Blame it on Karl

Karl Rove resigned last week and people still blame him for just about anything in the nation. Today it is people's reading habits.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Liberals read more books than conservatives. The head of the book publishing industry's trade group says she knows why—and there's little flattering about conservative readers in her explanation.

"The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: 'No, don't raise my taxes, no new taxes,'" Pat Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, said in a recent interview. "It's pretty hard to write a book saying, 'No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes' on every page."

Schroeder, who as a Colorado Democrat was once one of Congress' most liberal House members, was responding to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that found people who consider themselves liberals are more prodigious book readers than conservatives.

She said liberals tend to be policy wonks who "can't say anything in less than paragraphs. We really want the whole picture, want to peel the onion."

Schroeder is being more than a little silly, but there is a small point to be made from all this. Many people conservative or liberal, prefer to read what they want to hear. In other words, people read books, blogs, magazines etc that affirm their beliefs.

Speaking for myself, I like to read very divergent opinions. That accounts for why I read books written by authors ranging from Frank Rich to Michelle Malkin. Plus I subscribe to both the National Review and New Republic and have done so for many years. Neither liberals or conservatives have a monopoly when it comes to what is the best course in either US politics or foreign affairs. I'm an admitted conservative Democrat, who takes what both sides say with a grain of salt. Look at these posts on the Scott Thomas Beauchamp affair. The New Republic has almost certainly screwed up but at least one conservative was willing to manipulate matters or lie in order to score debating points.

A mind is like a parachute. It needs to be open in order to work properly.

Hat tip- Dr. Taylor at Poliblog. He points out that the survey in question was of reading in general, not political reading. Carl is also discussing this news.
Linked to- Morewhat, Right Wing Nation, Stuck on Stupid,