DJT sent out something a few days ago called a “Mainstream Media Accountability Survey”.
I had a great time filling it out.
Be forewarned—you need a fake email address to submit your answers.
Unless you want to be a badass and give your real name and email address! (That’s what I did, yeah I said it!)
If you have never heard the term smurf this poll—in Left Blogistan we do not use the term “freep this poll”. “Freep this poll” comes from the Free Republic blog, which for quite a while got away with skewing internet polls by posting links and asking their RWNJ audience to vote repeatedly, to make it seem as though conservative viewpoints are more popular than they are.
After folks figured out what was going on, internet polling lost all its credibility, because you could never tell whether polls were being freeped by people from Free Republic and other conservative blogs.
However, since internet polls are still cited sometimes as indications of public opinion (after presidential debates, for example) Left Blogistan adopted their technique, but not their phraseology.
So liberals and progressives do not “freep” polls. We smurf polls.
We turn them blue.
First of all, for those who haven’t already figured it out, ALL nonscientific questionnaires of this type, including the ones from Democrats, are total pretense.
They are not interested in your answers to the questions.
The ones that ask for a contribution are just hoping you will send in a contribution. That is all they want.
Otherwise they are just looking for your contact information: your email address, or evidence that their snail mail is getting through to a real person.
Second, DJT will never see your answers to these questions. Let go of the idea that you are speaking directly to him.
But a real person may see your answers.
Some minimum wage temp worker may be tasked with compiling the “other” responses.
Some marketing types might go through them for confirmation that their messaging is working, or hoping to discover some nuggets they can mine for future advertising.
The document has the ridiculous title “Mainstream Media Accountabilty Survey”. They should have called it the “Have You Swallowed All Our Talking Points Whole?” Survey.
The results will not have anything like the validity of a scientific poll, which makes sense because we are dealing with folks who do not understand/believe in science. I guess they are saving money by throwing together this half fast questionnaire instead of commissioning a serious poll.
As you read the survey, the Willy Wonka title photo will almost certainly come to your mind. There are no words sufficient to describe how loaded, slanted, biased the questions are. It’s almost laughable.
But many of the questions have an extra choice called “Other” and a box that lets you explain your answer.
So you don’t have to check Yes or No. You can check “other” and then go into detail with “Yes, but” or “No, because...”
It’s always obvious what answer they expect, but wherever I could, I checked “other” and added my own snarky responses at length, passionately smashing every expectation.
I had a LOT of fun answering these questions.
If they already know what answers they expect from true believers, I wonder why would they include space to add individual responses?
Someone somewhere must intend to use this blunt instrument of a tool as a rough indication of how their supporters feel about DJT’s “media is the enemy” message, so maybe someone somewhere in the DJT administration will actually take note of the answers we write. So why not tell them what we think?
Here are some tips/suggestions.
Q5: On which issues does the mainstream media do the worst job of representing Republicans? (Select as many that apply.)
I managed to get away without checking any box for this, but after I sent it in I wished I had checked them all, since the media do a terrible job of representing how horrible Rcon policies are in every one of those categories.
Q9: Do you trust the mainstream media to tell the truth about the Republican Party’s positions and actions?
I do not trust the mainstream media to tell people how badly R positions and actions will hurt their individual lives, the national economy, and our standing in the world.
Q10: Do you believe that the mainstream media does not do their due diligence fact-checking before publishing stories on the Trump administration?
After you stop laughing at the idea that DJT wants actual fact checking with respect to stories about his administration (!) you might say something about the fact checking you wish the media would do about his violations of the emoluments clause, how much Russia interfered with the presidential campaign, and the presence of white supremacists among his closest advisers.
Q12: Were you aware that a poll was released revealing that a majority of Americans actually supported President Trump's temporary restriction executive order?
I saw a poll showing a majority of Americans supporting the Muslim Ban: an Ipsos/Reuters poll showing 48-41 approval (scroll down to question TM1140Y17). There was also a Rasmussen poll taken before the order was issued, with ridiculously R-friendly wording that evoked a 57-33 result (with 10% undecided). So answering this question yes adds to your credibility.
Q14: Do you believe that contrary to what the media says, raising taxes does not create jobs?
If anyone understands this confusing sentence, please explain it to the rest of the class.
Q15: Do you believe that people of faith have been unfairly characterized by the media?
Absolutely! The Christian Left gets much less coverage than RW Christians do, to the point where people who only consume MSM believe that there is no such thing as a liberal Christian. So progressive Christians have been unfairly characterized as being a much smaller group than we really are!
Q19: Do you believe that the media purposely tries to divide Republicans against each other in order to help elect Democrats?
Rcons are doing a good enough job of dividing themselves.
Q20: Do you believe that the media creates false feuds within our Party in order to make us seem divided?
I’m pretty sure the feuds are real.
Q22: Do you believe that if Republicans were obstructing Obama like Democrats are doing to President Trump, the mainstream media would attack Republicans?
What can you even say in response to a nonsensical question like this? I said that Rs in fact DID obstruct Obama MUCH WORSE than Dems have done to DJT, and the media should have called them out on it a lot more.
Anyway, here is the link. Rant and rave and vent a little and enjoy yourself:
MAINSTREAM MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY SURVEY
It would be great if we could smurf this poll and they could get a lot more responses from us than from deplorables. It would also be more representative, since we outnumber them: in the electorate, on the internet, and in our ability to form coherent sentences with subject verb agreement and apostrophes in the correct places.
Of course if we do successfully outnumber them on the poll, they may end up taking the survey down, which is also a victory. Basically we need to teach the Make America Great Again Committee, or whoever is responsible for this sloppy openly biased poll, that when DJT asks these kinds of questions outside his protective bubble he may get a lot of responses from people he does not expect, and he may get a lot of answers he will not like.
If DJT ever asked the questions in this song, they would be a lot harder to answer
Previous TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: Blue Ribbon Winners—Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: Blue Ribbon Winners: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: Blue Ribbon Winners: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: Blue Ribbon Winners: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense