CaptainAmerica
11-12-2011, 02:02 PM
Ron Paul supporters are furious with CNBC after the network pulled an online poll showing their candidate winning. The poll was pulled Wednesday night after the CNBC Republican presidential debate.
Before the poll was removed, Ron Paul was leading with 62 percent of the vote, followed by Newt Gingrich with 12 percent of the vote, and Mitt Romney and Herman Cain each with 9 percent.
CNBC issued this brief statement after pulling the poll:
Gamed Poll... So We Took It Down
We had a poll up from our Republican Presidential Debate asking readers who they thought won. One candidate was leading by such a margin that it became obvious the polling wasn't so much a reading of our audience, but of the Internet prowess of this particular candidate's political organization. We have therefore taken the poll down.
The terse statement by CNBC was attributed to Allen Wastler, Managing Editor, CNBC.com. Wastler concluded his comment with a link to a statement he made in October, 2007, under almost the exact same circumstances. The following is an excerpt from that 2007 statement:
Congratulations. You folks are obviously well-organized and feel strongly about your candidate and I can't help but admire that.
But you also ruined the purpose of the poll. It was no longer an honest "show of hands" -- it suddenly was a platform for beating the Ron Paul drum. That certainly wasn't our intention and certainly doesn't serve our readers ... at least those who aren't already in the Ron Paul camp.
Some of you Ron Paul fans take issue with my decision to take the poll down. Fine. When a well-organized and committed "few" can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of "the many," I get a little worried. I'd take it down again.
Paul supporters claim CNBC’s action fits part of a larger pattern of abuse. Many Paul supporters and others claim there is a distinct mainstream media bias against Paul. Tyler Durden, writing for Zero Hedge, puts it this way:
...it has become painfully obvious to even the most oblivious subsections of the American populace that the MSM, from supposed “right wing” outlets like FOX, to supposed “left wing” outlets like CNBC, have gone WAY out of their way to ridicule, suppress, or completely ignore him (Ron Paul).
CNBC should have been clear as to the reasoning behind pulling the poll. Did CNBC have proof that the results were caused by Paul supporters voting multiple times by using proxies? Was there proof of any nefarious activity? Or were Ron Paul supporters simply more organized than supporters of other GOP candidates in focusing their effort to get the vote out and participate in the CNBC poll?
From the CNBC announcement it is hard to tell if there was some sort of actual cheating going on, or if CNBC simply found the prospect of Paul winning unacceptable. Whatever the case, CNBC owes Paul supporters and everyone else a better explanation for their actions.
http://www.examiner.com/democrat-in-national/media-fail-cnbc-pulls-poll-with-ron-paul-winning#ixzz1dWV1ixgw
Before the poll was removed, Ron Paul was leading with 62 percent of the vote, followed by Newt Gingrich with 12 percent of the vote, and Mitt Romney and Herman Cain each with 9 percent.
CNBC issued this brief statement after pulling the poll:
Gamed Poll... So We Took It Down
We had a poll up from our Republican Presidential Debate asking readers who they thought won. One candidate was leading by such a margin that it became obvious the polling wasn't so much a reading of our audience, but of the Internet prowess of this particular candidate's political organization. We have therefore taken the poll down.
The terse statement by CNBC was attributed to Allen Wastler, Managing Editor, CNBC.com. Wastler concluded his comment with a link to a statement he made in October, 2007, under almost the exact same circumstances. The following is an excerpt from that 2007 statement:
Congratulations. You folks are obviously well-organized and feel strongly about your candidate and I can't help but admire that.
But you also ruined the purpose of the poll. It was no longer an honest "show of hands" -- it suddenly was a platform for beating the Ron Paul drum. That certainly wasn't our intention and certainly doesn't serve our readers ... at least those who aren't already in the Ron Paul camp.
Some of you Ron Paul fans take issue with my decision to take the poll down. Fine. When a well-organized and committed "few" can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of "the many," I get a little worried. I'd take it down again.
Paul supporters claim CNBC’s action fits part of a larger pattern of abuse. Many Paul supporters and others claim there is a distinct mainstream media bias against Paul. Tyler Durden, writing for Zero Hedge, puts it this way:
...it has become painfully obvious to even the most oblivious subsections of the American populace that the MSM, from supposed “right wing” outlets like FOX, to supposed “left wing” outlets like CNBC, have gone WAY out of their way to ridicule, suppress, or completely ignore him (Ron Paul).
CNBC should have been clear as to the reasoning behind pulling the poll. Did CNBC have proof that the results were caused by Paul supporters voting multiple times by using proxies? Was there proof of any nefarious activity? Or were Ron Paul supporters simply more organized than supporters of other GOP candidates in focusing their effort to get the vote out and participate in the CNBC poll?
From the CNBC announcement it is hard to tell if there was some sort of actual cheating going on, or if CNBC simply found the prospect of Paul winning unacceptable. Whatever the case, CNBC owes Paul supporters and everyone else a better explanation for their actions.
http://www.examiner.com/democrat-in-national/media-fail-cnbc-pulls-poll-with-ron-paul-winning#ixzz1dWV1ixgw