaganomics was not well recieved in the beginning. It took time and effort to develop an economy again in the 80s as well. Actually there are a lot of similarities between 1979/1980 and 2008/2009. The only thing different as far as I am concerned is in 1980 I had CBS, NBC, and ABC news and the NY Times. Good news, without so much fire journalism.
Americans have been angry about this country's direction for a long time. This is not a new phenomenon.
Remember a year ago when everyone thought that Obama was the messiah and if you disagreed you were an idiot? My, my, how the mighty have fallen. By the time he's done, I think that Obama will have a lower rating than Bush ever did. Buyer's remorse much?
Raleigh, North Carolina's WRAL TV just had a very interesting segment of their show "On The Record" about the topic of anger and civility in public discourse. Worth a look:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/6086849/
Newsflash – the author's just doing Glenn Beck's schtick – only not as well.
See: "Buy My Book"
Republican lies. I am mad at the Republicans for getting us in this mess.
8 years of crappy government and Obama is in 9 months and the GOP want to blame him? Come on. Where was the concern about bankrupting our kids' future when Bush committed billions of our dollars to his trumped up war?
So, the Republicans are mad as hell. Where was their anger when GWB and Dick Cheney set out to destroy America?
i guess anyone can write a book nowadays wonder who backed him? know what we are really tired of? idiots like you thinking you know what we want. of course we worry about our kids but we are not stupid enough to think this has anything to do with these town hall meetings they had no choice but to end those meetings you cannot carry on a discussion when someone is screaming at you. this rage is not about healthcare as if you didnt already know that
I think this is jumping the gun. Unless there is actual change via the voting booth, this means little or nothing.