Poll results released yesterday give Senate candidate Angus King a clear lead in the race to replace Olympia Snowe. It also gives democrats Chellie Pingree (who owns the paper reporting on the poll) and Mike Michaud an edge in their races.
The very-hypothetical poll (the questions include asking about candidates that haven’t actually won primaries yet) was commissioned by the ultra liberal group “Maine People’s Resource Center” which is an offshoot group of the Maine People’s Alliance, a far-left wing advocacy group that has championed extreme liberal causes.
Now obviously the media is running with this poll, because it bodes well for all of their favorite candidates. The poll is skewed democrat, with 39% of respondents self-identifying as “democrat” while only 29% identified as “republican.”
But, more important even than the methodology may be the source. Consider the operation that is the Maine People’s Alliance. Here are some highlights of the folks that put this poll out:
The MPA is advertising their 30th Anniversary celebration this year with guest speaker…drum roll…Barney Frank! The good congressman is a frequent visitor to Maine, where his partner Jim Ready is from. He is also known to jet set to the Virgin Islands with his good friend Chellie Pingree and her hubby billionaire and Maine Today Media owner Donald Sussman.
This past summer the Maine People’s Alliance organized and led a “flash mob” of protesters who flooded a Bank of America in Brunswick and essentially shut it down as they protested…something. Video below – near the end of the video the guy in the hoodie offering a mock prayer “asking for forgiveness for the bank” is Ben Chin, the “political engagement director” for MPA:
Maine People’s Alliance has also worked hard to keep health reform from passing in Maine in the form of PL 90, a law that will help bring down individual health care costs here in the state. Apparently MPA believes our past state health insurance laws put in place by progressives have helped us out (what does your health insurance cost you?). They held a rally at the statehouse to oppose the law, and there were some interesting signs…
So when you see a poll like this one, and there will be more, crowning the democrats and “independent” favorites of the media and the left – consider the source.
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Funny, I didn’t get an invitation to the MPA dinner, woe is me.
There is no doubt it’s worth looking at who conducted a poll as a first step. This would be especially important if the group hasn’t released public polls. But that’s not so in this case.
Thus one can do what one normally does, which is to look at a polling operation’s track record in comparison to the actual vote So what do we see?
Both MHPC and MPRC did polls on election day registration, as did other Maine polling firms.
MPRC did the best of all state polls on 2011’s Question 1, which restored election-day registration by a 60-40 landslide. They estimated a ~55% yes vote and the vote was 60%
In contrast, the poll done by the MHPC was badly flawed in design and was the only poll in the state to predict No would prevail, with 47% voting yes. The actual yes vote was 60%.
Admittedly, it was released months before the election so perhaps opinion shifted before election day. But the flaws were quite evident and were not surprising, given that the owner of polling company used acknowledged:
All that Pulse does is take the questions, turn them around, and give them back to the client,” company president Scott Rasmussen said in a phone interview. “If you went and asked some off-the-wall question, Pulse would not vouch for your interpretation of the data or the reasonableness off the question.
http://pollways.bangordailynews.com/2011/10/04/maine-politics/cheap-is-cheap-a-further-point-about-that-election-day-registration-poll/
Not only am I capable of reading 50 pages in 12 hours, but I’m also capable of understanding that someone who INCREASES my monthly health insurance premium by $300-$400 is not a “champion of the poor”.
WCSH lapped this drivel up as well.
Interesting to see you here Mr. Cebra…hmmmm
I’m surprised the whole alec paid group has shown up. Lets talk about the rep. from naples and how effective he was in getting t
he swing bridge in Naples.(oops thats right he wasn’t we are going to have a fixed bridge which will allow narrow less than twelve foot clearence ) about 50 % of the boats in the marinas won’t fit through the new bridge!
Now if you think that you have a candidate that “alec money can elect” bring him on!
I say ‘ King will win if he runs” of course now that the people of Maine are being made aware of the influence “alec ” has had and who
owns the right wing establishment I think that hot air your slinging MIKE will soon sink the boat!
And now mike you can buy that cheap insurance that covers nothing and has a 50,000 life limit! just don’t get sick and need it!
latest polls show that over 70% will not vote for a republican this fall!
funny you didn’t get a swing bridge either
will the real republican step foward and offer Sussman 5 million -or stop your gd whinning!
roflmao-ya didn’t cause their wasn’t a guranteed profit like a state contract
The Maine Wire has become a morning bright spot!