Journalism and polling seem to have reached new lows in professional competence.
Brian C. Joondeph:
“…Pollsters are at it again, pushing sketchy polls, not to reflect public opinion, but to shape it. This is called propaganda, a popular tool for dictators who want to control the information flow from an all-powerful government to their subjects, the people.
What once passed for journalism is now mostly propaganda, an effort by major media organizations to insert themselves into the political process, to push their agenda, even if it means throwing any pretense of journalistic principle and integrity to the wind. Look at the Project Veritas undercover videos of CNN for the latest example…
…Pew Research Center is the latest pollster to weigh in on President Trump and impeachment. Let’s see whether their polling sample sauce was well stirred before they took a taste.
Pew sampled 3,487 “randomly selected” adults between October 1-13. That may or may not be representative of the general population but given that only about half of eligible voters actually vote in presidential elections, a better sample would be registered, or even likely voters.
Who was in that sample? Of the 3,487 total sample, 1,453 were or leaned Republican, 1,942 were or leaned Democrat. In other words, 56 percent Democrat and only 42 percent Republican, a 14-point difference favoring Democrats…
…Pew found 54 approving the beginning of an inquiry versus 44 percent opposed, a 10-point difference. If the 14-point difference in political affiliation within the poll sample was negated, there may be a 4-point majority in favor of NOT beginning impeachment proceedings…
Is there a 14-point difference in political affiliation between Democrats and Republicans in the US population?…
…Gallup provides a more quantitative assessment. In early September 2019, they polled asking about party affiliation and found 29 percent Republican, 31 percent Democrat, and a whopping 38 percent independent.
This sample is much different than the one Pew used, explaining the skewed result. Was the Pew poll designed to reflect popular opinion or shape it?…
…Instead the impeachment narrative is just that, a drumbeat from the media to dispirit Trump and his supporters. The polls provide propaganda, attempting to convince squishy Republican members of Congress to abandon Trump. Watch Trump and his supporters at any rally and see confidence and enthusiasm, with dispirited faces only on CNN or MSNBC…”