Why does RP seem to do badly in MSM national polls?

[AceNZ]

Often when RP is mentioned in the MSM, it seems to be with an introduction that starts out something like "he's at the bottom of the polls" or "in a recent Gallup poll of Republican voters, 2% of the respondants said they would vote for him".

I don't believe those numbers, and of course they don't mesh at all with the straw poll results posted on ronpaul2008.com. Does anyone know any of the specifics behind how those polls are done? Who exactly is being polled? What questions are being asked? Who typically sponsors the polls (pays for them and picks the questions, demographics, etc)?

I'm trying to figure out if this is MSM distorting (or lying) about the poll results, or if there's something wrong with their polling methodology. Is there anything we can do to improve the results? Should we sponsor our own poll to help counter the disinfo campaigns?

[allyinoh]

Because polls are rigged.

Didn't you see the video with Penn and Teller? Frank Luntz is a pollster and admitted that you can say the right words to get the results you want.

Polls are meaningless.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=If9EWDB_zK4 (Here's the video I was talking about)

[hard@work]

Who they poll, how they poll them, and name recognition has been our enemy. Now we have a way to be rid of the name recognition issue. Only when that has been accomplished will we be able to truly gauge the real poll numbers.

[AdamT]

The MSM clings to their tainted polls like the word of God, even though their methods are antiquated.

[walt]

we need to bring FUNDING for polling to it's knees

[Dlynne]

Jessie Benton, RP's campaign manager was asked that question last night.

He said the pollsters for the 2008 Republican nomination only poll people who actually voted Republican in 2006, and in 2006 a lot of Republicans did not vote. Therefore, the field of eligible "pollees" is limited to a certain subset, and does not include likely or even eligible voters in the 2008 election.

[Ron Paul Fan]

If they truly aren't rigged then we'll hopefully see a rise very soon! Ron Paul now has the money to get his name out there via tv ads in all of the early primary states! Our biggest issue seems to be name recognition because the old media won't give him any press. They will today and at the end of the quarter right before the primaries when it's official that he raised $10 million+. The message speaks for itself and the poll numbers will rise!

[ronpaulfan]

The MSM are evil. Watch this about the Fox Debate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m6N53nidw

[TruckinMike]

Why does RP seem to do badly in MSM national polls?

And NO the polls are not rigged!

take a walk outside your door.... ask the first person that you see to tell you RP's positions.

They will ask you "is he a yoga instructor?"....GET IT!:eek:

People DO NOT know who RP is...

WE must put up signs!!! BY the thousands...Do not let this money bomb make you believe that people knows who he is... Because they DO NOT!

In comes the The SIGN BOMB! its the only way...and its very cost effective.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=360060#post360060


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1132/1357613106_142df3f50d.jpg


Truckin'Mike

[freelance]

Jessie Benton, RP's campaign manager was asked that question last night.

He said the pollsters for the 2008 Republican nomination only poll people who actually voted Republican in 2006, and in 2006 a lot of Republicans did not vote. Therefore, the field of eligible "pollees" is limited to a certain subset, and does not include likely or even eligible voters in the 2008 election.

Here's your "rigging."

[dude58677]

I know people that knew who he was and I didn't even have to tell them who he was.

[AceNZ]

I know polls can be manipulated -- I was hoping someone might know some details of exactly how the manipulation is being done. Regardless though, for the average American, unfortunately I think those numbers have an impact. A lot of people won't vote for someone they think is going to lose, regardless of how powerful their message is.

Should we play this game too? Precisely because MSM clings to polls, could it be an effective technique?

[micahnelson]

http://www.micahnelson.com/?p=122

http://www.micahnelson.com/?p=56

These two articles I wrote address the issue of polling.

Our name recognition is low, so we CERTAINLY need to work on that.

Our base is not within the demographic that typically gets polled. Many of us supporting Ron Paul are former "other" parties, disaffected Republicans, or young people. These large segments of Dr. Paul's support are not reachable by polls.

[freelance]

I know polls can be manipulated -- I was hoping someone might know some details of exactly how the manipulation is being done.

