When That Poll-taker Calls, Answer!

 

In the past week, I have taken at least three political polls; two online, and one over the phone.  Seeing as the upcoming midterm elections are extremely important to us, shouldn’t our opinions get registered?  But it seems like a large number of my Ricochet family members have a policy of not answering polls.  I would like to recommend that you change your policy.  How else are we going to get on the scoreboard, if our fellows don’t know that there are a large number of conservatives out there, who register their opinion?

In my retirement, I decided to sign up with a couple of websites that specialize in market research (I’ve always been a sucker for market research); they pay for your time, albeit a low amount, but it’s more than nothing.  I just last week participated in an online focus group, for which I stand to be paid $175.  Anyway, I ended up on YouGov’s panel, and they now send me regular surveys to fill out.  I get to state my political preferences directly, and I’m happy to be that kind of statistic.  I think that refusing to answer poll-takers makes it look like we aren’t there, and we need to make our opinions known.  I had a delightful half-hour conversation with a young Hispanic lady last week, and I got to register my preferences for our local candidates.  I even helped her with some name pronunciations; I think I made her day by being willing to talk to her, instead of just not answering.

Another benefit of taking the online surveys is I get to evaluate the political ads of the Leftist candidates.  I learned that our state congresspersons from the Democrat side are lying with every statement they make about the Republican candidates.  I never would have seen those ads, if I hadn’t been doing those surveys.  I am pleased to get my preferences out there, perhaps to encourage others to vote, who might have been discouraged by the poll results.  We all know that a lot of political polls skew Democrat, but can’t we change that by not hanging up on the poll-takers?  Give it some thought, and register your opinions when the poll-takers call.  If nothing else, you can make them mad when you support Donald Trump!

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  1. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    What market research sites did you sign up with?

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    The problem when the calls come in unsolicited is that one never knows who is really calling and who is keeping information on one’s opinions. Given the current climate, I believe caution is advised.

    • #2
  3. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    RushBabe49: I think I made her day by being willing to talk to her, instead of just not answering.

    The poll-takers don’t get paid for people who don’t answer.

    • #3
  4. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    RushBabe49: We all know that a lot of political polls skew DemocRat, but can’t we change that by not hanging up on the poll-takers?  Give it some thought, and register your opinions when the poll-takers call.  If nothing else, you can make them mad when you support Donald Trump!

    They could easily just discard responses from Trump-supporters etc, because they “don’t fit the profile” or whatever they like to claim.

    • #4
  5. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    YouGov has one of the worst track records precisely because they use the marketing panels. But glad you’re milking them for all they got. They tend to be highly urban and left-wing panels.

    • #5
  6. 9thDistrictNeighbor Member
    9thDistrictNeighbor
    @9thDistrictNeighbor

    Our phone was ringing like mad before the Illinois gubernatorial primary.  When we picked up they were largely push polls.  On the rare occasions we have actually been polled for a Presidential election by a national firm, the caller ID said Gallup or Rasmussen.   

    It is fun to figure out who paid for the push polls by the questions they ask.  They try to make it obscure, but they are not very good at it.  I was hung up on by a Richard Irvin poller this cycle when I kept responding Darren Bailey.

    I run to hit the button on the call blocker gadget when the ID reads RNC or Elise Stefanik.  Whether the gadget works or not is not at issue, it’s the satisfaction from bopping the red button on the RNC that makes the game worthwhile.

    • #6
  7. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    It’s more fun to surprise them on election night.  “Government [or campaign] by opinion poll” is one of the reasons we’re in the mess we’re in.

     

    • #7
  8. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):
    It is fun to figure out who paid for the push polls by the questions they ask.  They try to make it obscure, but they are not very good at it.  I was hung up on by a Richard Irvin poller this cycle when I kept responding Darren Bailey.

    I had the same with one of the candidates here in Michigan. It was the only poll I did decide to be generous enough to talk to. Mind, I waited until close to the election before I did any research this year. The guy I was planning on voting for never got his paperwork filed. He was a guy who had once offered me a job a few decades back, so I personally knew him. When the pollster asked about the obviously favored candidate, and I said, “Never heard of him,” the pollster hung up on me. She may have been offended that I referred to her client or boss as “him.” Apparently, the female candidate has a male name. Or maybe it has become a female name. But I know it as a Welsh masculine name from history. Of course, some people did use it as a patronymic in the past. But really, if someone asked you about a Republican candidate with a forename like Bill or Tom or Herbert, what would you guess? A Demo☭rat named anything might be any of the so-called fifty-seven genders, but a Republican?

