Please tell Zogby what you think of this reprehensible push poll.

[Brazenly Liberal]

We all know the Republicans (and some Democrats, to be honest) just can't stand the President's high popularity ratings. Poll after poll only makes the situation worse in their eyes. Apparently, they've decided to do something about it by taking a poll designed to manipulate answers and opinion. This poll is being conducted by Zogby International. I received an invitation to participate yesterday. My response to Zogby at the end along with a link to their comment page.
....................................................................................................

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this online survey.

What state do you live in?
State


Are you registered to vote in the United States?
Yes
No
Not sure


How likely are you to vote in national elections?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not likely
Not sure


In the 2008 presidential election, the candidates were Democrat Barack Obama, Republican John McCain, Independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian Bob Barr and Green Party Cynthia McKinney. For whom did you vote?
Obama
McCain
Nader
Barr
McKinney
Someone else
Did not vote
Not sure


In which party are you either registered to vote or do you consider yourself to be a member ...
Democratic
Republican
Independent/unenrolled/Unaffiliated
Libertarian
Constitution
Green
Natural Law
Reform
Other
Not sure
How would you rate President Obama's job at un-freezing the credit markets for small businesses who need loans to expand or survive?
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Not sure


Sen. John Kerry has called for Senate hearings on failing newspapers. Do you think the government should bailout the newspaper industry?
Yes
No
Not sure


Do you think new gun laws should be passed or do you think we should enforce the laws already on the books?
New gun laws should be passed
Enforce the laws already on the books
Not sure


The Obama administration and Attorney General Eric Holder believe Congress needs to pass new laws so they can control gun violence and illegal gun sales while a bipartisan coalition of 70 Democrats and Republicans members of Congress believe that we should begin enforcing the 3,000 gun laws already on the books. Which are you more likely to support?
New gun laws should be passed
Enforce the laws already on the books
Not sure


Thinking about the Tea Party demonstrations that took place on April 15th to protest the growth in taxes and federal government spending, do you...?
Strongly support the beliefs of the organizers
Somewhat support them
Somewhat oppose their beliefs
Strongly oppose them
Not sure


The Department of Homeland Security recently issued a report to 850,000 law enforcement officers that focused on the potential terrorist threat from disgruntled veterans and people dedicated to a single issue, such as abortion and the Second Amendment. How do you feel about this?
This statement is inappropriate and these people are not a threat to America
This is a good warning and these people are dangerous
No opinion


Four members of the U.S. Senate recently introduced a bill that would allow the President of the United states to turnoff the Internet nationally in the event of an emergency but without defining what constitutes a national emergency. Do you support or oppose this bill?
Support
Oppose
Not sure


President Obama wants to impose cap-and-trade laws that would limit the total carbon dioxide emissions allowed to be released into the environment. These laws would turn carbon dioxide into a commodity allowing those that pollute less to sell credits to those that pollute more. These credits would be traded on commodities markets. According to congressional testimony given by the Director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, "decreasing emissions would also impose costs on the economy - much of those costs will be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for energy and energy intensive goods." Some have estimated these costs to be $800 to $1300 more per household by 2015. Knowing this, do you support or oppose cap-and-trade laws?
Support
Oppose
Not sure

Which course of action should America take with regards to energy policy?
Make energy cheaper by developing all sources of U.S. energy, including coal, nuclear power, offshore drilling and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Reduce America's production of fossil fuels that might cause global warming
Not sure


For the next Supreme Court Justice appointee, would you prefer a judge who takes the laws of other countries laws into consideration, including Islamic Sharia law and laws in socialist countries, when crafting his or her judicial opinions -- a practice frowned upon by Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts but supported by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer.
Agree
Disagree
Not sure


The estate tax is due to expire in 2010. Which of the following plans do you favor for the estate tax?
Taxes on estates over $3.5 million at a 45 percent tax rate
Taxes on estates over $10 million at a 35 percent tax rate
Let the estate tax expire - no estate taxes
Not sure


If the President has to drop his promise not to raise taxes on people earning less than $250,000, would it...?
Make you more likely to support Obama
Less likely to support Obama
No difference
Not sure


Which of the following do you think is a better economic system - A or B?

A: A system in which the public or the state have ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.