Jessee Benton told you:


Originally Posted by Dlynne View Post
Jessie Benton, RP's campaign manager was asked that question last night.

He said the pollsters for the 2008 Republican nomination only poll people who actually voted Republican in 2006, and in 2006 a lot of Republicans did not vote. Therefore, the field of eligible "pollees" is limited to a certain subset, and does not include likely or even eligible voters in the 2008 election.

[BillyDkid]

And NO the polls are not rigged!

take a walk outside your door.... ask the first person that you see to tell you RP's positions.

They will ask you "is he a yoga instructor?"....GET IT!:eek:

People DO NOT know who RP is...

WE must put up signs!!! BY the thousands...Do not let this money bomb make you believe that people knows who he is... Because they DO NOT!

In comes the The SIGN BOMB! its the only way...and its very cost effective.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=360060#post360060


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1132/1357613106_142df3f50d.jpg


Truckin'MikeThat is not entirely true. Often Ron Paul is left off as a choice altogether. I don't know, but I would call that rigging.

[James R]

A lot of people won't vote for someone they think is going to lose, regardless of how powerful their message is.

True. How anyone could vote for any of the media-manufactured candidates and pretend they aren't wasting their vote is beyond me.

Guiliani = Wasted Vote. For sheep only!
Clinton = Wasted Vote. For sheep only!
Obama = Wasted Vote. For sheep only!
Ron Paul = Valuable Vote! No special interests. Honest. Intelligent.

In fact I could make that into a sign!

[Bradley in DC]

You'll find that very few people follow politics and most don't know who he is yet. (Of course, those people aren't likely to vote at all. ;))

[rockwell]

I'll tell you what my next door neighbor told me and he is an exec at one of the largest *National Polling Companies* (name withheld to protect my next door neighbor).

"Who do you think pays for the poll? What do you think they want to hear when they pay us to take one? Don't be naive."

UN-QUOTE

I have been called on a landline that we've had since the 1950s to take place in polls and on more than one occassion after agreeing to participate and even getting through a majority of the poll I have been hung up on when my answers weren't going the way the pollster was guiding me. Specifically I recall one about immigration and every question was phrased like this "Are you extremely satisfied, very satisfied, satisfied, or somewhat satisfied with the benefits of immigration" and I remember saying I am very unhappy with immigration policy and was disconnected.

I'm a registered Repub and have voted in every election since 1980 and no one has ever called me on a presidential poll.

This is of course anecdotal, but I would be curious how many people on this forum have ever been polled or have been "push polled". That might answer your question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp4iI59BfpQ

[Hurricane Bruiser]

People have no clue who he is. Signs, Advertising, Fund-raising and other events to give better press, letters to the editor, all are needed. People have to hear a name many times before they associate it with anything and then you hope they make the correct association.

[freelance]

That is not entirely true. Often Ron Paul is left off as a choice altogether. I don't know, but I would call that rigging.

This too. Plus the push polls.

All of it plays into low poll numbers.

And, we've got to overcome lack of name recognition.

[fj45lvr]

For about the TENTH time:

Why NOT ACTUALLY FIND OUT YOURSELF????????????????????????????????

have 20 people on here survey 10 people on who they are likely to vote for and POST THE RESULTS!!!!

Then YOU CAN START BITCHIN about the "scientific polls".


People just want to WHINE BITCH and SPECULATE instead.

[AceNZ]

Jessee Benton told you:
That answers the who was polled question, but there's a lot more that I'd like to know. For example:


What company did the polling?
How many people were polled?
How much did the poll cost?
Who paid for the poll?
Who sponsored the poll?
What question was asked?


I found some info on pollingreport.com. Most polls seem to include about 400 to 700 people. They were typically "registered Republicans and leaners". Locations are nationwide. Sponsors include CNN, Newsweek, ABC/Washington Post, Fox News and many others. The margin of error is typically around 5 to 6%. The companies doing the polls include Opinion Research, Princeton Survey Research, Gallup and Opinion Dynamics. The questions vary, but seem to be generally well-worded, including rotation of the candidate's names.

