I just got a robocall from the Family Foundation of Virginia, asking a series of "questions" that aren't really "questions" because of the totally biased way they are phrased. It's also not a legitimate "poll" when you ask "questions" in such a way that make it clear how you think people should answer.
For instance, and I'm paraphrasing here (didn't have a chance to record the call, unfortunately), one question went something like, "Do you support the U.S. effort in Iraq?" Well, obviously, everyone supports the TROOPS in Iraq, and almost everyone would love to see us succeed in helping Iraq become a thriving Democracy. However, that's not the way to ask a "question" in a legitimate "poll" on this issue. A REAL question in a REAL poll would say something like, "Weighing all the pros and cons, do you believe the best course of action in Iraq right now is for US forces to be increased, kept about the same, or reduced?" But noooo...
Another example, and I'm paraphrasing again, "Do you believe marriage should be between ONE man and ONE woman?" Well, uh, YEAH, now that you put it THAT way, many people might say! But, of course, that's not the REAL question at all. What the REAL question is this year in Virginia is whether or not to amend the Commonwealth's constitution in a way that takes away rights from both homosexuals AND unmarried heterosexuals, while outlawing something that's ALREADY ILLEGAL in Virginia - so-called "gay marriage."
On and on the Family Foundation's fake "poll" went, with biased and misleading questions on the estate tax, porn filters at libraries, and other hot-button "wedge" issues. Obviously, this is not a "poll" but a paid political advertisement. Yet, the Family Foundation claims that it is "independent/unaffiliated" for its "Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign 2006" (CVC 2006) profile. It also claims, on its website, to be "non-partisan." Well, sorry, but there's nothing "non-partisan" about this phony "poll" I just received.
Attention, CVC: I urge you to look into the "Family Foundation of Virginia" and determine whether or not it is suitable for inclusion in your next annual drive. Specifically, I do not believe that the Family Foundation of Virginia meets the following test that you lay out on your website:
All charities participating in the CVC have been pre-screened to insure that they are fiscally sound and that they perform the services stated.
So, let's get this straight: the Family Foundation of Virginia claims to be a nonpartisan "research and education" organization, but it obviously is not. I mean, come on, how on earth is conducting a blatantly partisan, pro-Republican "poll" just 37 days before an important election considered "research and education?" While we're on the subject, how is such a poll - almost a "push poll" - "non-partisan?" And how does an organzation that carries out such activities qualify for inclusion as a charity by the CVC's criteria?
Sigh... When will "family values" cease to include lying to the uninformed about one's true intentions? Those are not the values I am trying to impart to my children. Disgusting.
1) Do you consider yourself Pro-Life or Pro-Choice
2) Do you believe marriage is solely between one man and one woman?
3) Do you agree with the elimination of the Death Tax?
4) Do you believe we are following the right policies in Iraq?
5) Do you believe in School Choice?
6) Do you believe in stem cell research using "unborn infants"?
7) Do you think public school library computers should have filters on them regarding pornography?
8) Do you trust Republicans more than Democrats to be fiscally responsible?
9) Do you attend church, synangogue, etc, at least once a week?
10) Have you ever contributed to a political group, church group, etc?
11) Are you male?
12) Do you believe fetuses should be anesthetized in the 2nd or 3rd trimester before they are aborted?
*Do you support equal constitutional rights for ALL Americans, regardless of race, religion, or sexual preference?
*Do you believe that a woman, in consultation with her doctor and her husband, has the right to control her own body?
*Do you agree with the US intelligence community's findings that the Iraq war has made us LESS safe and has created MORE terrorists?
*Do you agree that the Estate Tax is the most fair, most progressive tax of all?
Right, I didn't think you'd like those.
Being an old FTC hand, I love looking at poll questions. Even some of the major polls word questions improperly once in a while. (It may depend who's paying them.)
My wife got one of these polls too.
I hope that if Webb uses robocalling ads before the election that he really limits their use. People are getting ticked off about them.
Here's a question they should have asked. "Do you support filters on computers used by congressmen so they cannot look at porn?"
Just a thought.
The poll would be laughable if it weren't so frightening. I say this many because people actually believe that these issues are black and white. Or in the case of people like yourself, you paraphrase the questions to suit your own needs. Scary.
Exactly as noted above as to questions, etc.
All of the questions were structured to make the repub choice yes (positive) and the Dem choice No (negative).
Justice would be that they oversampled D's and got unexpected results :)
I also accidentally misheard the first question and said "Yes" before I realized it was asking me if I was "Pro-Life" rather than "Pro-Choice". Had it been a human, I'd have been immediately correcting it... but by the time I realized it, I was being asked the next carefully crafted bullsh*t question.
The amusing thing, though, is my first wrong answer is clearly NOT going to match the stance of the rest my responses. :)
Trust me, I got all the remaining answers right and, as another commenter said, was nearly yelling them into the phone in exasperation once I realized how slanted it was. Once again, the robo-call nature robbed me of my ability to really express myself (not that it would have mattered either way since a real person would have been powerless to express any of it in their tabulations as well).
The whole thing was pretty freakin' disgusting.
- Aaron
Unprincipled cowards.
It's clear this isn't a sampled poll because it would be statistically invalid. Perhaps they're going to call every single person in VA to get an accurate count... yeah right.
The only question I have is what it was targeting. Democrats? NOVA?
It just doesn't make a lot of sense that all us Dems are getting it.
Is FFV a 501(c)(6) organization, they would be saying they are a trade group or organization, and advocate on behalf of businesses. And their donations are not required to be disclosed.
If they are one, this is clearly illegal.
Have my PC sound recorder cued. Directional mic pointed at the speakerphone...
"Are you a registered voter in Virginia?"
