Political Polls

I received a phone call last night from someone who claimed he was a college student (not sure why that mattered unless they wanted me to think it was for a class project or something) and that he was conducting a political poll. Unfortunately, I neglected to ask who was conducting the poll. A newspaper? A well-known polling organization? No idea.

Once we get past the typical questions to establish my normal voting habits, this is when things go weird. The questions almost immediately started sounding rigged to get a particular answer or for a particular party. For example, there were was a question which asked which of two candidates I would vote for – a Democrat or a Republican. The question said nothing about the Democrat, but gave details about the Republican’s support of Bush’s policy on the war in Iraq.

Most of the questions, however, seemed to be centered around the Texas Supreme Court – which is apparently all Republicans (I did not know this before they told me). There were several questions where they revealed that the Texas Supreme court sided with “Big Business” over the individual in 95% of all cases before asking their question. The kicker for me, though, was when we got to the part where he was supposed to list qualities of a candidate and I was supposed to say whether I would be more or less likely to vote a candidate with that quality. The question was, “Would you be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who said they were confident that none of their cases would be overturned on appeal by the Texas Supreme Court because of their large campaign contributions as Linda somebody-or-other did on some-such date?”

It was at that point that I laughed at the guy. That is the most ridiculous question I ever heard. He was supposed to be listing qualities and he had to throw in a specific candidates name. The poll was nothing more than an attempt to sway opinion by sneaking in these little facts so they would be implanted in the person’s mind when they heard these accusations against a particular candidate. When I told him what I thought of his poll, his answer was “I’m just reading what’s on the computer screen.”

I’m really fed up at most of the political process and the lengths people will go to lie, cheat, and steal their way into office. It’s no secret that I lean conservative and mostly vote Republican, but I hear so many negative things said about the Republicans and particularly about George W. that I’m afraid to voice my political views to anyone. Any conversation on the issues turns into a discussion about George W. and the war on Iraq.

I would consider voting Democrat in the this upcoming election as long as Hillary doesn’t win the nomination – I can’t stand that woman. Unfortunately, even if I particularly liked any of the Republican candidates I don’t think they can win just because of the way public opinion has gone. Oh well, I guess it’s back to the land of taxes, outrageous spending, universal health care, abortions for all, and oral sex in the White House.