Sunday, November 2, 2008

I Just Hung-up on Rassmussen

That's (at least) the third pollster I've hung-up on this political season. I'm not the only one doing it. Jerry Pournelle (via Instapundit) has hung-up on five pollsters. Jerry remarks:
The polls do not record the "refused to respond"... and I suspect that more McCain people refuse to respond than the trendier Obama enthusiasts.
...
But the election is not over. There are more decline to answer voters than it takes to change the election.
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The way to win elections is to get those who intend to vote for your candidate to go vote. Few readers here are not capable of getting two or three voters to the polls. That's well over a million votes. Think on it.
Don't just think on that. Make a plan to vote. Talk to your friends and relatives and plan for the great voting field trip. My daughter will be in pre-school so I'll have a couple hours to wait in line to vote. If you've got an infant, toddlers, or multiple schedules to work around, then you need a voting buddy. Ask a friend or relative to join you on your trek. One of you can supervise the kids at Monkey Joes or McDonalds or even at home while the other votes. Perhaps you and your voting buddy are in the same precinct and can help each other corral the tots at the polls. Think of it as a good civics lesson topped off with a trip for hot chocolate afterwards.

I want to return to polling for a second... I've been thinking to myself: "why do I keep hanging-up on pollsters?" And I think I have an answer. I've noticed that I'm generally pretty agitated when I learn that it's a pollster—I get at least one sales call a day, every day, and I'm never as annoyed as I've been when I get a pollster. Annoyed isn't quite right... I'm livid when it's a pollster.

I see the pollsters as part of the MSM. There's the WashingtonPost-ABC news poll, CNN/Opinion Research, Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby, and Fox News/Opinion Dynamics. Rassmussen and Gallup may not have an explicit media sponsor, but they still seem like part of the MSM. As a conservative, I'm certain that the MSM is covering for Obama, so I believe my refusal to talk to pollsters comes from the reasonable fear that those pollsters will use my opinion to carry more water for the Obama campaign.

As Victor Davis Hanson observed the other day: "we have never quite seen anything like the current media infatuation with Barack Obama." It's not only the MSM that's coming to an end. Their implosion will continue to result in damage to organizations and individuals within their orbit.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"You watch your television because it tells you that you should." -Supertramp

What? You still have a land line?

Pollsters don't usually call cell phones, leaving a growing gap in thier demographics. I have no sales calls thanks to the no-call list, and no political calls (vote for me-calls), and no polster calls on my cell phone. Echoing a sentiment in another of your posts, I'm kind of nostalgic for the day. But not THAT nostalgic that I want them to call me.

I never understood why Americans are so gullible that they are often flattered to give up valuable information to pollsters for no other consideration than they were asked. I always told/tell pollsters and sales people who say I am a "valued customer," "If this information I have about my opinion is so valuable and important for you to get from me, let's talk about it after your check clears my bank." I have yet to enter the negotiation phase where we talk about how much my opinion is worth, and it turns out that it isn't really worth much if they think they may have to give something up for it. And if my opinion is not worth much, why do they ask? Simply because most people will give it up for free.

Heck, most people will advertise other people's products for free. Want me to pay extra so I can walk around advertising your designer jeans, Tommy Hilfiger? Pay ME. I took all the insignia off one of my cars once, because I didn't like it anymore, and wasn't going to drive it around giving away free mobile advertising for a product I didn't like. There.

Cut the land line, man.

Zeno