Scott Rasmussen

Scott Rasmussen

Scott Rasmussen in February 2012
Born (1956-03-30) March 30, 1956
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
Residence Ocean Grove, New Jersey[1]
Nationality American
Alma mater DePauw University
Wake Forest University
Occupation Political analyst
Known for ESPN, Rasmussen Reports
Spouse(s) Laura Rasmussen[1]
Parent(s) Bill Rasmussen
Website Scott Rasmussen on Twitter

Scott W. Rasmussen (born March 30, 1956)[2] is an American political analyst and digital media entrepreneur. He is the president of Styrk.com, a digital media company he founded in 2014.[3][4] Rasmussen is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and former public opinion pollster.[5] Rasmussen's political commentary is distributed through a nationally syndicated weekly newspaper column.[6][7]

He is the founder and former president of Rasmussen Reports. In July 2013, Rasmussen left his post at Rasmussen Reports. He subsequently founded Rasmussen Media Group.[8][9] In 2014, Rasmussen launched Styrk.com, a digital news service.[10][11][12] Earlier in his professional life, Rasmussen co-founded the sports network ESPN.

Early life and career

Rasmussen was born on Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso, Florida to Lois Ann and Bill Rasmussen.[2][13][14] From an early age, Rasmussen was exposed to the broadcasting business through his father, who had worked for radio stations and was a communications director for the New England Whalers ice hockey team.[15] With the help of his father, Rasmussen taped his first radio commercial at the age of seven.[16] Rasmussen grew up spending summers in Ocean Grove, New Jersey with his grandparents.[2] He got his first job at age 14 as an umbrella boy.[17] He later served as an announcer for the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association.[16] During that time he was emcee for hockey legend Gordie Howe's 50th birthday celebration in 1978, which Rasmussen cites as a career highlight: "nothing in my professional career will ever equal the thrill...".[18] In 1979, Scott and Bill Rasmussen founded ESPN,[19] the cable sports network. Their stake in ESPN was bought out by Texaco in 1984.[20] They went on to found the Enterprise Radio Network. Rasmussen and his father later had a falling out over what Rasmussen called unspecified "differences."[16]

Speaking about his political views, Rasmussen said, "I was brought up loosely as a Republican, but at our family dinner table we talked about the important politics of the New York Giants and the New York Yankees. There was no political discussion in my life growing up. I became a Democrat after Richard Nixon and into the Jimmy Carter era and have been an Independent ever since. I spoke today about how the American people were skeptical about politicians—well, I’m more skeptical. I really do see the core issue as the political class versus mainstream voters. I think that is a much bigger gap than Republican, Democrat, conservative, or liberal."[2]

Education

Rasmussen graduated from Minnechaug Regional High School in 1974 and was goaltender for the high school hockey team.[21] He started college at the University of Connecticut, and took a class with pollster Everett Ladd.[16] Rasmussen went on to earn a bachelor's degree in history at his father's alma mater, DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, graduating in 1986,[22] and later an executive MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University.[20]

Public opinion polling

Main article: Rasmussen Reports

Rasmussen first became known for his public opinion polling work. In the 1990s, he volunteered as a pollster for friends who were attempting to impose congressional term limits.[23] In 1995, he founded a polling company called GrassRoots Research.[20] In 1999, after changing the name to Rasmussen Research, the company was bought by TownPagesNet.com for about $4.5 million in ordinary shares.[20]

Rasmussen is the former president of Rasmussen Reports, LLC (a separate company that he founded in 2003). Rasmussen Reports generates a daily cycle of news reports based on original survey results.[24] The results track the political world, current events, consumer confidence and business topics. The company is one of only two firms providing daily tracking updates of the president’s job approval ratings and consumer confidence.[25]

Rasmussen's polls are notable for their use of automated public opinion polling, involving pre-recorded telephone inquiries. These types of polls have been shown to produce accurate results at low cost, but some have doubted their reliability.[26]

