ArchPundit
Listen in to Me Tomorrow Night
I’ll be doing commentary for brief bits on the Illinois Radio Network.
A Poll I Don’t Believe
Polimetrix has Blagojevich at 61, Topinka 39. 800 Person sample done for an academic consortium. My guess is the horse race part of it isn’t what they are really trying to analyze so take from it what you will.
The first obvious problem is they don’t seem to have polled Whitney, but also, I haven’t heard anyone suggest that Blagojevich would be anywhere near that high. But I offer it up since it’s out there. I’ll guarantee, he won’t get 61%, though there are scenarios he can break 50%. I don’t predict those, but they are possible.
Oh, And McKenna Used Conquest Communications
Our very own Andy McKenna used Conquest in his race for Illinois Senate.
Interesting thing about them—they don’t actually do much legit work.
Now, put that together with liberals heart Osama and you see what the hell is going on.
Zorn on the Republican Mailers
What’s great is how far people generally go to bend over backwards to claim something is similar to something else. Zorn shows an offensive mailer suggesting liberal Democrats want to withdraw from the battlefield against terrorists. One might find a few of these–usually on Fox News where they go out of their way to find such examples–but it’s not a significant group of people.
Many do make a distinction between Iraq and the War on Terror as do most Americans–so if that mailer is attacking anyone who can distinguish the two, it’s a minority position the IL GOP is arguing from.
But more to the point, Republicans are pulling out Robocalls and harassing people with them. Not just a few push polls about special interests that might be obnoxious, but hardly over the top, but making calls that seem like they are from the Democrat unless one makes it all the way through and making them repeatedly to the same house. One is not like the other. Attempting to make it seem like Democrats are harrassing voters with robocalls isn’t a push poll, it isn’t a GOTV message, it isn’t within the bounds the game should be played.
It is voter suppression. And it’s wrong.
Those who try and dismiss it as something that both parties are doing because both make robocalls obviously didn’t do well on the SAT section asking what is not like the other. Both efforts are easily distinguishable from one another and should be described as different by the press. As should the phone calls going out in different areas giving false voting information for where to vote.
More to the point, it’s something that does directly affect voter perception of the election and the press is largely ignoring it. When something is shaping voter perceptions the typical response of much of the press corps is to get competing quotes. The problem in this case is the action is taking place at the national level and everyone’s trying to avoid talking about it. It shouldn’t matter. They are taking place and they are harrassing. That’s a story.
McCulloch Poll in Pennsylvania Senate
Since I posted the report on 14 I figure I should also point to this on McCulloch. McCulloch is a partisan pollster and was off on the Bean race two years ago, but he’s also done other polling that’s decent. I’d say something went wrong in PA for him though because he’s the only one showing any significant movement.
GOTV Illinois
Some turnout nuggets from Dem congressional campaign sources:
GOTV rallies have been larger than expected: 6K showed up for Bill Clinton’s last-minute visit to AZ 05.
In IL 06, the DCCC canvassing program stormed through two days worth of precincts in less than one day
In IN 08, “huge numbers of volunteers” are showing up
600 volunteers spent Sunday making calls on behalf of Dem Angie Paccione in CO 04
The DCCC claims early vote success in FL (Hotline reporting, 11/6).
Pretty much confirmed in comments and e-mail here.
The Thing about Judy and the Cubs
It’s not just going to eat up the news cycle, it’s going to create one on Sports Talk radio. The place that makes political talk radio look rational.
Tell All Your Friends
Getting the phone calls to call the NRCC and explain to them what a pain in the ass the calls are:
(202) 479-7000
To make it easy for our press corps–the press enquiries go to 716-208-1870. I have a feeling it’s going to be awfully busy.
Seriously, hand out the numbers to those getting the calls. That’s to whom one should complain.
News Media—Irate Voters–mind telling them who is doing it?
It’s getting worse on the robo-call front–someone–anyone cover this story in depth–please.
And btw, I had a Common Sense Ohio phone call today–though nothing on baby experimentation.