Panel: Has Polling Killed Democracy?

[Bradley in DC]

They usually webcast these kinds of things...

Panel: Has Polling Killed Democracy?

On Friday, April 25 from 9:00 AM to 12:15 PM, the Governing America in a Global Era (GAGE) program at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs will host a panel, "Has Polling Killed Democracy?"
Download Media Advisory [PDF]

WHO: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia

WHAT: Panel: Has Polling Killed Democracy?

Featuring: Mark Blumenthal, Co-editor of Pollster.com and author of
the Mystery Pollster blog

Benjamin Ginsberg, David H. Bernstein Professor of Political
Science at The Johns Hopkins University

Sarah Igo, Associate Professor of History at the University
of Pennsylvania

Donald Kinder, Philip E. Converse Collegiate Professor and
Chair of Political Science at the University of Michigan

Moderators: Paul Freedman and Lynn Sanders, Associate Professors of
Politics at the University of Virginia

WHEN: Friday, April 25, 2008
9:00 AM - 12:15 PM ET

WHERE: Miller Center Forum Room
2201 Old Ivy Road
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4406

[acptulsa]

I wanna vote on this! Why didn't you set this thread up as a poll?!

[Bradley in DC]

Poll created by request. It expires before the panel starts. :cool:

[silverhandorder]

I am cautious to blame polling. Who's fault is it that people do not vote with their heart?

[acptulsa]

The whole premise is funny as hell. Has polling killed the form of government where all decisions are made by poll? Hmmm...

[Andrew-Austin]

I voted yes, because the yes answer easily had the most votes therefor it must be correct.

[acptulsa]

I voted yes, because the yes answer easily had the most votes therefor it must be correct.

LOL Isn't it fun to back a winner?

[Andrew-Austin]

LOL Isn't it fun to back a winner?

My horse won the race!!! Weeeeeeee!!!

Golly I'm so smart, and politically correct.

:p

[James Madison]

I voted no but only for the fact that the United States is a constitutional republic and not a democracy. If anything, polling helps to reinforce the misconception that we are a democracy by saying "this is what the people want" when in reality the "people" don't even choose the president. This has always confused me.

[menoname]

I think the primaries should be split up for two days only. Half one day, half another day. Separated by a month. None of this early primary crap.

[Richie]

We're not a Democracy! We're a Republic with Democratic characteristics!

[fedup100]

"Polling" is mob rule!!

[nate895]

Polling itself had not killed the republican process, it has killed through the way the media uses it. They don't say "here's where things stand now," they say "obviously candidates X, Y, and Z cannot win since they are currently at 1% in the August before the election." The MSM also uses it to give out media attention and "debate" time. I think that the media should be required to host candidates (who qualify for FEC funds) and stories about them equally, which would mean that people can begin to change their minds about who they want to be President and all of a sudden that 1% can become 5%, which could then become 10%, and so on.

[Banana]

In a sense, polling brings democracy to republic, which is just as bad. If the question was "has polling killed Republic?" then the answer is a resounding yes.

[Malakai0]

Yeah polling is bad news. People have been taught they need to back the winners, not the people who represent their ideals. Not to mention people who run the polls are almost always private companies who release little to no real info about their polls.

[Bradley in DC]

NEWS RELEASE Contacts:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lisa Todorovich, Asst. Dir., Communications
434.243.4096; ltodorovich@virginia.edu

Kim Curtis, Communications Assistant
434.243.2985; kcurtis@virginia.edu

April 25 Panel: Has Polling Killed Democracy?

http://millercenter.org/academic/gage/colloquium/detail/3896

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA., April 11, 2008--The Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia is hosting a special panel, "Has Polling Killed Democracy?" on Friday, April 25 from 9:00 AM to 12:15 PM, presented by the Miller Center's Governing America in a Global Era (GAGE) program. Download Press Release [PDF]

Mark Blumenthal, the Co-Editor of Pollster.com and author of the Mystery Pollster blog, will join Sarah Igo, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania; Benjamin Ginsberg, the David Bernstein Professor of Political Science at the John Hopkins University; and Donald Kinder, Chair of Political Science at the University of Michigan, to discuss public opinion polling's effects on American democracy. Paul Freedman and Lynn Sanders, Associate Professors of Politics at the University of Virginia, will moderate.

The panel will include two sessions:
The Promise and Perils of Polling (9:00 AM - 10:30 AM)
The Practice and Future of Polling (10:45 AM - 12:15 PM)
"Public opinion polling has become a fundamental part of democratic politics," said Brian Balogh, GAGE Co-Chair and Associate Professor of History. "These panel discussions will bring together scholars, practitioners and public intellectuals to discuss whether it has improved the quality of deliberation, or debilitated it. We will also explore future trends in public opinion polling."

"Has Polling Killed Democracy?" will be held at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. The panel is free and open to the public. More information, including panelist essays, is available online at
http://www.millercenter.org/public/conferences/polling. This event will be webcast live and archived online at www.millercenter.org.


Founded in 1975, the Miller Center of Public Affairs is a leading nonpartisan public policy institution that aims to fulfill Jefferson's public service mission by serving as a national meeting place for engaged citizens, scholars, students, media representatives and government officials to research, reflect, and report on issues of national importance to the governance of the United States, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency.

[MS0453]

I voted no but only for the fact that the United States is a constitutional republic and not a democracy. If anything, polling helps to reinforce the misconception that we are a democracy by saying "this is what the people want" when in reality the "people" don't even choose the president. This has always confused me.

At this point, I think we're a republic in name only: direct election of senators, referendums, initiatives, etc all thanks to the Progressive Era. Just wait until the electoral college is gone.

[yongrel]

The media hit democracy with a bus and gave it brain damage. Polls are like the left headlight of that bus.

[Bradley in DC]

Bump, starting in a bit (though I'll be on my way to the vet in a bit)

[Aratus]

in light of obama's choise of biden today... one can wonder... sorta...

[fatjohn]

This thread is to ironic to not mention how ironic it is.

[Matt Collins]

Who cares? We are not a democracy, and I honestly don't know of one.... Greece might be close if I remember correctly.