Political polls

Political polls

Political polls are often a form of propaganda messaging. However, the propaganda connection is not the purpose of this post.
UPDATE Nov 10 2016: The campaign polls were severely wrong, so wrong that they might have been part of propaganda messaging – or their failure may result from the pollsters and media being off in their own worlds, out-of-touch with real people. In essence, the pollsters and media may have become the “elite” that view the rest of the country as the “unwashed masses”.
I found these poll results interesting:

  • Trump: 56% of voters say they would feel afraid, 48% would have feelings of regret, 22% would be proud and 26% excited if Trump is elected President.
  • Clinton: 48% would feel afraid, 46% regretful, 27% proud and 26% excited if Clinton is elected President.
  • Trump: 47% of his supporters think he’s not civil, 39% say he’s not really likable, and 31% say he’s not qualified.
  • Clinton: One third of her supporters say she is not likable, and half consider her slightly or entirely dishonest.

Source: (AP) Fear Factor: Americans scared of their presidential options
While Trump does a fabulous job of insulting so many with inane and stupid comments, the DNC shoots itself in the head.  The Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, the CEO, the CFO and their director of public relations, all resigned in early August due to their colluding to rig the primaries to crown Clinton as the nominee, subverting democracy, calling Hispanics “taco bowls” and proposing to attack Sanders for his religion. 2 weeks later, the DNC’s national finance director also resigned for his role in the DNC’s ethics scandal.
Update Nov 10 2016: The replacement DNC Chairwoman, Donna Brazille was found to have provided debate questions with Sanders and Clinton, prior to debates. Brazille then lied about having done so. She was fired by CNN.
We end up with a slate of candidates that, per the above poll, everyone dislikes, resulting in 3/4th of voters selecting a candidate not on the merits of the candidate but because they are voting against the other candidate!
A lack of ethics and corruption is endemic in major political parties. Yet I see party enthusiasts – of both parties – bashing “the other party” as dishonest, ethically bankrupt and corrupt – while apparently blinded and unable to see or acknowledge the same problems in their own party. Pot calling the kettle black kind of stuff.
Social media is filled with party enthusiast posts from both major parties, each pointing out the moral and ethical corruption of the other party. This is pure propaganda, albeit, from non-experts in propaganda. But the echo chamber effect of social media is that such inane commentary goes unchallenged – resulting in each side digging in their heels even further, refusing to budge, refusing to acknowledge that may be their own side is just as ethically messed up as the other.

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