Tax cuts are very unpopular, if you believe what you read in CNN.
The Republican-led House and Senate are poised to pass tax cut legislation Tuesday. On the morning before the vote, CNN published a poll claiming, "Public opposition to tax bill grows as vote approaches."
A whopping 55 percent of Americans oppose tax cuts, according to CNN. Only 33 percent are in favor of the tax cut bill.
Of course, CNN does not mention that the poll overwhelmingly relies on Democrats for its findings.
And how many of those Democrats support the GOP tax cut bill? Three percent. That's one way to "grow" opposition.
CNN polled 10 percent more Democrats than Republicans. Poll respondents included only 23 percent Republicans, compared to 33 percent Democrats. The rest are independents, who aren't very happy with President Trump.
By oversampling Democrats and self-described independents—of which 58 percent disapprove of President Trump's job performance—CNN makes the claim that the GOP tax plan "faces growing opposition and a widespread perception that it will benefit the wealthy more than the middle class."
And Republicans weren't as heavily partisan as their Democratic counterparts. Seventy-six percent approve of the GOP bill, while 13 percent oppose.
Too often polls are trying to shape public opinion, rather than reflect it, one senior administration official said.
The CNN poll doesn't ask voters about "tax cuts" once. The poll simply refers to the "proposals made by the Republicans in Congress." There are no substantive questions about what is actually in the bill, such as reducing rates at all income bracket levels, doubling the standard deduction, eliminating the Obamacare individual mandate, or lowering the corporate tax rate to 21 percent.
The only time "tax cuts" are mentioned is to ask whether during conference between the House and Senate bills it should be a "higher priority for them to maintain the tax cuts as proposed or to minimize the impact on the federal budget deficit?"
CNN is not the only guilty party. Polls commonly oversample Democrats. Quinnipiac surveyed only 26 percent Republican in a poll that found disapproval of the tax cut legislation. Monmouth University found 47 percent disapproval of the bill by surveying only 28 percent Republicans, compared to 41 percent independents, and 31 percent Democrats.
As I write, MSNBC's "Velshi and Ruhle" is playing in the background. I've heard Ali Velshi cite the CNN poll countless times this morning, in between his speeches in front of his charts that show all individuals and charities are "losers" in the GOP bill.
He authoritatively says 55 percent of Americans hate the bill. Just remember who they asked.