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Whose Push Poll Is It Anyway? Going Negative on Clinton, Obama; Positive on Edwards
December 19, 2007 12:43 PM
Iowa Democrats are being hit with a new round of "opinion poll" calls this week that stress negative qualities of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama and praise John Edwards as a man who "has spent his life fighting powerful interests."
The calls come from operators who say they are "out of state" and are conducting an opinion poll for a "research company."
It's what known in politics as a push poll with the ostensible poll taker, in fact, pushing negatives about a particular candidate.
"Our campaign has nothing to do with this," said Marc Kornblau, a spokesman for the Edwards campaign. There was no immediate comment from the Clinton campaign, and the Obama campaign declined to comment on the calls.
Here is the transcript of one call received Tuesday by a Des Moines woman who is a registered Democrat likely to attend the caucus next month. She recorded the call at the request of the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
Question #1: Which Democratic presidential candidate do you think will fight the hardest for working people? Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John Edwards?
Question #2: Which of the following do you think will most help someone be a better president? Being the spouse of the president? Serving as a community organizer? Or working as a trial lawyer who fought many big corporations?
Question #3: I'm going to read the description of some of the candidates and ask if it concerns you.
First, Hillary Clinton changes her position on important issues too often. She has said that she would not eliminate Bush's tax cuts that give special treatment to the rich. Is this very concerning, somewhat, not so concerning or not at all concerning?
Question #4: Barack Obama has little experience at the federal level where he was a senator. He repeatedly refused to vote against legislation that threatened a woman's right to choose. Instead, he voted present. Is this very concerning, somewhat, not so concerning or not at all concerning?
Question #5: John Edwards is a liberal trial lawyer who supports mandated universal health care coverage at a time the government is already spending too much money. Is this very concerning, somewhat, not so concerning or not at all concerning?
Question #6: A recent nationwide polls says that Hillary Clinton may be a weak general election candidate. The polls shows that Clinton is the only Democrat who would lose to all five major Republican candidates in the November election. How concerned are you that if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, the Democrats may lose the presidential campaign?
Question #7: Barack Obama has taken over $12 million from the financial industry and its lobbyists. In the Senate, he was one of the only 15 Democrats who supported the financial industry by allowing predatory lenders to target (unintelligible and the poor by charging unlimited interest on their credit cards and loans. Is this very concerning, somewhat, not so concerning or not at all concerning?
Question #8: John Edwards believes that politicians in Washington keep changing the rules so big corporations and the super rich receive special breaks and the rest of us who play fair get stuck with the bills. Edwards has spent his life fighting powerful interests and has never taken a dime from the lobbyists. As president, he will fight to make the system fair. Is this very concerning, somewhat, not so concerning or not at all concerning?
Question #9: Barack Obama began his career as an organizer in Chicago and has fought for civil rights issues and for (unintelligible) people. He has served both as a state senator and in the U.S. Senate. Is this very, somewhat, not so or not at all persuasive to you?
When asked who he worked for, the caller said he had no idea who was a Democrat or a Republican. The caller ID of the call showed: 000-000-0000.
Do you have a tip for Brian Ross and the Investigative Team?
December 19, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (30)
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Your introduction is totally off base. Obama's last one about being a community organizer is very positive, and calling Edwards a "liberal trial lawyer" is hardly an effort to boost his campaign.
This is a hatchet job on all the leading Democrats, not an effort by one to hurt the others.
Posted by: Nathan | Dec 19, 2007 1:04:37 PM
I bet its Hillary. She is having this done to backfire on Edwards so she can steal his votes to beat Obama. We all know how sneaky and underhanded the Clintons are.
Posted by: Jujubee Jones | Dec 19, 2007 1:29:25 PM
Now if that darn Senator Clinton would just tell us where she buried Jimmy Hoffa ...
Posted by: Fleur du Mal | Dec 19, 2007 2:03:14 PM
I got this call a couple of days ago. Recognizing it for what it was, I asked the caller who was conducting the survey. According to them, they work for a telemarketing firm in Ohio called "Influent", and they refused to say who was paying them to do the calls. They say they work for anyone that pays them without regard to political party. They stated that they were not required by law to tell me who was financing the call.
