The newspapers are calling it a groundswell of fierce opposition to President Obama's healthcare plan. On conservative talk radio, Rush Limbaugh has declared that the "silent majority" will be silent no more. Americans of every political persuasion, says Glenn Beck, sense deep in their guts that something just ain't right. Lou Dobbs tells us that a growing number of citizens are fighting back.
Based on the media's portrayal of this debate, one might reasonably conclude that the nation was split down the middle on healthcare: That the folks showing up at these townhalls were representative of fully half the nation. Well, if one reached that conclusion - that these townhall protesters represent a silent, angry majority - one would be dead wrong. They aren't a majority. They aren't one half. They aren't even one-forth.
Time for some real talk: Try 7-percent. These people are 7-percenters.
You see this guy, from the Arlen Specter townhall--- you know, the one got in the Senator's face and started screaming about judgment day
You see these people screaming about the death panels:
You see this man, he's their leader:
These people, my friends - the ones yelling, screaming, packing their guns, hanging politicians in effigy, demanding Obama's blood - these people are the 7-percenters. Here's how I figure it:
Glenn Beck has a nightly viewing audience of 2.4 million. Bill O'Reiley gets 3.5 million. But the granddaddy of them all is Rush Limbaugh. In any given week, Rush gets 13.4 million unique listeners. No doubt, there is significant overlap among their respective audiences. But let's be conservative in our calculations, and assume that the overlap isn't 100%. Let's assume that this whole segment of the population is roughly 15 million Americans. 15 million! Damn, that sure is a lot of people.
But you know what? The voting-age population in America is 215 million. And the radical, Rush-Glenn-Bill'O faction, represents only 7% of that 215 million. That means more than 93% of all Americans do not give a shit about Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh. That means the teabaggers and the townhall mobs probably represent a percentage of America that is much closer to 7 than to 50.
But while we're discussing the percentages, let's take a look at some more compelling numbers: A recent poll by CNN shows that their is broad - yes broad - support for health care reform. On August 10, 2009, a poll asked the following questions:
From what you know of the health care proposals which Obama supports, which of the following statements comes closest to your views?
74% -(30%) They would help me and my family, or
(44%) other families in the country
20% - They won't help anyone.
Do you think it is or is not necessary to make major structural changes in the nation's health care system in order to make sure that all Americans have health care insurance?
77% - necessary
21% - not necessary
Do you think it is or is not necessary to make major structural changes in the nation's health care system in order to reduce health care costs?
74% - necessary
23% - not necessary
And guess what else? At last check, fully 96% of Americans support Medicare-- a government-run, public healthcare program for the elderly. And more than 90% support S-Chip: a government-run, public healthcare program for children. And nearly 75% of all Americans support Medicaid, a government-run, public healthcare program for the poor.
So the birthers, the deathers, the teabaggers.... they may be loud, they may be angry, they may even be violent. But they aren't the majority. They're just the 7-percenters.
Hell, more people think the earth is flat.