The Washington Post referred to Rasmussen as "a driving force in American politics" and "an articulate and frequent guest on Fox News and other outlets, where his nominally nonpartisan data is often cited to support Republican talking points."[16] In the Wall Street Journal, political journalist John Fund called him "America’s insurgent pollster”.[27]

Law professor Susan Estrich has said, “If you really want to know what people in America think, you can't find a smarter guy to ask than Scott Rasmussen."[28]

Rasmussen has described himself as "an independent pollster" who "[l]ike the company he started, [...] maintains his independence and has never been a campaign pollster or consultant for candidates seeking office."[24] Speaking about the use of his polling data by Republicans, in 2009 Rasmussen said, “Republicans right now are citing our polls more than Democrats because it’s in their interest to do so. I would not consider myself a political conservative — that implies an alignment with Washington politics that I don’t think I have.”[29]

In 2010, some Democrats criticized Rasmussen's polling methodology. Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said Rasmussen Reports polls "tend to be among the worst polls for Democrats." Tom Jensen, a pollster for Democratic firm Public Policy Polling said: "The way [Rasmussen] does polls is that he’s more likely to get high-energy voters. I think Rasmussen favors Republicans this year, but I don’t think he inherently favors Republicans.”[30]

Departure from Rasmussen Reports

In July 2013, Rasmussen left his position as president of Rasmussen Reports.[31] In a press release from Rasmussen Reports, the company confirmed Rasmussen's departure and said, "In part, the move reflects disagreements over company business strategies. ... The Company emphasized that Mr. Rasmussen's legacy remains intact. His polling methodologies and protocols, widely acknowledged as among the most accurate and reliable in the industry, continue to guide and inform the company’s public opinion survey techniques. In addition, the editorial culture of excellence that he built is still very much in place."[32][33]

After his departure, Scott Rasmussen announced the creation of Rasmussen Media Group, to "develop and invest in digital media opportunities." Rasmussen Media Group said that the "new venture reflects a transition from Rasmussen's role as a scorekeeper in the nation's political dialogue to becoming a more active participant," especially in critiquing "crony capitalism and the unholy alliance between big government and big business."[31][34]

Rasmussen wrote a column about the changing landscape of the polling industry, writing, "New technology will fundamentally alter the ways that polls are conducted. Other online techniques will replace polling entirely in some situations. These shifts will be good for everyone except those who defend the status quo."[35]

Political commentary

Rasmussen writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column through Creators Syndicate and gives daily syndicated news updates through WOR Radio Network. From September 2012 through July 2013, he hosted a syndicated television show called What America Thinks With Scott Rasmussen with WCBS-TV as the New York station.[7][36][37]

Rasmussen has appeared as a guest analyst on local and national broadcast news outlets across America and internationally, including the Fox News Channel, the BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC and NPR. In 2010 he made an appearance on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.[38] Rasmussen’s polls are frequently quoted by media sources and political figures and have received mentions on entertainment shows such as The Tonight Show. He is also regularly quoted in print and online publications,[39] including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times.

Rasmussen is a professional speaker, traveling the country to discuss public opinion on politics, business and lifestyle issues.[40] In February 2013, Rasmussen delivered an address entitled "Sweeping Change is Coming to America" at his alma mater, DePauw University, as part of the school's 175th Anniversary Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series.[41]

In September 2013, Rasmussen spoke at Yale University where he called the national political discourse surrounding the Republican Party’s failed 2012 campaign “irrelevant and a total waste of time.” He said, "I believe all the obsession about candidates and tactics is pretty misguided. [A candidate has] to have a compelling message...that is uplifting and positive and consistent,” and also, "A one-size-fits-all government cannot survive in an iPad era." Speaking about leaving Rasmussen Reports, he said "I have a bigger vision of what I’d like to be doing. I’d like to be involved in actually empowering public opinion rather than just reporting on what’s been happening.”[42]