Posted by: In Iowa | Dec 19, 2007 2:17:06 PM
That's because the media puts these idiots on a pedistool. We need other forms of media to keep democrats in their place. Nothing about them has changed in the last 56 years. They're still power-hungry naysayers with an unquenchable thirst for pork and barrell politics. Now they want to raise taxes!! What we want is the government to stop contributing to inflation by spending all our money. We're not socialist.
Posted by: michael charlton | Dec 19, 2007 4:01:02 PM
Another one of the Hill-Billary's Camp of Deception covert operations. The desparation of the Clinton regime is very evident. .. This is how their (the donors) campaign money is spent. .. The Clintons have many more covert ploys yet to be used in their arsenal. Is it not illegal to falsely represent people or companies? Hmmm.. Sounds like Whitewater.
Posted by: sumterala | Dec 19, 2007 7:33:44 PM
I have lived in the United States of America all of my life. The Republicans take away human rights and the Clintons have made it clear that illicit negative attacks are the norm. Read about the Afro-Americans under President Clinton's administration. Do you need to have more written? Where have you been?
Posted by: A US Citizen | Dec 19, 2007 7:42:49 PM
wake up people...it's Obama's peeps! he knows people will think it's Clinton and he'll continue to be the candidate of hope!
Posted by: boynLA | Dec 19, 2007 8:31:24 PM
Edwards/Biden or Biden/Edwards! ALL THE WAY!
Posted by: steve | Dec 19, 2007 9:25:20 PM
Clinton , too much deceit. Obama, not enough experience. Edwards/Biden, the logical choice!
Posted by: steve | Dec 19, 2007 9:32:49 PM
You folks blaming Hillary should be ashamed.
I have been on all the leading campaign mailing lists, and I've gotten campaign e-mails from Hillary for months, gone to grassroots meetings and fundraisers, and know for a fact that she is running an overwhelmingly positive campaign. In fact her campaign mentions other candidates much less than others, and her official campaign representatives that I've met are honest and inspiring people.
The Republicans love the democratic in-fighting and when you unfairly bash Hillary you just help them out.
We need to ignore the push-polls, ignore the scandal-hungry media and have a real, respectful debate that preserves everyone's reputation - no matter who gets the nomination, we need to keep a strong Democratic Party including keeping our Senators in office.
Posted by: RealDemocrat | Dec 20, 2007 1:30:20 AM
The question about Edwards experience is clearly wrong since Edwards never served in the State(of North Carolina) Senate before serving as the US Senator from North Carolina. This smells like a 'setup' by a Rovian-like entity. It certainly is not helpful to the Edwards Campaign, and it appears to be intended to cast negative aspersions on all the Democratic Candidates.
Posted by: Anon | Dec 20, 2007 8:12:04 AM
It's an independent expenditure - probably from a labor organization that has endorsed Edwards.
Posted by: Organizer | Dec 20, 2007 8:59:49 AM
Swift Boats to: HSV-2 Swift. This was a huge Rovian sneer at the Dems after the stolen election. Maybe Organizer (Rep)went fishing with GWB off the fantail of this boat that was stationed down in Texas?
Posted by: Archeoptimist | Dec 21, 2007 11:42:33 AM
Tactics by this form of polling are very disconcerting when they are blatantly used to misconstrue meanings of our legislators. If one were to actually do a little in depth research, and read the actual word for word content of Barack Obama speaking out against Senate bill S.256 (the one this poll is referring to that would have limited an interest rate predatory lenders can charge to 30%, amongst other things), on the house floor on Feburary 28, 2005, you would find just why he voted 'NO' on a bill to limit interest and rein in bankruptcies. To quote a few lines from his speech. Barack opens "Mr. President I have come to the floor today to address this legislation. Proponents proclaim this bill is designed to curb the worst abuses of our bankruptcy system. That's a worthy goal, and we can all agree that bankruptcy was never meant as a get out of jail free card for use when you've foolishly gambled away all your savings and don't feel like taking responsibility for your actions....This bill would take us from a system where judges weed out abusers from the honest, to a system where all the honest are presumed to be the abusers...we know that most people fall into bankruptcy as a result of bad luck...over 50% of all bankruptcies are the result of an illness that end up sticking families with debt they simply cannot keep up with... he quotes a case of one Suzanne Gibbons a woman with a good nursing job and a home, who had a stroke. Insurance coverage paid for $4000 of her $53,000 hospital bills...she eventually had to declare bankruptcy...If this bill PASSES AS WRITTEN it would treat Suzanne the same as any scam artist trying to cheat the system...and so, as much as we would like to believe that the face of this bankruptcy crisis is credit card addicts that spend their way into debt, the truth is that it is the face of people like Suzanne Gibbons...This bill does a great job of helping the credit card companies recover the profits they're losing, but what are we doing to help middle-class families recover the dreams they're losing. This bill does a great job of protecting credit card companies from the few bad apples that try to escape their debt, but what does it do to protect the American public from the credit card companies that try to take advantage of them? Mr. President, the bankruptcy this bill should address is not just the one facing credit card companies who are enjoying record profits. We should be addressing middle-class families who are dealing with record hardships...This bill also fails to address the aggressive marketing practices and hidden fees credit card companies use to raise their profits and our debt...this bill is WRONG...as it is now, this bill makes it easier for a company like ENRON that bilked hundreds of employees out of their life savings, to declare bankruptcy, than for the employees themselves....And while I CANNOT SUPPORT THIS BILL AS IT IS WRITTEN, I look forward to working with my collegues to ammend this bill." End quotes. Go to the senate and read it yourselves in it's entirety. Does this sound like a person not concerned with the welfare of the American public? I think not.
