Push polling and push mailing...
...and push fliers under windshield wipers.
It's all the same thing... making people believe you have legitimacy by which you conduct your poll, mailing or direct community marketing.
The trouble with all three of these techniques is that they are all probably not illegal. And given that they are not illegal, there is no referee or judge to rule what's within bounds and what's out of bounds. This is the straw that broke the camel's back in determining my exit from politics.
A campaign can conduct a poll like the one against John McCain in South Carolina in 2000 which called over a 100,000 people in the state under the guise of conducting a poll for the election. When the voter said that they would participate in the poll, the pollster when on to ask one questions, "Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?" Kinda takes your breath away, doesn't it? With one question, they are putting the idea in the voter's head that McCain fathered an illegitimate black child. That is the example that hits close to home for me but best illustrates what a push poll is... the same thing is true for a push mailing or push fliers put under doors along a street in Iowa... or New Hampshire (but at least push polling is illegal in New Hampshire)... or South Carolina.
Always be skeptical of who is asking for your opinion and how they ask their questions.
It's all the same thing... making people believe you have legitimacy by which you conduct your poll, mailing or direct community marketing.
The trouble with all three of these techniques is that they are all probably not illegal. And given that they are not illegal, there is no referee or judge to rule what's within bounds and what's out of bounds. This is the straw that broke the camel's back in determining my exit from politics.
A campaign can conduct a poll like the one against John McCain in South Carolina in 2000 which called over a 100,000 people in the state under the guise of conducting a poll for the election. When the voter said that they would participate in the poll, the pollster when on to ask one questions, "Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?" Kinda takes your breath away, doesn't it? With one question, they are putting the idea in the voter's head that McCain fathered an illegitimate black child. That is the example that hits close to home for me but best illustrates what a push poll is... the same thing is true for a push mailing or push fliers put under doors along a street in Iowa... or New Hampshire (but at least push polling is illegal in New Hampshire)... or South Carolina.
Always be skeptical of who is asking for your opinion and how they ask their questions.
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