B: A system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth are privately owned and controlled rather than state owned or controlled with the state regulating them.
A
B
Not sure


Scarce law enforcement and prison resources, a desire to neutralize drug cartels and the need for new sources of revenue have resurrected the topic of legalizing marijuana. Proponents say it makes sense to tax and regulate the drug while opponents claim that legalization would lead marijuana users to use other illegal drugs. Would you favor or oppose the government's effort to legalize marijuana?
Favor
Oppose
Not sure


President Obama's Education Secretary recently rescinded 200 scholarships previously awarded through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a school choice program that allows low-income students to attend private schools. Despite a Department of Education study that showed the program is a great success, the Obama administration wants to bring the program to an end and return those students to public schools in Washington, D.C.. Do you agree or disagree with the Obama administration?
Agree
Disagree
Not sure


President Obama's health secretary nominee, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is a supporter of abortion on demand. President Obama indicated that he would appoint someone who was neutral on the issue, but pro-life forces find Gov. Sebelius' pro-choice record unacceptable. Do you support or oppose Gov. Sebelius as a good choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services?
Support
Oppose
Not sure

The President's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, recently stated that the 1 million people the government put on the "no fly" list should be prohibited from purchasing a gun, even if they are not guilty of a felony or crime and they may not even be the correct person who is targeted by the list. With respect to the "no fly" list which statement do you support - A or B?
Statement A: People on the no fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun.

Statement B: People on the no-fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun only if they are convicted of a crime.
Statement A
Statement B
Not sure


While visiting Turkey recently, President Obama said America is not a Christian nation. Do you agree or disagree that the U.S. is a Christian nation?
Agree
Disagree
Not sure


President Obama recently spoke at Georgetown University, a Catholic-chartered university. Prior to his appearance, presidential staff requested that the symbol of Jesus be covered up. Do you approve or disapprove of the White House's actions?
Approve
Disapprove
Not sure


If the Freedom of Choice Act passes, do you agree or disagree that doctors and nurses who believe abortion is murder be exempted from being required to perform abortions?
Agree
Disagree
Not sure


Some U.S. shipping company owners who ply their trade in the pirate-infested waters off Somalia are considering arming their U.S. crews in an effort to combat pirates and defend themselves. Other U.S. ship owners worry that their company might be held liable for deaths or injuries by someone on the vessel. Which course of action is best to safeguard shipping in pirate-infested waters?
Arming the U.S. crews so they can deter pirates
Leave U.S. crews unarmed and let the Navy take care of it
Not sure


Senator Durbin recently offered an amendment in the U.S. Senate that requires the Federal Communications Commission to take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership. Opponents say the move would threaten the breakup of radio networks that largely carry conservative talk radio shows like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Do you support or oppose this legislation?
Support
Oppose
Not sure


The Federal Communications Commission is entertaining the idea of re-instituting advisory boards to determine the needs and interests of their communities, to promote localism and diversity. These boards, appointed by the FCC and would monitor what is said over the radio and report back if they were offended by the talk show hosts and their guests. Critics argue that such a proposal is nothing more than a back door implementation of the Fairness Doctrine. Do you support or oppose the FCC's efforts to reinstitute advisory boards?
Support
Oppose
Not sure

Thank you. Please give us some information about yourself.

What is your age?
Age


Which of the following best represents your race or ethnic group?
White
African American
Asian/Pacific
Arab American
Other-Specify
Refused


Do you consider yourself Hispanic or Latino?
Yes
No
Not sure
Refused


Which of the following best describes your highest level of education?
Less than high school graduate
High school graduate
Some college
College graduate+
Refused


Which of the following best represents where you live?
Large city (100,000 or more residents)
Small city (less than 100,000 residents)
Suburbs
Rural area
Not sure
Refused


Which description best represents your political ideology?
Progressive/very liberal
Liberal
Moderate
Conservative
Very conservative
Libertarian
Not sure
Refused


Which of the following best represents your religious affiliation?
Roman Catholic
Protestant/other non-denominational Christian
Jewish
Muslim
Mormon
Atheist/realist/humanist
No affiliation
Other-Specify
Refused
=============================================================================================================
Link to comment page:
http://interactive.zogby.com/comments

My comment:
This is the most outrageous example of a push poll I have ever seen. It is clearly intended not to measure public opinion regarding the Obama administration, but to manipulate it.

Many of the premises are distorted or outright falsehoods. Spreading this poll around amounts to rumor-mongering, though I have no doubt that within a week or two, those who stand to gain by undermining the President will be on TV, using the twisted and unreliable results of this piece of shit to make a difficult time worse.

You ought to be ashamed of the fundamental dishonesty displayed here. I am disgusted beyond belief.

[Buzz Clik]

1. That's quite a long poll. Which questions/answers offended you?

[Brazenly Liberal]

2. Are you serious?

Do you really not see how it starts out innocently enough and then builds up to just short of asking if we think Obama should stop selling government secrets to his BFF bin Laden?

Edited to add: I don't want to tell people what they should object to. I personally find a number of the questions extremely offensive. Perhaps other folks generally agree with you that it's too long to be offensive.

[bunkerbuster1]

3. The "Should docs be forced to MURDER BABIES?" was a good 'un, too.

How much did you get for your soul, Zogby?

