Gabby’s Campaign Push-Polling from Off-Shore Call Center? NO. RNCC Ratfucking.

UPDATE 8/18: I was wrong to have suspected the Giffords campaign or an uncoordinated Democratic group was behind these push polls. It is now clear that the authors of this ratfucking effort is the RNCC through several intermediaries headed by the Terrance Group with at least $381K changing hands. The universe of targets seems to be very large as well, perhaps as large as 70K voters, maybe just all Democrats in the district. I have posted further on this subject in a diary over at Kos.

I personally found it very hard to believe that the GOP would want to manipulate the outcome of the Democratic nomination process so badly that they would spend that sort of money, but apparently underestimating their duplicity and sheer audacity is always a mistake.

UPDATE 8/17 Evening: I’m glad to say that Gabby did issue a statement categorically denying any involvement with the push polling. I think she was right to do so. Ignoring something so unethical that was obviously occuring and is apparently to her benefit could bring her campaign into disrepute. It is reassuring that Gabby did the right thing.

I note, however. that Gabby did not ask that the push polling should stop unconditionally, but only that she would ask for it to stop "if" she became aware of one being conducted on her behalf. Well, she is aware of one, even though she doesn’t know who is doing it or why. Not knowing the source should not prevent her from publicly demanding that the calls stop, no matter who is sponsoring them.

TUCSON – Gabrielle Giffords today condemned the practice of "push polling."


"My
campaign has never conducted a push poll and will never conduct a push
poll.  Push polls are unethical and an example of politics at its
worst," said Giffords. "We have hired a reputable pollster, which can
be verified in our FEC reports. "


The Giffords campaign’s spending reports, which detail all
payments for goods and services, are publicly available via the Federal
Election Commission’s website, www.fec.gov.



The Giffords campaign also condemned the practice of third party
push-poiling.  "I am not aware of any push poll conducted on our
behalf," said Giffords, "and if I learned of one, I would condemn it
and ask the sponsors to stop immediately."

UPDATE 8/17: From some of the comments and emails I’ve been getting, and conversations I’ve had, I’m stunned by the unwillingness of the Giffords camp to deounce these push polls, except to claim that they are likely a dirty trick by the Weiss campaign. Perhaps they need a bit more time: after all, these things only began two days ago apparently. These are widespread calls to high-value voters, so of course that includes many bloggers, but it is not just bloggers getting the calls: my wife barely knows what a blog is (beyond that thing she’s always trying to pry her husband away from), but it is she they asked for.

There is no conceivable reason for Weiss to try to push down her own favorables in an effort to sling a charge of dirty tricks at the Giffords campaign that is inherently unprovable until the next quarterly reports, if then, and that will be too late. Besides, outside of campaign professionals and party activists, who the hell knows or cares that a push poll is dirty pool? Results are results. How you got them is generally far less important than that you did get them.

No, I am convinced (fair and balanced doesn’t mean mindlessly uncritical, even in the absence of proof – as a lawyer, I assure you that circumstantial proof convicts just as often as a smoking gun) that the only parties who would have any rational motive to conduct these push polls (which can’t be cheap at 20 minutes a pop with a live operator, which may be why they’re coming from India) are:

Giffords Campaign: The natural beneficiary of an act is almost always its author – thus the maxim, cui bono? However, I don’t think that the Giffords camp would take the risk of doing this, despite the difficulty of obtaining proof: leaks happen. I believe those near and in the campaign who say it wasn’t them. I don’t think they would neccessarily all know for a fact that the campaign played no part, but I trust their earnest distress at the suggestion. Less respectable are those close to the Giffords camp who ridiculously point the finger at the Weiss camp. Give me a fucking break. How naive do you think people are?

An Independent Campaign supporting Gabby: I think this is most likely. Having seen the polling numbers available, I would be worried too if I wanted to make sure Gabby would win. There is an awful lot of good will for Patty, and relatively low recognition and positives for Gabby. Those are simply the facts in the data. Anyone seriously invested in Gabby’s campaign is going to look out for that investment, given the data. It would be trivial to throw together an indpendent expenditure for this purpose without coordinating with the Giffords campaign. As I pointed out, I don’t think there aren’t any charges in this push that haven’t been in the media at some time. I think this is most likely, and I think Gabby should ask for it to stop. If she refuses, it says volumes about her as a candidate. Like I said, most people think a push poll is broom, but we activists and campaign professionals know better; she should be anxious to conduct her campaign according the highest principles of integrity.

The GOP: Others have suggested that it is some element of the opposition party, even an opposition candidate who is conducting the poll in an effort to affect the outcome of the Demcoratic primary: presumably because they wish to face Gabby and not Patty. Given some of the polling I have seen for general elections match-ups, that’s plausible. Such tactics as push polls are, I hope, more characteristic of Republicans than of Democrats. So a GOP op is a possilbility. All the more reason for Gabby to ask it to stop. In fact, the only reasons I can see that Gabby would refuse to ask the push polling to stop is that she is either pleased by it though not in control of it, or pleased by it and behind it. She should demonstrate good will and prove her critics, who claim she is actually behind it (including myself, initially, though I did temporize with a question mark in the title), wrong. It costs her nothing to denounce a practice she does not endorse, did not abet, and does not wish to continue. Does it? Unless, of course, she does want it to continue…

My wife just got push polled.

Of course, I can’t say for sure what campaign is conducting the poll, they wouldn’t identify the polls backer, but that the pushes were all pro-Gabby and anti-Patty says it all. And the heavy Indian accent says off-shore call center, though, admittedly, it could just be an American with a thick Bangalore accent. That’s just as likely…

I expect that some of you, and probably me, will be getting a call sooner or later, too. Perhaps some of you already have. If so, leave anything you learn here in comments.

I don’t like push polls. They have the sickly smell of rumor-mongering of the sort that begins, "Now, I’m not saying this is true, but what would you say if I told you…" I prefer my mongering the old fashioned way – with verifiable facts, a name, and a reputation attached.

This particular poll proposed several negative comments about Patty to see if they would ‘make you more or less likely to support Patty’. Please…

The statements ranged from the fairly innocuous, such as "Patty hasn’t any legislative experience, and doesn’t have the strength to stand up to Republicans." to something about Patty failing to report certain donations to the FEC (my wife couldn’t recall the details of this one). Finally, the caller asked whether Patty having "strong ties" to pharacuetical companies would affect support for Patty (again there was far more detail about certain donations, but my wife can’t recall more detail).

At least Gabby isn’t hiding her negative attacks. I’ve heard her say all of this and more about Patty, herself. What I do find ironic is how Gabby and some of her supporters react to any criticism directed her way, calling it negative campaigning, smear tactics, and worthy of a Fox News reporter.

If Gabby really believes that positive campaigning is best for voters and for the political process, she should shut down her off-shore push polling operation now. Even if the push poll is coming from an independent campaign working for Gabby’s election over which Gabby’s campaign has no control or coordination (which I actually think is most likely, given the earnest denials coming from certain people whom I believe have integrity), she should denounce it, and ask it to stop in a public fashion.