    After the “pollster” hung up on me, her candidate was one of those I voted against in the primary. Of course, I would have anyway once I had done my research. But the candidate won, and I’ll be voting (“for” her) against Dear Leader Gretchen in November.

    Parents, give your children traditional names that have lots of diminutive possibilities, but where the sex of the child is obvious. For boys: James, John, William, Charles, Michael, and things like that. A James can go by James or Jim or Jake or Jamie, or any number of other things when he grows up. For girls, something like Mary, Margaret, Catherine, or Elizabeth. A Mary can grow up to be Mary, Molly, or Polly or even Maria or Marie. Want something a little more ethnic? Fine, but don’t name your daughters Carlo or Tudur or Angus or Esteban.

    /rant

    • #8
  9. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Arahant (View Comment):

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):
    It is fun to figure out who paid for the push polls by the questions they ask. They try to make it obscure, but they are not very good at it. I was hung up on by a Richard Irvin poller this cycle when I kept responding Darren Bailey.

    I had the same with one of the candidates here in Michigan. It was the only poll I did decide to be generous enough to talk to. Mind, I waited until close to the election before I did any research this year. The guy I was planning on voting for never got his paperwork filed. He was a guy who had once offered me a job a few decades back, so I personally knew him. When the pollster asked about the obviously favored candidate, and I said, “Never heard of him,” the pollster hung up on me. She may have been offended that I referred to her client or boss as “him.” Apparently, the female candidate has a male name. Or maybe it has become a female name. But I know it as a Welsh masculine name from history. Of course, some people did use it as a patronymic in the past. But really, if someone asked you about a Republican candidate with a forename like Bill or Tom or Herbert, what would you guess? A Demo☭rat named anything might be any of the so-called fifty-seven genders, but a Republican?

    After the “pollster” hung up on me, her candidate was one of those I voted against in the primary. Of course, I would have anyway once I had done my research. But the candidate won, and I’ll be voting (“for” her) against Dear Leader Gretchen in November.

    Parents, give your children traditional names that have lots of diminutive possibilities, but where the sex of the child is obvious. For boys: James, John, William, Charles, Michael, and things like that. A James can go by James or Jim or Jake or Jamie, or any number of other things when he grows up. For girls, something like Mary, Margaret, Catherine, or Elizabeth. A Mary can grow up to be Mary, Molly, or Polly or even Maria or Marie. Want something a little more ethnic? Fine, but don’t name your daughters Carlo or Tudur or Angus or Esteban.

    /rant

    What about “Chris”?

     

    • #9
  10. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Arahant (View Comment):

    The problem when the calls come in unsolicited is that one never knows who is really calling and who is keeping information on one’s opinions. Given the current climate, I believe caution is advised.

    Exactly.  This is why I suspect polls showing the number of gun owners are drastically below the real value . . .

    • #10
  11. Terry Mott Member
    Terry Mott
    @TerryMott

    I haven’t answered a poll since GWB was in office.  I’d answered a few before that.  I got tired of the obviously-biased and/or laughingly simplistic questions and decided they weren’t worth bothering with.

    For example, that last one under GWB was about the Iraq war (of course).  One of the questions was whether I agreed with the way the war was being handled.  I didn’t, because I thought we weren’t being aggressive enough, but there was no way to express that.  It was obvious from the other questions that my “no” on that one would be taken as me being against the war, in general, almost exactly the opposite of my position.

    Almost every poll I’ve taken had this issue of bias and/or idiocy.

    • #11
  12. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    I always answer calls from polls. That said, they do not make it easy as there are so many questions which make it unnecessarily time consuming, so I can easily understand why people are reluctant to put forth the effort. My daughter-in-law pointed out to me that she never answers a phone number that she doesn’t have in her contact list. Increasingly, the phone companies show unknown numbers as potential spam.

    • #12
  13. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    What about “Chris”?

    Hopefully, it is something like Christopher, Cristobal, or Christoph on the one side or Christine or Christa on the other. But that’s like Pat. If you just name the kid Pat, I have a bone to pick. But if the legal name is Patrick or Patricia, I’m fine with it. The other thing is that Christopher and Christina both have many diminutives that a child can choose from as they grow up. Kit? Why not? Tina? Sure. But don’t name your girl Christopher or Steve (I’m looking at you, Cousin Mim) or your boy Christina. And if you just name the kid “Chris” as the legal name, figuring they can choose their sex later, you shouldn’t be a parent.

