Richard Moore attacks PPP

The polls aren't going the way Richard Moore wants them to so he's attacking PPP. From Mark Binker's Decision 2008 blog:

Richard Moore took issue with Public Policy Polling's latest survey that showed Perdue opening up a double-digit lead in the primary.

"That polling outfit, I really don't think you guys should even be carrying it. A good poll does not use a computer," Moore said. He also noted that PPP's former chief pollster now works for the Perdue campaign.

The latter part of Moore's statement shows the campaign getting a little bit off message. In the past they've attacked our polls because of our methodology and although there's no evidence showing that the way we do our polls is any less accurate than live interviews, it's at least a common complaint.

Claiming that Perdue is up in our polls because someone who works for her used to be on our staff is ridiculous though. We don't give one rat who the Democratic nominee for Governor is. I've praised Moore and Perdue and I've criticized Moore and Perdue. The numbers we release each month are what the voices of Democratic primary voters who answer our polls tell us, and right now they're telling us they prefer Bev Perdue. If they start telling us they prefer Richard Moore, then that's what we'll release. We don't have a dog in this fight.

Moore's claim is pretty darn far fetched and what it shows is that his campaign is willing to grab at any little thing it can to try to diminish the credibility of polling that doesn't bode well for his candidacy. That makes me doubt that they really have any concerns about our methodology. If the problem was really IVR, they wouldn't have written stuff on their website touting our results in days when the numbers were better for them, and they wouldn't have gone down the Justin works for Perdue route. Our methodology would probably be fine if the numbers were reversed.

Moore has trailed in every independent poll released during this campaign as far as I know so perhaps instead of attacking the pollsters he should change the direction of his campaign so more of the folks we call say they support him. I know attacking a Democratic polling company sure isn't going to win him any more votes in the primary.