I was called and asked to take a political poll

[A Little Weird]

I was called earlier today and didn't recognize the number but it was from my area code so I picked up. They said it was a poll but I didn't catch what company. I know some polls are designed better than others but for this one it seemed obvious that there was a certain way they wanted you to answer the questions. I don't think they liked my answers.

I enjoyed telling them that there was no way I would vote for Mitch McConnell. When they asked why I said it was time to give someone new a chance because McConnell hadn't done anything for the people of Kentucky during his 30 years in office and he seemed more concerned about the needs of his out-of-state donors than his constituents.

They asked a lot about the Barr/Jensen race too (in fact I suspect this was a poll by the Barr campaign). I told them I would be voting for Elisabeth Jensen because I thought she would be a better representative for women. They asked for specifics and I said I supported her because she supported equal pay for equal work and reproductive autonomy. And also because Barr was more interested in making sure nothing in Congress got done rather than finding common ground.

Finally they asked me how I felt about President Obama and would I want to vote "for someone who supported Obama's agenda" or "someone who would stand up and fight against Obama's plans". I said that while he wasn't my favorite president ever, I liked him just fine and I wanted to vote for someone who was willing to work with him on issues even if they disagreed rather than continue the gridlock and obstruction we're seeing with this congress.

Anyway, I'm not even sure why I'm posting about this but it was a novel experience for me. Kentucky usually doesn't get this kind of attention, has anyone else been polled about the upcoming election?

[Curmudgeoness]

1. I am not from KY, but have had this sort of poll.

I usually do not even finish it when the questions are something like "GOP candidate X loves puppies and kittens and apple pie, but Democratic candidate Y kills puppies and kittens and hates apple pie. Would you be able to support the candidate that is a killer". And this is about how some of these polls go. Lots of statements before a question so that you realize it is a political ad, and they have found that people will listen more closely if they know that there is a question that they will be asked.

Funny, I only get these polls from Republicans.

[A Little Weird]

2. Wow - this one wasn't that obvious

I would have probably hung up on them if they were twisting things around that bad. This was more subtle - some of the wording just made it sound like they were hoping to get certain results.

[DeadLetterOffice]

3. Ah the joys of push-polling.

My spouse will only answer pollsters if they will disclose who is funding the poll (all reputable polling orgs willingly disclose this information) -- we've found push-pollers are MUCH more likely to hedge or outright refuse to answer the question.

[A Little Weird]

4. It never even occurred to me to ask who was funding the poll

They did say the name of the company doing the polling but I wasn't paying close enough attention to remember. I should have asked before the call was over. I was so surprised by the call that I wasn't thinking.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. The problem I have been running into lately

is that all the polls are now automated, so you cannot ask any questions. I used to do the same thing, and force the issue, but now I just hang up.

[CincyDem]

5. Poll experience

Got a polling call last week. Other than the name of the research organization, there wasn't any identification. I asked them how long this might take and the woman said "12-14 minutes". OK - I'll give them that. Let's see what they're asking about these days.

Q.1 ) Do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat or Independent. (I responded Independent)
Q.2 ) If forced to choose, do you consider yourself a Republican or a Democrat (I responded Democrat)
Q.3 ) Do you consider yourself liberal or conservative (I don't know - kind a varies depending on the topic...not true but I'm working the poll)
Q.4 ) On the following scale, Liberal = 1, Conservative=6 where would you fall (Hmmm, no center point. OK, let's go with a 3).

She said thank you for your responses and have a good evening.

Guess I wasn't red enough for this one.

[A Little Weird]

6. You would think "Independents" would be the main group they would want to go after

It sounds like they really had an agenda to push.

In this poll, they asked me those kinds of questions too but at the end. They were also asking about age, race, etc. so it just seemed like normal questions that might be used in analyzing the results.

[mopinko]

7. yup, def a push poll.

a sign of desperation.

[bvf]

8. If I'm talking to a live person,

I usually just ask them politely to wait a moment, then I put down the phone and go about my business.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. I used to do that too,

but then I realized that these people who are calling are not the ones making the questions, they probably don't even like their jobs, and they will only be paid for the number of complete surveys that they do. So I just say, not interested right off the bat. I liked it better when I screwed with them, but I am not into screwing some minimum wage desperate worker.

[bvf]

11. I hear that argument a lot

and I agree it's a valid one.

I guess the question boils down to the greater good (in an admittedly small way). From my standpoint I'm reducing the potential damage (again, minimally) the "poll" does.

Since I have no real way of knowing the caller's situation or mindset though, I figure that question's a toss-up.

I don't eat at Burger King. Should I, knowing that the person behind the counter is in a minimum-wage job and probably hates it? More to the point, he/she isn't knocking at my door trying to sell me crap.

[Curmudgeoness]

12. You are right about reducing the damage,

but that is very minimally, since they are onto that trick and will not wait very long at all. I would suppose that if you want to minimize the damage, you should take the poll. That will take up time for them, it will not influence you in the least, and it may give you clues about the issues you have to argue against when talking to people. And if you take your time in answering, it draws it out. Added benefit, you help the person working at that shit job.