Push Polls Rear Their Ugly Head...

Apparently, about three weeks ago the Terry Kilgore campaign (in the 1st district House of Delegates race against Rex "I Have No Fear" McCarty) conducted a poll and didn't like the results.  Surprise, suprise.  So, two weeks ago they started doing a "push poll."  The sole intent of a "push poll," as you probably know, is to smear one's opponent.  Online encyclopeida Wikipedia defines a "push poll" as follows:

A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. Push polls are generally viewed as a form of negative campaigning. The term is also sometimes used incorrectly to refer to legitimate polls which test political messages, some of which may be negative. Push polling has been condemned by the American Association of Political Consultants.

[...]

Perhaps the most famous alleged use of push polls is in the 2000 United States Republican Party primaries, when it was alleged that George W. Bush's campaign used push polling to torpedo the campaign of Senator John McCain. Voters in South Carolina reported 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?", an allegation that had no substance, but planted the idea of undisclosed allegations in the minds of thousands of primary voters. McCain and his wife had in fact adopted an Asian child.

The main advantage of push polls is that they are an effective way of maligning an opponent while avoiding the appearance of negative campaigning that voters dislike. They are risky in that if it is ever proven that the polls were ordered by the campaign, it would do serious damage to the candidate. Push polls are also expensive. It is of far higher cost per voter than radio or television commercials. They are thus most effective in smaller elections with only a few thousand voters, such as party primaries.

In other words, "push polls" are not polls at all, just a nasty political smear technique often used by right-wing Republican operatives in places like South Carolina.  [By the way, isn't Scott Howell - Kilgore's top advisor -  a right-wing political operative who got his start in South Carolina, just about the same time that McCain was being smeared?  Coincidence? Hmmmmm...]  Anyway, this is what Terry Kilgore apparently has resorted to against Rex McCarty, less than 100 days before an election that he's obviously deeply worried about.  From what I've heard, the Kilgore people are calling and asking "questions" like "Would you still vote for Rex McCarty if you knew that he had unpaid taxes?" and "Do you think that Rex McCarty should have sold his newspaper to run for public office?"  Apparently, there were even slandering questions about spousal abuse!

So, this is what the Kilgores resort to when they're down - push polls, outright vote fraud (ask Willie Mae), etc.  It's pitiful, dirty, underhanded, and stupid.  Unfortunately, it's not surprising, either.  Sad to say, it's the Kilgore way.

PS  Now I'm hearing that the the Terry Kilgore campaign has moved away from polling on its race with Rex McCarty race and has started asking about the Governor's race.  Gee, I wonder what they'll do if they don't like what they hear there!

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