Do “44% Of Republicans” Think We Should “Just Learn To Live With Mass Shootings”?

How manipulative polls are used to achieve political conclusions.

Over the weekend, CBS News reported on a new poll they had conducted with YouGov, in which the following bombshell revelation was apparently uncovered: while “72% of the nation believes mass shootings are preventable,” there is a “partisan split with 44% of Republicans saying mass shootings are something we have to accept.”

Face The Nation @FaceTheNation

In a new @CBSNewsPoll, 72% of the nation believes mass shootings are preventable, however, there is a partisan split with 44% of Republicans saying mass shootings are something we have to accept. @SalvantoCBS breaks down these numbers.

In response, “44% of Republicans” trended on Twitter, with responses such as “44% of Republicans are selfish fucking assholes who don't care about kids’ safety in school,” “I’m sorry, but living with the threat of random mass violence isn’t freedom,” and (from Ilhan Omar herself), “44% of Republicans believe we have to just learn to live with mass shootings. This from the people that belong to the ‘pro-life’ party.”

Ilhan Omar @IlhanMN

44% of Republicans believe we have to just learn to live with mass shootings. This from the people that belong to the “pro-life” party 🤦🏽‍♀️ yhoo.it/3aIM8Z5

yhoo.it4 in 10 Republicans think mass shootings are ‘unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society’: CBS/YouGov pollIn the CBS/YouGov poll, 44% of Republicans said mass shootings are “unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society.”

In recent years, our society’s obsession with polls has been nurtured to reach damning political conclusions like this one — the view that almost half of the nation’s Republican Party voters “believe we have to just learn to live with mass shootings.”

But when will we learn that polls are — often — politically skewed at best, and utter nonsense at worst?