    There have been names that can go either way, such as Christian. We tend to think of the name as masculine, but in Scotland a few centuries ago, it was more likely to be a feminine name. Likewise with names such as Vivian or Evelyn. There are also plenty of diminutives that can go either way. Various forms of Charley (Charlie/Charli) can stand in for Charles or Charlotte. Jamie can go either way.

    But my main point is, don’t do that to your kids. Would you name a kid Elmer or Homer in this day and age? And don’t give them a diminutive as a legal name. Don’t name the kid Bob or Bobby. Name the child Robert or Roberta and let them decide later if they want to go by a diminutive. And stay away from the trendy names like Madison. Several of my relatives and ancestors do have the “Madison” as a middle name. One, General James Madison Pearson, III went by “Matt” based on his middle name. Now, it’s a trending name for little girls. (Or was two decades ago.) If you’re going to do that, make it a middle name and give the child a more common first name. They can hide the Elizabeth or Edward later if they feel the need and be E. Madison Smith.

    Studies have shown that children with unusual and atypical names are more likely to wind up in prison. Don’t do that to your child.

    If you want to indulge in unusual naming practices, get a dog or a cat. They won’t wind up teased or in prison.

    /rant (again)

    • #13
  14. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Terry Mott (View Comment):
    Almost every poll I’ve taken had this issue of bias and/or idiocy.

    I have encountered that often, too.

    • #14
  15. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    Arahant (View Comment):

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):
    It is fun to figure out who paid for the push polls by the questions they ask. They try to make it obscure, but they are not very good at it. I was hung up on by a Richard Irvin poller this cycle when I kept responding Darren Bailey.

    I had the same with one of the candidates here in Michigan. It was the only poll I did decide to be generous enough to talk to. Mind, I waited until close to the election before I did any research this year. The guy I was planning on voting for never got his paperwork filed. He was a guy who had once offered me a job a few decades back, so I personally knew him. When the pollster asked about the obviously favored candidate, and I said, “Never heard of him,” the pollster hung up on me. She may have been offended that I referred to her client or boss as “him.” Apparently, the female candidate has a male name. Or maybe it has become a female name. But I know it as a Welsh masculine name from history. Of course, some people did use it as a patronymic in the past. But really, if someone asked you about a Republican candidate with a forename like Bill or Tom or Herbert, what would you guess? A Demo☭rat named anything might be any of the so-called fifty-seven genders, but a Republican?

    After the “pollster” hung up on me, her candidate was one of those I voted against in the primary. Of course, I would have anyway once I had done my research. But the candidate won, and I’ll be voting (“for” her) against Dear Leader Gretchen in November.

    Parents, give your children traditional names that have lots of diminutive possibilities, but where the sex of the child is obvious. For boys: James, John, William, Charles, Michael, and things like that. A James can go by James or Jim or Jake or Jamie, or any number of other things when he grows up. For girls, something like Mary, Margaret, Catherine, or Elizabeth. A Mary can grow up to be Mary, Molly, or Polly or even Maria or Marie. Want something a little more ethnic? Fine, but don’t name your daughters Carlo or Tudur or Angus or Esteban.

    /rant

    So no boys named Sue?

    • #15
  16. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Hang On (View Comment):
    So no boys named Sue?

    Shel Silverstein got so tired of that song (he wrote) that he wrote a follow-up called “Father of a Boy Named Sue” from the father’s perspective. The lyrics are not suitable for Ricochet, but for a flavor, let me give these two line:

    When thru the door with an awful scream comes the ugliest queen I’ve ever seen.
    He says, “My name is Sue. How do you do?” then he hits me with his purse.

    • #16
  17. Terry Mott Member
    Terry Mott
    @TerryMott

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    What about “Chris”?

    Hopefully, it is something like Christopher, Cristobal, or Christoph on the one side or Christine or Christa on the other. But that’s like Pat. If you just name the kid Pat, I have a bone to pick. But if the legal name is Patrick or Patricia, I’m fine with it. The other thing is that Christopher and Christina both have many diminutives that a child can choose from as they grow up. Kit? Why not? Tina? Sure. But don’t name your girl Christopher or Steve (I’m looking at you, Cousin Mim) or your boy Christina. And if you just name the kid “Chris” as the legal name, figuring they can choose their sex later, you shouldn’t be a parent.

    There have been names that can go either way, such as Christian. We tend to think of the name as masculine, but in Scotland a few centuries ago, it was more likely to be a feminine name. Likewise with names such as Vivian or Evelyn. There are also plenty of diminutives that can go either way. Various forms of Charley (Charlie/Charli) can stand in for Charles or Charlotte. Jamie can go either way.

