Lone Star Times has been running a series on polling by David Benzion which is quite interesting. Benzion has considerable experience at conducting polls, and one of the inescapable conclusions he has come to is that much of the reason Obama is winning is that they (the voters) really, really hate us.
As mentioned previously, in real-life I work as a Senior Research Analyst for a Republican political polling firm whose clients this cycle include a variety of Senate, Congressional, statehouse and ballot-initiative campaigns in Colorado, Michigan, Florida and Texas.
Beyond the numbers (which I’m obviously not at liberty to discuss) in the aforementioned states where we are polling, we also ask what are called “verbatim” or “top-of-mind” questions, where after someone tells us how they are voting in a particular race, we following-up by asking…“And why do you say you are voting that way? Anything else?”
It’s like a mini-focus group, providing (usually) bite-sized qualitative insights to augment the quantitative data being gathered.
“Verbatims” can be particularly insightful when you read the answers with all their demographic data–so that you know, for instance, that a particular comment is coming from a college-educated married white female under age 40 who describes herself as somewhat conservative but frequently splits her ticket.
In the past several months I’ve literally been exposed to upwards of 20,000 of these things… and let me assure you, we (i.e., Republicans, conservatives, and general “folks who lean Right”) are well and truly hated by those that occupy the vast middle-ground of American public opinion.
You can blame (I do) a destructive and cynical campaign by those on the Left to bitterly demonize the Bush administration in a time of war. You can blame (I do) the ever-more transparent liberal bias of the media. You can blame (I do) the failure of Bush administration senior staffers to effectively and consistently explain to the American people what it is they are doing and why it is important they do it.
Blame, blame, blame, blame, blame all you want… add to the list for all I care.
But don’t fail to grasp this fact–whoever is to blame, we are stuck with the consequences… and reality doesn’t bend simply because it is unfair.
Benzion goes on to say that if you add the phrase, "and they are going to vote for him anyway, they hate us so much!" to the end of any statement, it will explain the depth of loathing the unwashed masses have for conservatives. For example:
Barack Obama has a paper-thin resume, promises to raise taxes in a fashion destined to decimate the economy and bring the phrase "misery index" back into vogue, is dangerously naive about foreign policy and is the farthest left candidate fielded in my lifetime...but they're going to vote for him anyway, they hate us so much.
It's hard to believe it has come to this in our country, that there are so many short-sighted people among the electorate. But it does make it easier to understand the stupidity of so many.
|