In April 2014, Rasmussen spoke to a group of Bryan College benefactors. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Rasmussen said "If we want to solve our country's problems, we should look to each other, not to the nation's capital," and noted that "Though there are 535 reasons in Congress to be pessimistic...there are 65 million reasons to be optimistic – the number of people who volunteer their time across the country."[43] In a related column, Rasmussen wrote that he was optimistic about the future of America because "All told, [volunteers] contributed just less than 8 billion hours last year, time worth an estimated $175 billion dollars."[44]

In 2015, Rasmussen wrote that he views himself as significantly more pessimistic about the American political system than most Americans, but that he is highly optimistic about the future of the country.[45] He also opined that all levels of American government are losing the legitimacy they need to function, and that winning political office is different than gaining legitimacy.[46][47]

Books

In his 2010 book titled In Search of Self-Governance, Rasmussen wrote: “Americans don’t want to be governed from the left, the right, or the center. They want to govern themselves."[48] Rasmussen makes a case that America's "historic commitment to self-governance is under assault by a governing clique revolving around Washington, D.C. and Wall Street" and argues that "unfortunately, even after more than 200 years of success, there is an urgent need to defend this most basic of American values."[49]

In 2010, Rasmussen co-authored a book on the Tea Party movement with pollster Douglas Schoen, Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System, published by HarperCollins.[50] The bailouts of big banks in 2008–09 by the Bush and Obama administrations triggered the Tea Party’s rise, said Rasmussen in September 2010. He added that the movement's anger centers on two issues, "They think federal spending, deficits and taxes are too high, and they think no one in Washington is listening to them, and that latter point is really, really important."[51] In the book, Rasmussen and Schoen argue for a three-step proposal that they call "the last hope" for politicians to regain trust.

Rasmussen's 2012 book, "The People's Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt," argues that "America's Political Class Wants to govern like it's 1775, a time when kings were kings and consent of the governed didn't matter." Through polling data, he searches to demonstrate that the federal government today does not have the consent of the governed.[52] The book reached number 17 on the New York Times Bestseller List in March 2012.[53]

Columns

Rasmussen is the author of a weekly syndicated newspaper column through Creators Syndicate. Rasmussen's columns incorporate public opinion polling data and public policy issues. Columns have warned against the "new elites" who are using the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street,[54] and supported ending crony capitalism by "busting up the big banks."[55]

Rasmussen and Schoen have collaborated on several opinion editorials, including One Nation Under Revolt,[56] Why Obama Can't Move the Health Care Numbers,[57] The Last Hope for Democrats and Republicans to Regain Trust,[58] and Obama Is Losing Independent Voters.[59] They also noted the decline in the president's approval ratings in Obama's Poll Numbers Are Falling to Earth.[60]

Rasmussen has independently authored several Wall Street Journal columns, including a piece on how Obama won the White House by campaigning like Ronald Reagan[61] and an overview of the healthcare reform debate.[62]

His work has appeared in USA Today, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Investor's Business Daily, the Christian Science Monitor and other major publications.[24]

Rasmussen was a weekly columnist for conservative news web site World Net Daily in 2000 and 2001.[63] In some of these columns, as well as in a 2001 book titled "A Better Deal! Social Security Choice" and a presentation at the Cato Institute, Rasmussen advocated privatization of the Social Security program.[29][64]

Radio

In April 2012, WOR Radio Network began syndicating three different one-minute daily news updates by Rasmussen.[65]

Television

In September 2012, Rasmussen began hosting a nationally syndicated television program called What America Thinks With Scott Rasmussen. On the show, Rasmussen interviewed Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin.[66] An episode of the show, titled What New Hampshire Thinks, won a 2012 Granite Mike Award from the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters.[67][68]

Styrk.com

In 2014, Rasmussen launched Styrk.com, a digital news service which functions as a multi-channel news platform and social network. Former Miss America Kirsten Haglund serves as Styrk.com's lead anchor. Styrk.com's tagline is "news in the language of everyday Americans."[69][70][71]