Posted by: GC | Dec 25, 2007 11:58:07 AM
An excellent GOP push poll meant to take down Hillary and Edwards while hurting Obama as well - and ABC writes it up as if it was one of the Democrats financing the poll. You folks really are in bed with the GOP. Or are you just too tired after Christmas to notice "liberal lawyer", "spouse", "changes position on issues", "Hillary Clinton may be a weak general election candidate", "little experience on the Federal level", "refused to vote against legislation that threatened a woman's right to choose", "Obama has taken over $12 million from the financial industry and its lobbyists. In the Senate, he was one of the only 15 Democrats who supported the financial industry by allowing predatory lenders", "mandated universal health care coverage at a time the government is already spending too much money", all seem a hit on all three. It is only when you get to the final questions that support both Obama and Edwards that it becomes obvious that this is a GOP poll that aims to take down Hillary while getting dirt over Edwards and Obama.
Posted by: papaubill | Dec 26, 2007 11:15:34 AM
This sounds like another cleverly attack on Hilliary by Obama..Thros a little negative about himself out there and nothing too negative against Edwards who he knows he has an edge over in the minority vote.Obama has been on the attack against Hilliary from the start all the while saying he is the victim of this and that again and again. By the way i don't like Hilliary but i am open minded to see these kind of attacks are wrong.
Posted by: Glenn Curtis | Dec 27, 2007 3:16:38 PM
I like your hair cut Mr. President!?
Posted by: wearthehalo | Dec 29, 2007 7:47:07 PM
Hillery R is deceitful and tells different things to different people to get votes.
Osama Obama was a Muslim; could he still be one??? Possibly. Do I want to take that chance??? NO WAY!
Edwards is a rich boy who says he understands and works for the poor. Oh you bet I believe that one!
I can't afford to be a Republican on my fixed retirement income....but faced with the absolutely lousy Democrat candidates; especially Hillery R; I WILL VOTE REPUBLICAN....ANY REPUBLICAN!
Posted by: Ken Weaver | Dec 30, 2007 10:22:19 AM
They are ALL lyers!
Not ONE of them will admit they are spending the interest off of SS and THAT'S why it's going broke!
They BOTH have owned the country by controlling two or more of the gov. branches at one time or another...and STILL blew it!
Did you see the caucuses? uh, what ever happened to OUR VOTE? Throw THIS system out and count OUR votes.
I am not advocating drug use but...didn't WE, the people, send a clear vote allowing marijuana to be legal? What we need is our LOCAL governments to tell the federal government that the state's voters have spoken! If you come here and try to interfere, WE will arrest YOU and put you on trial for treason! Each state is an individual and not subject to federal law unless it pertains to the security of the nation. Where do they get off telling the individual states what to do?
Since they can't eliminate old laws that are moot and old fashion but CAN add 1,000s of new laws every year,
No new taxes!
No new laws!
And turn over the Social Securtiy systems to each state where we can reach out and ring their little necks if they don't do what we tell them.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Posted by: John | Jan 6, 2008 1:49:26 PM
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