Getting the word out and increasing name recognition is going to be challenging when the people behind the opposition control the MSM.... The sign blitz is sounding more and more like a really good idea.

[werdd]

as was mentioned earlier, they dont even list his name, and they screen people in that are likely to vote for the establishment.

[Mort]

If they polled people active on the internet we would do much better.

There is a huge block that Ron Paul has not hit. Retirees and old people. They sit at home all day and always vote. They don't have internet most likely. Hard to reach them. The Ron Paul fliers help but just slightly. TV ads are probably most effective and we really have not come out with many of those.

Maybe with the new deluge of money, we should come back to what was mentioned quite a few times before. Superbowl commercial. I know its expensive but I think that kind of exposure is EXACTLY what Ron Paul needs.

[tmg19103]

If they truly aren't rigged then we'll hopefully see a rise very soon! Ron Paul now has the money to get his name out there via tv ads in all of the early primary states! Our biggest issue seems to be name recognition because the old media won't give him any press. They will today and at the end of the quarter right before the primaries when it's official that he raised $10 million+. The message speaks for itself and the poll numbers will rise!

You won't see the polls rise a lot until after RP gets huge name recognition by doing well in early primaries. His polling will go up in early primary states with all the advertising he is and will be doing. Too many of his supporters do not have landlines and did not vote or were not Republicans in 2006 - which is what they base these bogus polls on.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for a candidate to be polling at only 3% nationally and to also be able to raise over $4 million in one day. Huckster polls well above RP and can't raise a dime. These polls are truly unscientific samples while hard money shows true support.

[LibertyEagle]

People have no clue who he is. Signs, Advertising, Fund-raising and other events to give better press, letters to the editor, all are needed. People have to hear a name many times before they associate it with anything and then you hope they make the correct association.

+1

Yesterday was a resounding success. But, we can't let down. Few people know what Ron Paul is really all about. They really don't. If they have heard of him, they have gotten the MSM spin. The campaign ads will help a lot, but it's time for US to pour it on. We've got to get the word out on the ground. If somehow, some way, we could get the middle-aged and older voters, no one could touch us. Just remember, these people won't put up with the "in your face" approach. Be respectful. Hand them the information, ask that they look at it and move on to the next person.

[freelance]

I'll tell you what my next door neighbor told me and he is an exec at one of the largest *National Polling Companies* (name withheld to protect my next door neighbor).

"Who do you think pays for the poll? What do you think they want to hear when they pay us to take one? Don't be naive."

UN-QUOTE

I have been called on a landline that we've had since the 1950s to take place in polls and on more than one occassion after agreeing to participate and even getting through a majority of the poll I have been hung up on when my answers weren't going the way the pollster was guiding me. Specifically I recall one about immigration and every question was phrased like this "Are you extremely satisfied, very satisfied, satisfied, or somewhat satisfied with the benefits of immigration" and I remember saying I am very unhappy with immigration policy and was disconnected.

I'm a registered Repub and have voted in every election since 1980 and no one has ever called me on a presidential poll.

This is of course anecdotal, but I would be curious how many people on this forum have ever been polled or have been "push polled". That might answer your question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp4iI59BfpQ

You just reminded me of something. Back in 2004, I used to play that game too, and they often hung up on me. Sometimes it was the RNC doing their own internal polling, but one time it was from a poll that was conducted by a state university, and another time it was by some organization I had never heard of. There was about a two-month period before the Presidential campaign when we were getting multiple calls per day, and many of them were push polls.

[LibertyEagle]

[QUOTE=Mort;360893
There is a huge block that Ron Paul has not hit. Retirees and old people. They sit at home all day and always vote. They don't have internet most likely. Hard to reach them. The Ron Paul fliers help but just slightly. TV ads are probably most effective and we really have not come out with many of those.[/QUOTE]

This made me wonder about something. Retirement Centers. I wonder if there is any RC rule that we couldn't visit those and set out some flyers for them to look at? It would be very fast to do and if they allow it, it could end up being very successful.