Personal life

Rasmussen lives in Ocean Grove, New Jersey with his wife Laura.[2] From 2006–2011, Rasmussen served as volunteer president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA), "a ministry organization whose mission is to provide opportunities for spiritual birth, growth, and renewal in a Christian seaside setting."[72] OGCMA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.[73]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "Taking the Pulse of America". Living Media. 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Britton, Tori (January 18, 2011). "Polling the Pollster". Maine Ahead. Archived from the original on March 22, 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Will the changing of the guard really end the gridlock in Washington?". Fox. Nov 10, 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Scott Rasmussen". Styrk. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Scott Rasmussen Biography". Rasmussen Media Group. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Opinion Columns: Scott Rasmussen". Creators Syndicate. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 Cramer, Ruby (2012-10-25). "The Secret Economy Of Pollsters". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Scott Rasmussen '86 Launches New Media Venture". DePauw University. August 8, 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Scott Rasmussen". LinkedIn. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Will the changing of the guard really end the gridlock in Washington?". Fox News. November 10, 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Scott Rasmussen: Obama's Failures to Rally GOP in Midterms". NewsMax. October 7, 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  12. ↑ Allen, Mike (November 9, 2014). "Politico Playbook". Politico. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  13. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2012). The People's Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt. Threshold Editions. ISBN 1451666101.
  14. ↑ "Lois Ann Mickey RASMUSSEN". Legacy.com. Seattle Times. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Schwabel, Dan (September 13, 2012). "How Bill Rasmussen Started ESPN and His Entrepreneurship Advice". Forbes. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pollster Scott Rasmussen's numbers are firing up Republicans and Democrats". Washington Post. 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  17. ↑ "Scott W. Rasmussen - Summer Tents in Ocean Grove". Scottrasmussen.net. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  18. ↑ "Working With Gordie Howe". Scott W. Rasmussen. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "Sports' Junkies Rejoice:The Birth of ESPN", Bill Rasmussen; QV Publishing, inc., Hartsdale, New York (November 1983)
  20. 1 2 3 4 He got out of sports to be a poll vaulter Business North Carolina, October 1, 1996
  21. ↑ Tom Shea: Rasmussen Reports founder Scott Rassmussen has Pioneer Valley ties Masslive.com, August 29, 2010
  22. ↑ Pollster Scott Rasmussen '86 Has Yet to See Convention Bounce for Barack Obama DePauw University News, August 28, 2008
  23. ↑ "Meet the Man Who Takes America's Pulse". Washington Business Magazine. Spring 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  24. 1 2 3 "About Us". Rasmussenreports.com. 2010-03-14. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  25. ↑ "Weekly Standard 12/21/10". Weeklystandard.com. 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  26. ↑ Use of Likely Voter Model Does Not Explain Rasmussen "House Effect", by Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight.com, April 17, 2010
  27. ↑ Fund, John (2010-08-21). "Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2010". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  28. ↑ "Estrich commentary, Creators.org, 2009". Creators.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  29. 1 2 David Weigel: Rasmussen, the Only Poll that Matters The Washington Independent, 18 February 2009
  30. ↑ Isenstadt, Alex (2010-01-02). "Low favorables: Democrats rip Rasmussen". Politico. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  31. 1 2 Blumenthal, Mark; Edwards-Levy, Ariel (2013-08-22). "Pollster Scott Rasmussen Leaves Firm He Founded A Decade Ago". Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  32. ↑ "Rasmussen Reports Announces a Change in Management". Rasmussen Reports. 2013-08-22. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  33. ↑ Byers, Dylan (2013-08-22). "Rasmussen founder leaves company". Politico. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  34. ↑ Diamond, Michael (2013-08-22). "Scott Rasmussen leaves the Asbury Park polling company he founded". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  35. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2013-08-23). "The Digital Threat to the Political Class". Creators Syndicate. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  36. ↑ "For Voters, Tax Reform Means Tax Equality by Scott Rasmussen on Creators.com - A Syndicate of Talent". Creators.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  37. ↑ Staff. "Telco Develops Syndie Offerings With Rasmussen". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  38. ↑ "on The Colbert Report March 11, 2010". Colbertnation.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  39. ↑ "In The News". Rasmussenreports.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  40. ↑ Scott Rasmussen Premiere Motivational Speakers
