Aug 28 2008
Push Polling
At a campaign event this past Saturday, State Senator Steven Goss (D-Boone) touched on the issue of push polling and it’s negative effect. I don’t know if there was a specific instance in recent days that prompted him to speak about this during his speech, but should push polling be put under better scrutiny.
For those who don’t know what push polling is it’s basically when an individual or group try to influence someone’s vote or view of a particular candidate under the guise of a poll. In other words, they might call you up and say “Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for Joe Blow if you knew he eats babies?” Even though Joe doesn’t eat babies, the question leaves the impression that he does. It’s dirty campaigning. Probably the most famous was the push poll that went on here in South Carolina during the 2000 Presidential election where the Bush Campaign allegedly called up several thousand people and asked them if they would still vote for McCain if they knew he fathered a black child.
Generally, attacks on public figures are pretty much cart blanche (as yours truly takes great advantage of) and in very rare cases can they sue someone for libelous statements against them. However, if the claim is blatantly false, should that be grounds for prosecution and/or compensation by the offending party? It’s a fine line to walk because it’s not always black and white to determine whether or not an accusation is ture or false. The Obama campaign, for instance, is currently threatening several television stations to pull an ad about his alleged friendship with domestic terrorist William Ayers. He says the claims are smears and lies, but Obama clearly has at least a minimal relationship with Ayers. So how would an instance like this be decided under a slander lawsuit?