I replied yes to which the reply was "We may call you back".
What about me...I wanna play!
Don't forget the robo calling just before the Kaine election- the one with the music to cover the bad editing... many think it helped rather than hurt our side.....
Please call the Webb headquarters and give them the questions (Lowell, you've probably done it already). And it wouldn't hurt for people to just call and let them know if you've gotten the poll so they can gauge the extent of it.
I also think push polls may be violating some campaign ethics rules, so you could also check with the Federal Election Commission if you've gotten a call.
And how does an organzation that carries out such activities qualify for inclusion as a charity by the CVC's criteria?
I am looking into their tax status. If they are a certain tax status, this could be the way to make complaints on them.
Some commenters here said that Dems were targeted, but I wonder. Our county co-ordinator (Nell Lancaster) says that, in VA, one doesn't register one's affiliation when registering to vote (something I didn't know; cramming for the naturalisation exam seems to have left big holes in my civics
Repubs have more money for rsearch and have been honing their targeting skills for ages (members of NRA, people who send in coupons for cigarette-rebates etc are more likely to be "their base". While people who send money to Planned Parenthood, or NARAL, or Emily's List...
I usually get (s-mailed) "literature"(surveys and/or pleas for money from both camps, because I smoke (and redeem coupons) and because I give money to the local/state police and such (only during the years that the Dems are in power, but the Repubs haven't divined *that* yet
Against all advice, I do not stuff the return envelopes full of garbage and send back. Those things have your name and number printed on them so, once you've pulled that trick, they'll stop wasting your money on you, which is *not* the object of the game :) What I do is collect a pile of Repub mailings, then take them to Washington and Lee U (though any public place would do as well) and leave the contents in the bathrooms, next to the toilet paper dispenser. I know; childish... But irresistible :)
Back to the push-poll.
I suppose, if you get caught un-prepared, you may not realize what's going on until some way into it (though, looking at the list, only the first question seemed legitimate or at least semi-legitimate to me). But now that you've all been warned...
*PLEASE* do not hang up on the b......s. Answer the first question to make them think you're hooked. Maybe even answer all their questions in a screwy manner, to put them off the scent.
Then *set the receiver next to the phone*, keeping the line open for at least 15 minutes (or longer, if you don't have to use the phone yourself). They may be getting a discount for bulk-phoning, but they're still paying for each connection. So, make them pay more. And tie up their lines -- as many of them as possible, for as long as possible. Every little bit counts (that's why I redeem coupons, including ones for cigarettes) and, if we bleed them dry, all the better; they'll have that much less money for TV attacks and such.
I spent the first 15 yrs in this country learning how to save money by comparison shopping (in communist Poland of my childhood and teens, a kilo of sugar cost the same in every store accross the country), the next 12 polishing my skills and the last 6 taking the game into the other half of the soccer field... IE, my tactics have gone from honing my defence to attack and I highly recommend it to everyone; it's great fun to beat the b......s at their own game :)
It helps if you can get the human and then say: "You know, I don't know much about that issue, but I'd really like to know more. Can you tell me all about both sides of the issue please?" - then quietly place the handset down by the phone and walk away.
We all got a laugh out of his odd skill then...
Now I see a real use for it...
Robo call begins asking questions,
2400 baud sync signal as answer to all questions...
Let them try to figure that out.
Buhahahaha!
I, too, got the "poll", and think its much more likely, particularly 5 weeks out from the mid-terms, that they're building a roster of likely Republican voters not already on their roles for "get out the vote" efforts. Unfortunately, I, too, started ridiculing the poll after the 2nd question, so I can't test this theory...but I bet if you answer in the affirmative to all or most of the questions, you're likely to get a follow-up calls--and will probably even be offered a free-ride to the polls come November. If you said you weren't registered to vote, you'd likely get someone offering to help you register ASAP. This was a cornerstone of the Republican "get out the vote" strategy in '04, and with a tight race in VA, I'm sure they're gearing up again.
Interesting question about their non-profit status. I looked them up immediately after I got the call today, and they are are a registered 501(c)(3) with the IRS (Family Foundation, Richmond, VA...you can look it up here: http://apps.irs.gov/.... This "poll" likely violates that status, since the IRS code states that "voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that: (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited participation or intervention..." and therefore violate the 501(c)(3) status.
I'd suggest everyone drops an email to the IRS Criminal Enforcement Division...and see what they do...although they may be too busy investigating anti-war sermons delivered in California churches...
I was suspicious after the first couple of questions, but then the robot asked me if I supported taking stem cells by killing unborn fetuses. I spit out my coffee and hung up on the robot without thinking.
I don't know if it's illegal, but it sure is rude. There should be a rule: no talking about killing fetuses before I've finished my first cup of coffee.
1) are you a registered voter?
2) do you consider yourself pro-life?
3) do you believe that marriage should only consist of a union between one man and one woman?
4) should the elimination of the death tax be permanent?
5) do you agree with our nations efforts in Iraq?
6) are you in favor of a tax credit to allow parents to choose the best school for their children?
7) do you support the use of unborn fetuses in stem-cell research?
8) do you believe that there should be filters to limit access to porn in all public libraries?
9) should churches be more active in political issues?
10) do you believe that a woman should be allowed to choose anaesthesia for her fetus during abortions in the 2nd and 3rd trimester?
11) Do you trust Republicans more than Democrats?
12) Do you attend a church, synagogue, temple or other place of religious or spiritual worship on a weekly basis?
13) Are you male?
14) Have you ever contributed to a political or social cause?
Oddly, there was an immediate prompt if I hesitated to answer the first 11 questions, but the last three I didn't even answer before the next question was asked.
Consider this - if Yes is a "right" answer, what does question 13 tell us about the pollster's opinion of women?