MSV also adds in an update, a series of questions from a second Hoboken telephone poll below
It’s a lovely Sunday and for those who are interested, a Horse is going to spell out what a push poll is and how it works courtesy of Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia:
A push poll is an interactive marketing technique, most commonly employed during political campaigning, in which an individual or organization attempts to manipulate or alter prospective voters’ views/beliefs under the guise of conducting an opinion poll.
(Exactly like MSV detailed in the earlier Saturday story, “Ravi Bhalla push poll alert: are you more likely to vote for him because he saved the city hospital?” etcetera, etcetera.)
More from Wikipedia:
Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as an opinion poll.
In Australia’s Northern Territory defined push-polling as any activity conducted as part of a telephone call made, or a meeting held, during the election period for an election, that: (a) is, or appears to be, a survey (for example, a telephone opinion call or telemarketing call); and (b) is intended to influence an elector in deciding his or her vote.[3]
Push polling has been condemned by the American Association of Political Consultants[4] and the American Association for Public Opinion Research.
MSV published some additional questions from the Bhalla campaign poll. Here’s one from a MSV reader cited briefly in the Saturday story as an example in the headline of push polling:
“As city council president, Ravi saved the city’s hospital, saved 1200 jobs and protected taxpayers from a huge tax increase.”
Talking Ed Note: Push polling is not a crime. It is sleight of hand deployed to alter voter perceptions, re: in this instance how the hospital board, Mayor Zimmer and a group of people on the City Council: Peter Cunningham, Carol Marsh, Dave Mello, Ravi Bhalla and Jen Giattino all played important roles in seeing the hospital saved but are not credited. (Certainly not even paltry “equal credit.”)
In this push poll question, the objective is to see Councilman Ravi Bhalla elevated for “saving the city hospital” which of course is inaccurate among many people who worked tirelessly for hundreds if not thousands of hours without pay to do the impossible. Think the Hoboken hospital board members, especially, Toni Tomarazzo and the late Steve Rofsky who were central to this victory.
In a push poll, highlighting that one council member on a body of nine credited he “saved the city’s hospital” is an example of how such tactics may be used. Push polling is generally acknowledged as a form of negative campaigning.
Campaigns can do polling and insert push polling questions to achieve a desired result; namely, the altering of voter perceptions favorable to a campaign. Read More...
