Pat Schroeder, former Democratic representative from Colorado and now president of the American Association of Publishers, says she knows why liberals read more books than conservatives.
Honestly.
That's what she said.
I'm not making this up.
A couple things came to mind when I read this amazing statement and realized, for the first time, that Schroeder has headed the publishing's trade industry for the last decade.
Obviously, given her political history and this incredibly moronic statement, she has never read a book by, say, Ludwig von Mises.
Secondly, when was the last time you were asked about your political leanings while checking out of a bookstore? How does Patsy Schroeder know liberals read more books than conservatives?
She claims to know because a national public opinion survey was done by the Associated Press in conjunction with Ipsos. The information obtained about readership patterns was determined solely by asking about 1,000 people how many books they read and asking them to self-identify politically.
The shocker in this poll is hardly that liberals claim to read more books than conservatives. Anyone who knows a liberal understands how much their self-esteem is based on believing they are well-informed and well-educated and that the sheer number of books read is a key indicator of intelligence.
No, the news in this poll curiously wasn't reported by the AP. It has nothing to do with reader habits. It has nothing to do with books. It has nothing to do with Patsy Schroeder.
If this or any other poll has credibility, it is because it achieved a representative sampling of the American public. And, if this one has, there is something much more newsworthy in the findings than the fact that liberals say they read one more book a year than conservatives.
What am I talking about?
I am talking about the fact that, according to this poll, there are far more self-identified conservatives in America than self-identified liberals – even among a sampling that included far more Democrats than Republicans! Please, read the raw data for yourself.
Here is what AP did not report:
- The sampling included 46 percent Democrats, only 38 percent Republicans;
- The self-identified conservatives represented 36 percent, to 25 percent liberals;
- Strong conservatives numbered 14 percent vs. 6 percent strong liberals.
Now, let me ask you which news story you think is more significant – that liberals say they read one more book than conservatives in the last year or that conservatives outnumber liberals 36 to 25 percent even among heavily Democratic Party samplings?
Is it true that liberals read more books than conservatives? I don't know. I doubt it. But, if it is true, should it surprise us when the publishing industry is led and controlled by people like Patsy Schroeder?
She doesn't even understand that Karl Rove is not a conservative but a highly paid political operative. Personally, I don't like the terms "liberal" and "conservative." I find them simplistic and largely meaningless. But, if I were forced to characterize Karl Rove as one or the other, I would call him a liberal, just like his former boss, George W. Bush.
But, I digress.
Patsy Schroeder, the woman most famous for crying like a baby at a press conference in which she announced she would drop her bid for the presidency because of the realization that no one was going to vote for her, also stereotypes conservatives as unable to think beyond bumper-sticker slogans.
First, I want you to try to imagine the book-publishing trade industry selecting Ann Coulter to be its president. I know, I know. It could never happen. It could never happen despite the fact Ann Coulter sells more political books than almost anyone on the American scene. But it could never happen because, despite her tremendous success as a non-fiction author, the publishing industry hates Ann Coulter. But, evidently that same industry loves Patsy Schroeder. Now, what does this tell you?
It tells me this is an industry likely to produce many more books of interest to liberals than conservatives. And, of course, I think that is exactly what we get from the publishing industry.
Secondly, besides her public crying jags, what else is Patsy Schroeder known for?
I'll remind you. The most famous line she ever uttered in her life was about Ronald Reagan, whom she could never understand. It was Patsy Schroeder who said famously: "He's just like a Teflon frying pan. Nothing sticks to him."
She had other bumper sticker lines in her political career:
- "I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both." (To me, this always seemed insulting toward women. But what do I know?)
- "When people ask me why I am running as a woman, I always answer, 'What choice do I have?'" (Obviously a comment made before the age of transgenderism.)
- "You measure a government by how few people need help." (I tend to measure them by how much freedom their people enjoy. But, hey, that's just me.)
- "When it comes to college education, American families are paying more and getting less." (That's true. And who's in charge of the colleges?)
Just one more thing on this subject: Even if these self-identified liberals and conservatives were being totally honest and accurate in numbering the books they read, it is still meaningless data. Numbers of books read don't make an educated person. The quality of books read is what makes an educated person. And the publishing industry presided over by people like Patsy Schroeder is known for quantity more than quality.
I tell you all this as a self-identified independent publisher of many New York Times best-sellers, the author of a dozen books and someone who detests simplistic political labeling.
Order Farah's newest book, "Stop the Presses: The Inside Story of the New Media Revolution"