It is going to be an interesting and EDUCATIONAL primary election season coming up. We talk a lot about the “mental manipulation” that goes on in campaigns and politics generally … and you are going to see a lot of that over the next 208 days leading up to the June 11th, 2024, primary election.

Know their games … and don’t be mislead.

Accept The Call

We received our first PUSH POLL call last night. It came from a “scam likely” local caller ID … it purported to be an “opinion poll” gauging support for DONALD TRUMP … but it quickly devolved into a lot of innuendo about a current elected official (a Congressman) and asked if that made us more or less likely to vote to re-elect him.

It was a classic political manipulation phone call … it was good practice to take the call and see firsthand what these political campaigns are all about (i.e., manipulating YOU) … and kinda fun to give them all sorts of whacky answers.

Don’t be annoyed by the calls … accept the call … LEARN and enjoy.

P.S. … and the irony of it all, the negative push poll was apparently conducted by a current elected official (and it now appears a challenger for this “higher office”) who complains constantly about the push polling and misleading negative mailers about him. Isn’t that ironic … and appears to confirm to many that he is just another politician. #LearnTheirTricks

What are PUSH POLLS?

There is a lot of information out there on the internet about PUSH POLLS, so google around if you want to study the topic extensively … as you should.

Wikipedia (HERE) tells us “A push poll is an interactive marketing technique, most commonly employed during political campaigning, in which an individual or organization attempts to manipulate or alter prospective voters’ views under the guise of conducting an opinion poll. Large numbers of voters are contacted with little effort made to collect and analyze voters’ response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as an opinion poll. Push polls may rely on innuendo, or information gleaned from opposition research on the political opponent of the interests behind the poll.”

We could tell last night the individual on the other end of the line had ZERO interest in what our answers were. His sole intent, as stated above, was to infer certain NEGATIVE traits of the current elected official … and ask how that made us “feel”.

[PERSONAL NOTE: Yes, all this is really sad for our Country once you understand exactly what these politicians (and their campaign consultants) are really trying to do. It explains how we got in this mess and shows we must do different if we want a different result. Laugher is sometimes how we have to get through it … “laughing on the outside, crying on the inside” … but the key is to figure all this out. Again, #LearnTheirTricks!!!]

And who pioneered push poling? According to Wikipedia … it was Richard Nixon. Isn’t that interesting as well.

EXAMPLES:

Richard Nixon 1946 bid for US House: “This is a friend of yours, but I can’t tell you who I am. Did you know that Jerry Voorhis is a communist?” – at which point the caller hung up. Democrat Congressman Voorhis was not a communist, Nixon admitted to knowing he was not, but Nixon won.

George W. Bush 1994 bid for Governor of Texas: Voters were asked “whether they would be more or less likely to vote for Governor Ann Richards if they knew that lesbians dominated on her staff”. Wow!!! But, Bush won.

George W. Bush’s 2000 Primary Campaign for President: Voters in South Carolina reportedly were asked “Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?” It was a hypothetical question, which seemed like a suggestion, and appears to have had no substance. But, again, Bush won.

Were we happy with Nixon & Bush? Hmmm …

South Carolina’s famous political consultant, and former RNC Chairman, Lee Atwater (HERE), was also well known for using push-polling among his aggressive campaign tactics, though apologized for this in later life prior to his premature death from a cancerous brain tumor in 1991 at the age of 40.

YOU DECIDE

So, ask yourself … do the ends justify the means? Do we want a politician that is willing to win at all cost? Is it the Christian thing to do … to manipulate voters? Are we OK with a candidate that is willing to “manipulate” the masses just to get elected? If the candidate is manipulating the masses … isn’t it likely he is also manipulating US?

If they will lie to GET the office, what will they do later to KEEP the office?

You decide …

Push Polls … #Desperation!!!

“If they will lie to get the office … what will they do later to keep the office?”