[Buzz Clik]

5. The question didn't say that.

[bunkerbuster1]

6. It might as well.

...given that the question in framed in such a way as to make the reader believe something that's untrue.

Here's the question:

"If the Freedom of Choice Act passes, do you agree or disagree that doctors and nurses who believe abortion is murder be exempted from being required to perform abortions?"

The horseshit premise of this question is that if the Freedom of Choice act passes, docs and nurses will be forced to perform abortions.

[Buzz Clik]

4. It has 30 questions covering about 25 topics.

I didn't say it was not offensive, and I didn't say it wasn't offensive because it was long. I said it was long, and I asked you which questions you found offensive. You stated in you title that you hate this poll, so that part isn't a secret.

[Bucky]

7. Thanks for posting the whole thing so we could judge for ourselves.

This isn't a push poll. It's not even close to a push poll--which is when an interviewer frames rhetorical arguments in the form of slanted questions--usually in the form of "Don't you think that ---?". This poll asks direct questions and frames the issues in fairly neutral terms. The one near exception here is the "requested that the picture of Jesus be covered" non-story; but that's because coming from my perspective the actual "covering" needs to be given some context for full understanding whereas this poll gives no context at all. From a scientific point of view, I think that particular question needs some "pushing" whereas Zogby didn't allow it.

I worked for over ten years in market research. You may not like the questions--I sure won't like the answers a lot of respondents will give to them--but they aren't push-polling here and the questions are framed quite neutrally. Zogby's doing the job right here. We have no grounds for legitimate complaint.

[joeglow3]

8. I wasn't too offended.

The only one that shot out at me was:

"For the next Supreme Court Justice appointee, would you prefer a judge who takes the laws of other countries laws into consideration, including Islamic Sharia law and laws in socialist countries, when crafting his or her judicial opinions -- a practice frowned upon by Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts but supported by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer."

While the basic premise is true, I have NEVER heard any propose we follow Sharia Law and "socialist countries" is vague and appears to be used to elicit a certain response. That said, the rest of it did not bother me too much.

[joeglow3]

9. I wasn't too offended.

The only one that shot out at me was:

"For the next Supreme Court Justice appointee, would you prefer a judge who takes the laws of other countries laws into consideration, including Islamic Sharia law and laws in socialist countries, when crafting his or her judicial opinions -- a practice frowned upon by Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts but supported by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer."

While the basic premise is true, I have NEVER heard any propose we follow Sharia Law and "socialist countries" is vague and appears to be used to elicit a certain response. That said, the rest of it did not bother me too much.

[NYC_SKP]

10. There are RW "hot button" questions and there are some made up bullshit "facts" used.

These 7 questions seem to be "button pushers" and at least a few assume facts not in evidence, like covering up baby Jeebus.


Scarce law enforcement and prison resources, a desire to neutralize drug cartels and the need for new sources of revenue have resurrected the topic of legalizing marijuana. Proponents say it makes sense to tax and regulate the drug while opponents claim that legalization would lead marijuana users to use other illegal drugs. Would you favor or oppose the government's effort to legalize marijuana?
Favor
Oppose
Not sure


President Obama's Education Secretary recently rescinded 200 scholarships previously awarded through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a school choice program that allows low-income students to attend private schools. Despite a Department of Education study that showed the program is a great success, the Obama administration wants to bring the program to an end and return those students to public schools in Washington, D.C.. Do you agree or disagree with the Obama administration?
Agree
Disagree
Not sure


President Obama's health secretary nominee, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is a supporter of abortion on demand. President Obama indicated that he would appoint someone who was neutral on the issue, but pro-life forces find Gov. Sebelius' pro-choice record unacceptable. Do you support or oppose Gov. Sebelius as a good choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services?
Support
Oppose
Not sure

The President's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, recently stated that the 1 million people the government put on the "no fly" list should be prohibited from purchasing a gun, even if they are not guilty of a felony or crime and they may not even be the correct person who is targeted by the list. With respect to the "no fly" list which statement do you support - A or B?
Statement A: People on the no fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun.

Statement B: People on the no-fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun only if they are convicted of a crime.
Statement A
Statement B
Not sure


While visiting Turkey recently, President Obama said America is not a Christian nation. Do you agree or disagree that the U.S. is a Christian nation?
Agree
Disagree
Not sure


President Obama recently spoke at Georgetown University, a Catholic-chartered university. Prior to his appearance, presidential staff requested that the symbol of Jesus be covered up. Do you approve or disapprove of the White House's actions?
Approve
Disapprove
Not sure


If the Freedom of Choice Act passes, do you agree or disagree that doctors and nurses who believe abortion is murder be exempted from being required to perform abortions?
Agree
Disagree
Not sure