Re: [Marxism] Being polled

[DCQ <deeseekyou@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had a similar experience about two years ago (maybe fall 2004, I
think?). I ended up having to reply "No opinion" on a lot of the
crucial questions. I remember complaining to my wife afterwards that
the answers I gave made my opinions actually sound as if I were
uninformed and unconcerned. Although I can't remember the precise
question, the one about preferring Democrats or Republicans made me
sound as if I thought they could both do a good job. Nothing about
Nader. Ugh.

There was a questions about gay rights where they actually gave more
than two options (oppose, civil unions, or full and equal gay marriage
rights). This was interesting because there was a real movement (or at
least the beginnings of one) demanding full marriage equality. The
conclusion is then that polls will respond to the political climate.
One can imagine a situation in which the Green Party ran an all-out
campaign with Nader/Camejo, the poll would almost certainly offered a
choice about electoral alternatives to the Republicans and Democrats.

Of course, the point about trimming the left off more than the right is
correct, as shown by the question on immigration. The far-right racist
minuteman position is one of the choices even though these scum are
relatively few in number, but full amnesty and equality for immigrants
regardless of "legal status" is not, despite the massive immigrant
rights movement. More to the point, the polls are not so much designed
to figure out what people think, so much as to be a guide for people
watching the upcoming elections: do more people agree with the
Republican position or the Democrat one?


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