First, a bit of trivia about South Carolina Politics. Anyone can vote in the primaries. For example, you don’t have to be a registered Republican to vote in the Republican primaries, and likewise for the Democrat primaries. However, it is one or the other. If you vote in one party’s primary, you cannot vote in the other’s primary.
In this amazingly conservative state, if we are to have any say at primary time, we have to vote in the Republican primaries. There just isn’t that much competition in the Democrat primaries, and some offices don’t even field a candidate. Unfortunately, voting in the Republican primaries we are often labeled by pollsters as Republicans (perish the thought.) This is where the fun starts.
In the last couple of weeks, we have received two polls – one from Elizabeth Dole, and the other from Bill Frist. Both of these were the most egregious examples of push polls imaginable, especially Dole’s. Here are some examples of leading questions…
Do you agree with liberal Democrats who want to reverse President Bush’s tax cuts? Yes/No
My, my, my. First, why even include the phrase "liberal Democrats?" Oh, but I forget, this poll is targeted toward Republicans. So why even bother with this question?
Should the Republican Party push for additional tax cuts to further stimulate the economy? Yes/No
First, there is no indication that the previous tax cuts stimulate the economy. Secondly, I would think that any cuts would have had to be with the cooperation of Democrats, and wouldn’t be exclusively a Republican endeavor.
Some Democrats have been lobbying for government-run health care in the United States. Do you support a plan that would hand over your health care to the federal government? Yes/No
Well, by even associating the name of the enemy with this, how could the target demographic say anything else?
Do you believe our nation is too dependent on foreign oil? Yes/No
Duh. And I suppose you’re going to tell me that the Republicans are the only ones that can fix this.
As the world’s most powerful nation, President Bush believes that the United States has a special responisbility to make the world more secure. Do you support President Bush’s vision for pretecting our nation that includes both opposing and preventing violence by terrorists and outlaw regimes, as well as fostering an era of good relations among the world’s great powers? Yes/No
So, I guess by answering No, you’re saying that you support terrorists. No leadng question there.
Should we put an end to lawsuit abuse that is draining on our economy, ruining our health care system and costing jobs? Yes/No
At this point I begin to wonder why even pretend this a serious survey. How much money was wasted on paper and postage? But wait, there’s more…
Do you support the protection of traditional marriage – between a man and a woman? Yes/No
Should we continue to fight for law-abiding individual’s 2nd Amendment rights? Yes/No
All of those questions were from Elizabeth Dole’s survey. Bill Frist’s wasn’t as blatently leading, but was still slanted. Of course, both include a large section on how you could donate to the Republican party.
I don’t think I will ever take polling seriously unless it was conducted by a truly independent group. But then, how is one to know if a pollster is truly independent?
