The organization Public Policy Polling conducted a post-election survey, asking similar questions they had put to voters after the 2008 election. (Actually, about a year afterward, but post-election nonetheless!) This article, giving us the highlights of the recent poll, suggests that the Republicans remain opposed to reality.
The most glaring example: 49% of Republican voters said that they believed that ACORN, the controversial community organizing group, helped the President steal the election. This is down from 52% in 2008.
The problem, as many many lefties have had fun with since the announcement of the poll, is that ACORN does not exist. Attacked in the media by falsified video evidence, ACORN nevertheless lost its federal funding and ceased to exist in 2010. So, you'd think that it would be kind of impossible for a nonexistent group to help steal an election.
And so the left had much fun with the reality-denying GOP. And okay, such turkey-shoots are fun, I know. But assuming that the pollsters asked the questions last month in the same way that the asked in 2009, then it's worth pausing about that figure.
Respondents were asked their opinions of ACORN and then were asked, do you think that Obama legitimately won the election or that ACORN stole it for him? that's a pretty damn provocative question, and leads you into an interesting problem. You can say he legitimately won it, or you can say ACORN stole it, but what if your answer is different? Okay, then say, "not sure." But who really likes to admit one's own ignorance or insecurity? And maybe you believe the victory was caused by other forms of fraud instead of anything about ACORN. Polling is often reductive that way.
What makes the 2012 poll more problematic is this: If I ask you if you think ACORN stole the election for the President, wouldn't you, at first "glance," assume that ACORN exists? After all, why would a pollster ask you a question about a nonexistent group? And again, if the poll question was worded the same way, and you're a Republican who might believe that Obama didn't win the election fairly, you have a choice: either you say you're not sure, OR admit that a group that doesn't exist helped him win. There's no button you can push that says "excuse me ACORN does not exist but I think the President cheated anyway."
Do I think that many Republicans still believe ACORN exists, as many believe the President was not born in Hawaii, that global warming is a myth, etc.? Okay I probably do, though of course it's easier to make fun of ignorance. I'm mean-spirited that way. But I can't help thinking that if you ask a loaded question, it's going to "rig" the answers. And after all, 8 out of 10 people say you can't trust polls.
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