Push Polling: Not Just for Florida Anymore.
The great Drew Volturo of the Delaware State News reports (sorry no link) about a push poll being used in the 32nd Representative District on behalf of incumbent Donna Stone (R) and against her opponent, Brad Bennett (D):
Details of who authorized the poll and how many residents were called are unclear, but indications from those who received the call are that it could have been a “push poll” — a political campaign technique used to influence a voter by posing negative information about a candidate.
…
The [poll] asked about Rep. Stone’s work in passing manufactured housing legislation and whether her presidency of the National Conference of State Legislatures took away from her duties in Delaware[.]
“Then they turned around and started with questions about her opponent,” Ms. Clements [a district resident who received a call] said. “They asked, ‘Did you know the only reason Brad Bennett is running is to help his father- in- law get elected to the Senate?’” Mr. Bennett’s father-in-law is Brian J. Bushweller, a Democrat running for an open state Senate seat against former Dover mayor James L. Hutchison.
Ms. Clements said the pollster also asked if she was aware that Mr. Bennett is running for his dad’s old seat — Edward J. Bennett served 18 years in the House until 1994, when Rep. Stone won the open seat — and that his security company could get more state contracts if he wins in November.
“It was really annoying how they just bashed him,” said Ms. Clements, a registered Republican who said she has voted for Rep. Stone in the past. “It sickened me to the point where I wouldn’t consider (voting for Rep. Stone) this time.”
Brad Bennett told Volturo that he has received about 10 calls from other district residents who received the same push poll. Indeed, even Bennett himself received a call! (Now that is some negligence on the part of whomever is conducting this poll. Do they not have phone records listing Brad Bennett’s name on the number they are calling?). Bennett obviously thinks Donna Stone or the Republican Party (whether the national party or the state counterpart) has something to do with the calls. I would too, if I were in his shoes. Republicans have a history of these polls. Indeed, they are running some right now in Florida claiming that Obama is a friend of the PLO.
These push polls are not limited to the 32nd District race. The News Journal reports that Democrats Rebecca Walker, who is running against House Majority Leader Rep. Richard C, Cathcart in the 9th District; and Rep. Bryon H. Short, who is running against Republican Jim Bowers in the 4th District, have also been targeted.
The News Journal also found out who is responsible:
When calling, the pollsters identify themselves as being from Conquest Communications — a conservative campaign group located in Richmond, Va., that lists the Republican National Committee and more than 25 states’ Republican parties as clients, as well as a long list of smaller Republican organizations.
Delaware’s House Republican Campaign Committee, a political action committee organized by caucus members that helps fund Republican state House candidates, paid the company $5,480 in the past two months, according to campaign finance reports.
So Donna Stone and Dick Cathcart’s outrage is false. In both Volturo’s article and in the News Journal article, they both claim ignorance and say that they are outraged as well, since the pollsters asked negative questions about them as well. Indeed, no doubt such questions were asked to give these esteemed Republicans plausible denialibility and an avenue to expresss their indignity at being targeted. The important thing here is who is doing the polls, for whom, and who paid them. And the answer is the Republicans are responsible. So Ms. Stone and Mr. Cathcart can shove it. If they are really angry at the use of these polls, they can both publically refute the calls, demand the immediate cessation of these calls and for the refund of the money paid to Conquest Communications.
I wasn’t surprised to read Volturo’s story. The 32nd district race will be a close one and it is par for the course for Republicans to use smears and political dirty tricks when they feel voters might actually look at thier record of malfeasance and abuse of office. Donna Stone by far the sleaziest most self-serving member of the GA.
Her “who me?” response to Volturo’s story is hilarious.
Side Note: Stone’s headshot is just plain creepy. She must be the biggest plastic surgery abuser in Delaware politics. Taking the Joan River’s approach to aging gracefully was a bad choice.
So this is how desperate they are this year? Wonder how effective this tactic can be in a place where folks know each other pretty well and is pretty politically insular?
