Sunday, September 14, 2008

Utah Democrats Need To Stop Push Polling

No matter how much you want to spin it, this article is correct in calling a spade a spade.

The Republicans are calling it "negative push polling." Democrats say it's "persuasive voter identity polling" and GOP candidates have done it before in Utah.

Either way, it is the use of the latest in telephone marketing techniques to identify voters — those who are already with your candidate, those who could be persuaded to vote for your candidate, and those who have "made up their minds and who you don't want to waste money on calling again" — as Utah Democratic Party executive director Todd Taylor puts it.

Democrats are making the calls into several Utah House and Senate districts where they believe they have a chance of winning this year. Several thousand Sandy residents are reportedly getting calls from both sides of a close race between House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, and his Democratic challenger, Jay Seegmiller.


A rose by any other name.....

You can put lipstick on a pig......

And, as Vice Chairman Rob Miller points out, in the comments on the article, Executive Director Todd Taylor posted the script of the call:

Hello, my name is (caller’s first name). Is (voter’s first name) available? I am calling from the Utah Democratic Party with a couple of quick questions about the upcoming elections.

If the election for your State House of Representative were held today and the candidates were Democrat Jay Seegmiller who is concerned about legislators using their public office for private gain and Republican Greg Curtis who is Speaker of the House who thinks conflict of interest is natural in a citizen legislature, for whom would you vote?”


If it quacks like a duck.....

If it lies like a Republican.....

Oh, and by saying Well....the Republicans do it.... is not a good excuse.

The reason people my age do not get involved in politics and don't vote, is because politicians pull crap like this.

It needs to stop. And it needs to stop. Yesterday.

Will someone rise above the fray?

-Bob

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You may not agree that an honest poll should take place, but what about the absolute lies that the GOP are spreading on the telephone about Rep. Brad King and Jay Seegmiller?

There is nothing wrong or dishonest with Mr. Taylor's poll except with your self-righteous back seat driver attitude.

Anonymous said...

Bob,

If you think what we are doing is push polling, then you need to get an education.

As a former teacher, you get at best a C- on this. You have missed a basic definition of terms and consequently miss any understanding the application as a tactic.

Mr. Bernick at the Deseret News fails to understand, either, despite years of trying to educate him. He is hopeless at understanding the science or art of polling. In this subject, he is a solid "C" student, too. It is really too bad that he calls the shots on polling for the D News.

Yet, Quinn Monson at BYU and the Salt Lake Trib immediately got it.

Todd

Rob said...

Talk about thinking of an elephant Bob.

Still love ya, but I absolutely agree with Todd.

Rob

BTW, when are you going to stand up and help me clean up Gotham?

I sure would appreciate a call.

Cameron said...

I agree with Bob.

Whatever you want to call those phone call scripts, they aren't just "gathering information".

Rob said...

Of course you do Cameron, you used to be a democrat until you learned to read, Right?