  41. ↑ "Pollster Scott Rasmussen '86 Presents 175th Anniversary Lecture, February 20". DePauw University. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  42. ↑ Wolf-Sorokin, Jacob (2013-09-27). "Pollster Rasmussen criticizes Republican discourse". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  43. ↑ Hardy, Kevin (2014-04-12). "Look to each other, not Washington, pollster tells crowd at Chattanooga Convention Center". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  44. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2014-04-04). "65 Million Reasons for Optimism". Creators Syndicate. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  45. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (April 24, 2015). "Depressed Journalists Are Depressing Nation". Townhall.com. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  46. ↑ "Power, legitimacy not the same thing". Tyler Telegraph. May 11, 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  47. ↑ Rasmsussen, Scott (May 8, 2015). "The Legitimacy Crisis". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  48. ↑ "KCSG Television - Americans Strongly Support Ideals of Declaration of Independence". Kcsg.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  49. ↑ Forester, John. "In Search of Self-Governance (9781449593544): Scott W. Rasmussen: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  50. ↑ "HarperCollins, 2010". Harpercollins.com. 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  51. ↑ Caddell, Patrick (2010-01-14). "Don't Shoot The Pollster, Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2010". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  52. ↑ The People's Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-6610-6.
  53. ↑ "Best Sellers". The New York Times.
  54. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2013-03-15). "Beware of the New Elites". Creators Syndicate. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  55. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2013-03-22). "It's Time To Bust Up the Big Banks". Creators Syndicate. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  56. ↑ One Nation Under Revolt
  57. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2010-03-09). "Wall Street Journal March 9, 2010". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  58. ↑ The Last Hope for Democrats and Republicans to Regain Trust
  59. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2009-11-14). "Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2009". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  60. ↑ Schoen, Douglas E. (2009-03-13). "Wall Street Journal, Obama's Poll Numbers Are Falling to Earth March 13, 2009". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  61. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2008-11-10). "Wall Street Journal November 10, 2008, The Polls Show That Reaganism Is Not Dead". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  62. ↑ Rasmussen, Scott (2009-08-07). "Health Reform and the Polls, Wall Street Journal August 7, 2009". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  63. ↑ "Top pollster joins WND as analyst". World Net Daily. September 13, 2000. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  64. ↑ "Truth about Social Security reform". Wnd.com. 2001-01-10. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  65. ↑ "WOR Radio Network to Syndicate "Rasmussen Report" Feature". Talkers Magazine. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  66. ↑ Fowler, Jack. "Kudlow, Rasmussen: Why Weekends Exist!". National Review. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  67. ↑ "2012 Granite Mikes Winners". NHAB. Archived from the original on April 28, 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  68. ↑ Stead, Cynthia (2013-01-03). "Faithfully moving into the new year". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  69. ↑ "About Us". Styrk.com. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  70. ↑ Blumenthal, Mark; Edwards-Levy, Ariel (January 13, 2015). "HUFFPOLLSTER: American Worries About Terrorism Remain Largely Unchanged". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  71. ↑ Wood, Genevieve (November 3, 2014). "Will Obama Be More Harmful to Democrats Than Nixon Was to Republicans?". Daily Signal. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  72. ↑ Scheller, Christine (2011-12-11). "Lifelong Ocean Grove Resident Takes Helm of Camp Meeting Association". Manasquan-Belmar Patch. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  73. ↑ "About The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association". Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association Website. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
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