    But my main point is, don’t do that to your kids. Would you name a kid Elmer or Homer in this day and age? And don’t give them a diminutive as a legal name. Don’t name the kid Bob or Bobby. Name the child Robert or Roberta and let them decide later if they want to go by a diminutive. And stay away from the trendy names like Madison. Several of my relatives and ancestors do have the “Madison” as a middle name. One, General James Madison Pearson, III went by “Matt” based on his middle name. Now, it’s a trending name for little girls. (Or was two decades ago.) If you’re going to do that, make it a middle name and give the child a more common first name. They can hide the Elizabeth or Edward later if they feel the need and be E. Madison Smith.

    Studies have shown that children with unusual and atypical names are more likely to wind up in prison. Don’t do that to your child.

    If you want to indulge in unusual naming practices, get a dog or a cat. They won’t wind up teased or in prison.

    /rant (again)

    I recently saw an article (can’t remember where) about a baby girl who was to be named “Samnella”, named after father “Sam” and mother “Ella”.  The mother’s sister LOLed at the baby shower that the name sounded like food poisoning.  This hurt the expectant mother’s feelings, apparently.  I reserve my pity for the poor child.

    • #17
  18. Terry Mott Member
    Terry Mott
    @TerryMott

    I seem to remember that “Sexually Ambiguous Pat” was dating Robin.

    Wow.  Can you imagine the social media uproar if that sketch was done today?

    • #18
  19. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Terry Mott (View Comment):
    This hurt the expectant mother’s feelings, apparently.

    Tough.

    • #19
  20. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    When I was young I watched the local Democrat governments determine where to send government services depending on voter records and other info they had.  Areas that did not support them may not get road, garage, police and other services.  I can’t see them stopping that practice.  So if you are doing polls suggest you lean into the Democrats if you want anything done in your neighborhood 

    • #20
  21. Terry Mott Member
    Terry Mott
    @TerryMott

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Terry Mott (View Comment):
    This hurt the expectant mother’s feelings, apparently.

    Tough.

    While considering a name for our daughter, we immediately rejected anything beginning with “B” to avoid her having initials of BM (bowel movement), and tried to foresee and avoid anything that other kids could easily use against her.  Kids can be cruel.  Why give them unnecessary ammunition?

    • #21
  22. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Terry Mott (View Comment):
    Kids can be cruel.  Why give them unnecessary ammunition?

    Amen! Preach it!

    • #22
  23. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Getting back to polling, there is another factor for me. Many of them are automated. “Press one if you are a registered voter,” etc. I’m more likely to speak to a person.

    • #23
  24. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Flicker (View Comment):

    What market research sites did you sign up with?

    I do the most for BrandedSurveys.  Their surveys are mostly about products and services, and healthcare.  I get a few about pharmaceuticals.  The online focus group was by Schlesinger, and it was quite interesting.  The subject was listed as “Covid vaccines”, and I really looked forward to giving them a piece of my mind.  Well, it turned out that they were testing a bunch of what they called “animations” for the Johns Hopkins web site, dealing with various aspects of vaccines, not just the Covid one.  They weren’t really animations, but just PowerPoint presentations where some elements moved.  There were seven of us on the panel, from all over the country.  Much to my surprise and delight, six of the seven panelists were vaccine skeptics, and many had some very choice words for the medical establishment, relative to the Covid shots.  And most of us agreed that the graphics were terrible!

    I also do surveys for Toluna, ClearVoice Surveys, YouGov, and Nielsen.  I took a graduate course in Tests and Measurements as a psych student, so I can spot a poorly-constructed survey, and while taking the various surveys I am evaluating them all the time.  At least one of the companies has a free-form question at the end about the survey itself, and I have often mentioned things that could be improved.

    On the subject of names, I agree totally with @arahant.  I have always felt, as to the made-up African names that black parents often name their kids, that they were doing it on purpose-daring people to discriminate against their obviously-black children.  Same with androgynous names that could be either male or female-Leftists are daring you to discriminate on basis of sex, so they make it unclear.  I wonder why parents never consider what the kid has to go through, when they name them something weird.  

    • #24
  25. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):
    On the subject of names, I agree totally with @arahant.  I have always felt, as to the made-up African names that black parents often name their kids, that they were doing it on purpose-daring people to discriminate against their obviously-black children.  Same with androgynous names that could be either male or female-Leftists are daring you to discriminate on basis of sex, so they make it unclear.  I wonder why parents never consider what the kid has to go through, when they name them something weird.  