It’s not that these tricks are dirty, because I could really care less. It’s that they’re stupid. This is further proof that the Republican party in the state of Delaware is as impotent as they come. If they stopped playing fucking games, like this and like they did in the Wharton-Biden race, then they’d have a chance.
Following email sent to News Journal’s Ms. Gibson Saturday 20th. Feel free to forward to Mr. Volituro if someone has his number.
Dear Ms. Gibson,
I read your article on the negative push polls being conducted by Conquest Communications. Rep. Gilligan called me since it had slipped his mind that I had reported the same such activity in my district in July. The purpose seemed to be to incentivize someone to run against me as the deadline loomed. I was informed by a constituent who was offended by the obvious negative slant and falsehoods that were bandied about. That evening I received a call from Conquest to my home phone listed under my wife’s maiden name and took the poll without alerting the pollster as to my identity, so this is first person experience I am recounting. If Mr.Cathcart says he was not participatory or instigative in the poll I will go on the record as stating that he is not being honest or truthful. He mentioned in the paper, the day after the filing deadline, that the Rep. Party would find a candidate to run against “Kowalko” before the final party submission deadline. Two weeks after the deadline the republican party appointed a Mr. Gates (Stephanie Ulbrich’s brother-in-law) to challenge me. It is not likely or probable that this poll was conducted coincidentally and it consisted of an offensively dishonest and slanted attack to falsely portray my record and philosophies. This was an obvious attempt by the Republican Party and Mr.Cathcart to bolster some false sense of confidence in their recruits or target me as vulnerable to encourage recruitment of an opponent against me and to have, in hand, a falsely concluded portfolio of half-truths and misstatements to use in negative attacks. This incident was reported on some of the blog sites at the time. I stand on my actual record but find it offensive that Cathcart and the Repubs. Would resort to such underhanded and negative campaigning rather than address the issues and conduct open and frank debates or forums. When I asked the questioner” who commissioned this poll?”, she said “the state” I expressed, incredulously, that it seemed highly unlikely (she did not know my identity) and after more queries she said it may not be the State that paid for it, but she was not at liberty to divulge any further information. The points I am trying to make are that this was commissioned by some entity in the Repub. Party, Cathcart “was” aware and probably complicit as evidenced by the content and direction of the questions/propaganda that were asked of me (details, I wrote down at the time, available if you need them) and that the intentions were to cast a false and dishonest cloud over my record and fortify someone’s confidence to run against me which would preclude me from getting immersed in supporting Rebecca Walker against Rep. Cathcart (tying up resources and me personally). I find this type on conduct and campaigning reprehensible. Regarding the poll I participated in,there were no negative comments, remarks or disparaging innuendo in the references to the Republicans mentioned in the poll and I would challenge Mr. Cathcart to sit with me and take a polygraph to determine who is being truthful here. You can reach me at home for more explicit details. I’m not trying to play “gotcha” but this type of behavior disserves the voting public and wounds an already questionable system and betrays the trust of the voters and citizens of Delaware.
Thank you,
John Kowalko
25th District Representative.
Check and Mate.
The same thing was done to Lofink in the spring, and I think done to Wagner, too.
Are you all really claiming that Republicans are the only party that does message testing polls?
Here’s the link to the story of Conquest push-polling Kowalk0:
http://delawarewatch.blogspot.com/2008/07/push-polling-rep-john-kowalko.html
The GOP state officials denied any involvement w/ that one as well.
If the expenditure for Conquest doesn’t show up on anyone’s financial report, then someone’s made an illegal campaign contribution.
Proof, FSP? Your empty assertions don’t work anymore.
BTW, this Conquest Communications is a dirty company. Take a look at their sneaky tactics:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/001940.php
Call and don’t identify yourself. Make it seem like you’re calling for the D’s. Call people over and over again at all hours. Piss people off so that they’ll never vote for the D. Only Rethugs engage in tactics like that. And that’s the company Cathcart has hired to carry out his ‘secret plan’ to keep the majority.
