I Get Polled! – a Firsthand Report By Ivan Potter While I was in the midst of frying potatoes for supper last night, the phone rang. It was a very young lady asking if I would consent to do a short poll / interview. I love being polled so with the cordless in one hand and spatula in other, I settled in to be polled. I asked the young lady who she was with – she said “GHY”. Here’s the questions I was asked. Young Lady (YL): Are you or any of your family involved in media – TV, advertising and marketing, radio, newspapers? YL: Did any of our family work with or have a relationship with labor unions? YL: Did I vote in the 2004 presidential election? YL: Did I vote Democratic or Republican? YL: What was my opinion of Steve Beshear? YL – In a match up for state senate between Ken Winters vs. Korel Hooberd In a match up between the following, who would you support? Ken Winters vs. Rick Johnson? YL: Are you aware of the qualifications of these people? Rick Johnson: highly regarded legal career in West Kentucky Rick Johnson – played fast and loose with facts in his recent political campaign YL: Who would you vote for state senator - Candidate A or Candidate B? Candidate A would vote to place legislation on the ballot for extended gambling. After the interview, I tried to call the number back – it wouldn’t work. Googled “GHY”. There is a firm called Garin Hart Yang that is a well known polling firm (GHY?) Peter Hart runs the political polling portion of the business. Hart runs a more progressive leaning polling service than the call I got last night. http://www.hartresearch.com/about/political.html. Considering the substance of the poll and the lack of the call back number, we looked a bit deeper and read other accounts of “GHY” and its polling practices. This sounded like a push poll, especially with the mispronunciation of Hubbard’s name (which I corrected) and the effusive praise of Ken Winters. GHY was not “Hart Research” – but another group playing on his name. http://www.tonyspencer.com/2004/10/10/political-campaign-tactic-phony-phone-surveys/
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