Push poll

{{politics}}
{{cquote|…there is a real difference between ''actually believing a thing'' and ''saying you believe a thing''.|||Philip Bump on polling results<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/19/conspiracy-theories-are-common-right-but-few-republicans-adhere-all-them/ Conspiracy theories are common on the right — but few Republicans adhere to all of them] by Philip Bump (July 19, 2021) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>}}
A '''push poll''' is a survey, often though not always conducted by telephone, consisting primarily of [[leading question]]s designed to change a listener's mind about an issue or candidate without actually admitting it; the data derived therefrom is generally irrelevant. 

As a campaigning technique, it is considered [[deceit|dishonest]], primarily because most push-poll questions are of the "do you know whether he's stopped beating his wife?" type.

==History==
The first instance of a push poll was in a 1970 conceptual art piece by oddball artist Hans Haacke. The piece — set up in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and dubbed ''MoMa Poll'' — consisted of two plexiglass ballot boxes underneath the following statement:

{{quotebox|Would the fact that [[Nelson Rockefeller|Governor Rockefeller]] has not denounced [[President of the United States|President]] [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]'s Indochina policy be a reason for you not to vote for him in November?}}

Patrons were invited to place ballots into the box of their choice. At the end of the exhibition, there were twice as many "yes" votes as "no" votes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030823172108/http://www.arts.ucsb.edu/faculty/budgett/algorithmic_art/haacke.html Hans Haacke MOMA Poll (1970)] by Graham Budgett, ''University of California Santa Barbara'' (archived from August 23, 2003).</ref>

The first political push polls appeared in the 1980s. The pioneer was sleaze merchant [[Deathbed conversion#Lee Atwater|Lee Atwater]], who, in a 1980 Senate race in [[Fun:South Carolina|South Carolina]], used push polls to link [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Tom Turnipseed to the [[NAACP]]. In [[The South]], this was quite enough to kill Turnipseed's chances, even given that it was a year for [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] [[Republican Party|Republicans]].<ref>[http://www.thenation.com/article/lee-atwaters-legacy/ Lee Atwater's Legacy] by Antonino D’Ambrosio (October 8, 2008) ''[[The Nation]]''.</ref>

==Examples==
The most well-known examples of push polls were from the 2000 Republican primary. [[Karl Rove]] used a number of increasingly sleazy push polls to smear [[John McCain]], the nastiest of which appeared during the [[South Carolina]] primary. Leveraging on the fact that the McCains had adopted a child from [[Bangladesh]], someone began calling voters with the following question: "Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?" As predicted, McCain crashed and burned.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051130210845/http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/03/21/the_anatomy_of_a_smear_campaign/ The Anatomy of a Smear] by  Richard H. Davis (March 21, 2004) ''Boston Globe''.</ref>

In 2008, there was a similar effort to smear [[Barack Obama]], this time aimed at [[Jewish]] voters. The push polls attempted to tie him to the PLO and [[Hamas]]. This time, it wasn't nearly as successful.<ref>[http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-plank/i-just-got-push-polled-obama-and-israel I Just Got Push-polled On Obama And Israel] by Jonathan Cohn (September 14, 2008) ''The New Republic''.</ref>

In 2013, South Carolina was subject to yet ''another'' push polling operation. The target was Elizabeth Colbert Busch ([[Stephen Colbert|Stephen's]] sister), candidate in a special Congressional election. There were several iterations of the push poll, some of which implied that Busch had been imprisoned, had an [[abortion]], or been charged with contempt during a [[divorce]] hearing.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131102153522/http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/05/01/1945751/south-carolina-push-poll/ Dirty Tricks: Mysterious Conservative Group Sending Out Push Polls In South Carolina Special Election] by Scott Keyes & Adam Peck (May 1, 2013 at 9:07 am) ''Think Progress''.</ref>

The National Consultation created by the Hungarian Government is one example.

===Life Giving Moments===
In 2014-15, an organization named Life Giving Moments<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140313000136/http://www.lifegivingmoments.org/ Life Giving Moments] (archived from March 13, 2014).</ref> operated a robocaller named "Amanda," who evaded [[Turing test|questions about her humanity]], claiming to be "a live person, but … using a computer for quality control purposes." When Amanda established contact with a [[credulous]] [[human]], 'she' took a poll, in which she mentions the "impact of violent TV shows on [[children]]" and "how today's entertainment impacts children", and then directs them to the Life Giving Moments organization's website.<ref>[http://museumfatigue.org/2014/01/14/amanda-computerized-telemarketer/ Amanda, The Computerized Telemarketer Who Insisted She Was Human] ''Museum Fatigue''.</ref> Amanda is used just to further Life Giving Moments' views that [[Irony|technology is hurting children today]], without having to pay for an actual human.

===Donald Trump's "media accountability" survey===
Although many observers thought it was a parody, the Trump campaign really did sponsor a hilariously slanted "media accountability" survey for its supporters. Questions included gems like:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190703143608/https://action.donaldjtrump.com/mainstream-media-accountability-survey/ Mainstream Media Accountability Survey]. ''Donald J. Trump Campaign''. Archived.</ref>

*On which issues does the mainstream media do the worst job of representing President Trump?
*Do you feel that the media is too eager to slur conservatives with baseless accusations of racism and sexism?
*Do you believe that the media sensationalizes and exaggerates stories in order to paint President Trump and conservatives in a bad light?
*Based on your answers above, do you believe that the Republican Party should spend more time and resources holding the mainstream media accountable?
*Do you believe the media is biased when it covers President Trump’s restriction on immigration from countries compromised by radical Islamic terrorism?

==Legal Status==
In some states, push polls are illegal and can be punishable with prison time. In [[Maine]], it is required for telephone polls to be registered with the political party in question.<ref>[https://www.cga.ct.gov/2004/rpt/2004-R-0658.htm Push Polling] by Jennifer Gelb (August 17, 2004) ''OLR Research Report, Connecticut General Assembly''.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bullshit]]
*[[Dog whistle politics]]
*[[Just asking questions]]
*[[Loaded language]]
*[[Frank Luntz]]

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZZJXw4MTA&feature=related Scene from ''Yes, Prime Minister'' - Season 1 Episode 2]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Deceit]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Political terms]]

Categories: Deceit, Elections, Political terms