Call and don’t identify yourself. Make it seem like you’re calling for the D’s. Call people over and over again at all hours. Piss people off so that they’ll never vote for the D. Only Rethugs engage in tactics like that. And that’s the company Cathcart has hired to carry out his ’secret plan’ to keep the majority.
That bit should be included in every letter to the editor.
BTW thanks for the link.
Counter to FCC rules, which require that the caller identify themselves early on in the call, the calls only reveal that they are paid for by the NRCC at the end of the call.
Are Cathcart’s call breaking FCC rules? This could get interesting.
In this round of calls, they are identifying themselves as Conquest Communications. As to whether they will do that later on, well, history has a way of repeating itself.
Maybe Delmarva Power commissioned the poll!!!
“Proof, FSP?”
Proof of what? There were plenty of people in Lofink’s district who can attest that they got calls earlier this year with the whole “Lofink got his kid a job and his kid stole” line.
Including G Rex.
Wow. Conquest Communications motto is “Guide opinion, lead people, make history.”
Hey, keep linking to that post, Dave. That will work out great.
And I ask you, if Lofink did engage in behavior that some (including a judge) called abuse, isn’t there a difference between that and asking false push poll questions like, “would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew that he fathered an illegitimate black child?”
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Push_poll
For readers unfamiliar with the incident of which I speak.
Jason-
I think the FCC rules about a disclaimer at the beginning of the call only apply to automated phone calls, but it sounds like these were live callers.
The fact is, Geek, these tactics are used far and wide by both parties. To get all up in arms about this to try and make one party look bad is just silly.
It’s called message testing. You make the call, ask all kinds of leading questions, and then the arguments that actually move people get put in the mail, TV and radio ads at the end of the campaign. It’s been done for years.
Both parties do it, both in Delaware and nationally.
Sort of like sign destruction? Got it. I’ll cherish that one…
ohhhh FSP once again you think folks from DE are idiots.
show us a finance report where the democrats are giving money to a firm that does the same thing as conquest…
when it comes to the lofink calls, it was the r’s doing it themselves to see how bad lofink’s negatives really are.
do you think people are that stupid to think the d’s would sink to that level and do such a push poll?
d’s run on issues, r’s run negative campaigns.
once again, the r’s have been exposed.
Shorter Dave Burris:
No Republican can ever do anything unethical unless said Republican happens to be named Atkins.
“d’s run on issues, r’s run negative campaigns.”
Now that is funny. Unless you’re in The Bubble. Then it’s gospel.
“No Republican can ever do anything unethical unless said Republican happens to be named Atkins.”
Atkins isn’t a Republican. And you’re reaching again. I’m not judging, just making clear that both parties do it.
Even shorter Dave Burris:
You got me.
And, just for clarity, when Ruth Ann attacked my father as ‘a pawn of the banks,’ what issue was she addressing?
When she attacked Bill Lee for decades-old financial troubles, what issue was she working on there?
What the Democratic PACs did to Bill Roth about his age and health, what issue was that?
I don’t think Roth helped his “I’m young and healthy case” by falling down and passing out.
Just sayin’
Shorter Jason:
You got me.
I personally took the Cathcart push poll call. The “survey” was meant, in no uncertain terms, to discredit Rebecca Walker. No negative questions were asked about Cathcart. Not one, no way, no how.
As a matter of fact, if I didn’t know exactly what they were trying to do I might have come away with the idea that Cathcart was some kind of saint and Walker is his evil nemesis who wants to fill nursing homes and hospitals with drunks, convicts, and abusers.
I don’t think the gentleman conducting my phone survey will last too long in the industry. By the end of our conversation he was apologizing to me for the questions he was asking. They were that far over the top.
I got the negitive call about Brad. The call made me so mad. I changed my support right away to Brad. I was worried about how scared Donna Stone was. I wondered what she was hidding that she had to do this. As some one with a small company I know people will take you to court. It would have been diffrent if she told how they lost the suit and company won. Shame on Donna.