    When my wife was pregnant with our first, I used to make jokes about naming the kid Jamal to give him a leg up on getting admitted to college.

    • #25
  26. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    When my wife was pregnant with our first, I used to make jokes about naming the kid Jamal to give him a leg up on getting admitted to college.

    But at least it was only a joke.

    • #26
  27. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    When my wife was pregnant with our first, I used to make jokes about naming the kid Jamal to give him a leg up on getting admitted to college.

    But at least it was only a joke.

    Yes. but I really did lobby hard for the name “Robin Paul” (for Yount and Molitor), but couldn’t get my wife to go along.

    • #27
  28. GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Malpropisms Reagan
    GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Malpropisms
    @GLDIII

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):
    It is fun to figure out who paid for the push polls by the questions they ask. They try to make it obscure, but they are not very good at it. I was hung up on by a Richard Irvin poller this cycle when I kept responding Darren Bailey.

    I had the same with one of the candidates here in Michigan. It was the only poll I did decide to be generous enough to talk to. Mind, I waited until close to the election before I did any research this year. The guy I was planning on voting for never got his paperwork filed. He was a guy who had once offered me a job a few decades back, so I personally knew him. When the pollster asked about the obviously favored candidate, and I said, “Never heard of him,” the pollster hung up on me. She may have been offended that I referred to her client or boss as “him.” Apparently, the female candidate has a male name. Or maybe it has become a female name. But I know it as a Welsh masculine name from history. Of course, some people did use it as a patronymic in the past. But really, if someone asked you about a Republican candidate with a forename like Bill or Tom or Herbert, what would you guess? A Demo☭rat named anything might be any of the so-called fifty-seven genders, but a Republican?

    After the “pollster” hung up on me, her candidate was one of those I voted against in the primary. Of course, I would have anyway once I had done my research. But the candidate won, and I’ll be voting (“for” her) against Dear Leader Gretchen in November.

    Parents, give your children traditional names that have lots of diminutive possibilities, but where the sex of the child is obvious. For boys: James, John, William, Charles, Michael, and things like that. A James can go by James or Jim or Jake or Jamie, or any number of other things when he grows up. For girls, something like Mary, Margaret, Catherine, or Elizabeth. A Mary can grow up to be Mary, Molly, or Polly or even Maria or Marie. Want something a little more ethnic? Fine, but don’t name your daughters Carlo or Tudur or Angus or Esteban.

    /rant

    What about “Chris”?

    Or Pat

    EDIT Never mind, already Ryansplained

    • #28
  29. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Arahant (View Comment):

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):
    It is fun to figure out who paid for the push polls by the questions they ask. They try to make it obscure, but they are not very good at it. I was hung up on by a Richard Irvin poller this cycle when I kept responding Darren Bailey.

    I had the same with one of the candidates here in Michigan. It was the only poll I did decide to be generous enough to talk to. Mind, I waited until close to the election before I did any research this year. The guy I was planning on voting for never got his paperwork filed. He was a guy who had once offered me a job a few decades back, so I personally knew him. When the pollster asked about the obviously favored candidate, and I said, “Never heard of him,” the pollster hung up on me. She may have been offended that I referred to her client or boss as “him.” Apparently, the female candidate has a male name. Or maybe it has become a female name. But I know it as a Welsh masculine name from history. Of course, some people did use it as a patronymic in the past. But really, if someone asked you about a Republican candidate with a forename like Bill or Tom or Herbert, what would you guess? A Demo☭rat named anything might be any of the so-called fifty-seven genders, but a Republican?

    After the “pollster” hung up on me, her candidate was one of those I voted against in the primary. Of course, I would have anyway once I had done my research. But the candidate won, and I’ll be voting (“for” her) against Dear Leader Gretchen in November.

    Parents, give your children traditional names that have lots of diminutive possibilities, but where the sex of the child is obvious. For boys: James, John, William, Charles, Michael, and things like that. A James can go by James or Jim or Jake or Jamie, or any number of other things when he grows up. For girls, something like Mary, Margaret, Catherine, or Elizabeth. A Mary can grow up to be Mary, Molly, or Polly or even Maria or Marie. Want something a little more ethnic? Fine, but don’t name your daughters Carlo or Tudur or Angus or Esteban.

    /rant

    Lots of girls named Michael.

    • #29
  30. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    @RushBabe49 do you ever listen to the People’s Pundit, Rich Barris on Locals.com? You might find it of interest. He talks a lot about poll methodology and how it leads to wrong results. His slogan is “accuracy matters.”

    • #30
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