ASU2003

Why is the media obsessed with polls, opinions, and assumptions? The election hasn't happened yet, why is it 'official news' to report on what random people are feeling? There are at least 40% of Americans who are very opposed to the Tea Party and conservatives. Why don't they interview any of them?

I want to know why people are feeling bad. Are they listening/watching to 12 hours of right-wing radio and TV each day (commute to work, 8 hours at work, commute home, Fox News at night)? Do some investigative reporting, look into who is controlling the message and why, find solutions that would work. Do some reporting on why the people age 40-60 want to maintain the status quo. Figure out why they are afraid of making changes that would improve their lives and improve the country.

Find the truth, be rational, and expose the lies and manipulations.

Cimarron29414

Did you get that 40% number from a poll?

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Derwood

Mainstream media won't dare investigate why people support the Tea Party, as they don't want to be labeled as anti-Tea Party. 24 hour news media hasn't done much actual investigating in quite some time

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roachboy

polls are bizarre-o things.
i think they're popular because they're cheap and appear meaningful. but more, they give an illusion of immediate connection between the audience and medium, which is key for any successful authoritarian media system. polls quantify opinion so make it into a kind of data which is paper-thin but nonetheless scientific-seeming.
nonsense plus footnotes.
the magic of number, of counting things.

i think polls are innocuous in themselves, but used as they are by television infotainment outlets, for example, they have the effect of basically telling audiences what they think...it's like they're passivity generators that effectively say "no need to think about x given that The Abstract People have already spoken to our telephone operators...." this because infotainment outlets typically don't bother with things like method or actual data, which presumably would bore you and i and interrupt our rapt television-viewing attention which must needs be maintained until the next sequence of vital advertising.

as for the self-confirming circle-jerk of fox news infotainment and the manufacturing of an illusion of consent for right-wing politics, i suppose we're about to see how effective it really is.

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StanT

The only poll that is relevant is the one that takes place on election day.

I never, ever cooperate with people taking polls. They seem to remove the motivation to actually go out and vote.

Cimarron29414

roach -

I'll go one further - I had a few beers with a guy who was pretty high up in a polling company. He admitted in absolute terms that the structure of the question asked could be modified to affect the results. His polling company was pretty well known, and he didn't say they ever actually did this, just that it could be done:

Basically,
1)"What do you want the poll to be about?"
2)"What do you want the results to be?"
"Thanks, we'll get right on that..."

So, you can't trust any poll taken by people who have interest in the results - and that's pretty much all of them.

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"Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."

Jinn

Oh absolutely - the most bandied about recently was the ground zero mosque. As a great post on DailyKos pointed out.. these four questions are in a spectrum depending on what you want to 'prove'.

Choose the first one if you're looking for condemnation, choose the latter if you're looking for support. The first question got 68% of Americans saying they didn't support the mosque. I imagine the last would get something like 70% supporting religious freedom.

Polls are garbage, unless they demonstrate my point, in which case I'll kindly omit the fact that I think the poll is garbage.

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RogueGypsy

That last line is the grail. It's the 'check' in checks and balances that the media should be doing. Unfortunately, they don't and haven't for some time. We do not now, nor will we likely ever, know the truth. We are shown pieces according to the reaction they are looking to incite.

It doesn't matter what mass media network you're watching, paper you're reading or station you're listening too. You will hear what you want to hear, from what they want you to hear. If there is any truth in it, it's minute, obscure and often out of context.

To that end, how do we know if anything is actually going to "improve our lives and our country"?

Not to beat a bloated stinking horse, but look at 'health care reform'. Sounds great, everyone gets free medical! That's awesome! I would love that. In reality, it cut existing benefits (good or bad, who knows) and mandates everyone soon pay a minimum of $675/mo if currently uninsured. If I can't afford insurance now, how am I supposed to afford $675/mo? Before I had a choice, buy insurance or pay as I go. Soon it will be buy insurance or face possible imprisonment. Yeah, I know, many threads about this, but you don't put the only 'guilty until proved innocent' division of collection in charge unless you intend to use it.

And how is bigger government better for the country? The more people employed by the government, the less tax dollars there are to improve our country. Less money for infrastructure, less money for security, less money for the retired. Not only have you taken their taxable income out of the equation, your paying them with taxes. It's a double hit and it makes no sense.

The Fed has (2) purposes: 1. To protect the citizens of the United States. 2. To represent the interests of the citizens in international affairs. That's it. No more. Everything else should be left to state government and private industry. Imagine how much better life would be with a few hundred billion tax dollars back in our pockets for us to spend as we choose.

But now I'm straying from the topic, back to the OP.

People 40-60 don't want change? Who likes to have the rules change, just when you've gotten good at the game? Who likes to be promised something, then have it taken away when it's time to deliver? Who really enjoys change at all?

As far as people feeling bad. I think it's more about people feeling angry, betrayed and bitter.

'Hi Bob, I know you worked hard your entire life, played by the rules and did what you had to do to make a better life for you and your family. Contributed to society, weathered the hard times, served your country, and stuck by us all the way. I know we promised, at the end of all that we would take care of you. But the day has come and due to popular sentiment today, we are going to give everything you earned and were promised to others who've never contributed in any of the ways that you have.
Others that, although they could have, chose not to support themselves, contribute to society and help others. Others who figured out a flaw in the system and took advantage of the charity of others. Yes Bob, here is your card board box and can of Sterno. We'll need you to move out of your house now, so we can give it to this other family with 13 kids and no jobs. Surely you can't expect them to live in a box, they're a family. You've enjoyed you're home for so many years. I'm sure they'll love all the improvements you've made over the years. The new den, they're gonna need that extra room you built for your daughter, the deck and patio, wow Bob beautiful lawn. I'm sure the new family will just love it. You're a great guy Bob, Enjoy your retirement.'
What's that you say Bob, you have your own retirement plan because that's the responsible thing to do? Well thank you for reminding us Bob. We'll be taking half of that too. The new family needs to eat too you know. Besides, you're old and weak now. You can't defend yourself anymore, never mind all those you defended serving you're country. They don't care. You're not long for this world Bob, so the suffering will be short. Now take your box and Sterno and be on you're way.'

Why would anyone be unhappy?

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Xerxys

HA! that is an awesome comeback.

What do you mean you don't want to know what random people are thinking? Knowing what people think means you aren't somehow "weird". Have you never been to high school or is it so long ago that you forgot the angst that goes with living in a society.

That aside, the media exploits polls and opinions in order to predict who will come out top and keep ahead of the curve. It increases ratings. Like reality TV.

ASU2003

That is where the 40% average comes from. I didn't call 10 people from my contacts list and make a claim that those 10 are representative to 330,000,000 people.