Thursday, September 10, 2009

Wilson Poll

We're going to put a poll in the field tonight in Joe Wilson's Congressional District...usually we have more time to think through what we're going to put on a poll and I want to make sure we don't miss any important angles...so here's the draft questionnaire...do we need to add anything? It's going to be final at about 3:15.

One thing I'm going to say right away: don't underestimate the possibility that Wilson's constituents don't really care about this whole incident. It obviously still makes Wilson more vulnerable because of the fundraising issue but it may be that a lot of his constituents agree with the sentiment, if not with how he expressed it.

1) Obama approval

2) Obama health care

3) Do you approve or disapprove of Congressman Joe Wilson’s job performance? If you approve, press 1. If you disapprove, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.

4) If the candidates for Congress next year were Democrat Rob Miller and Republican Joe Wilson, who would you vote for? If Rob Miller, press 1. If Joe Wilson, press 2. If you’re undecided, press 3.

5) Do you approve or disapprove of Joe Wilson’s actions at Barack Obama’s speech to Congress on Wednesday night? If you approve, press 1. If you disapprove, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.

6) Do you think that Barack Obama was lying when he said his health care plan would not cover illegal immigrants? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.

7) Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Mark Sanford’s job performance? If you approve, press 1. If you disapprove, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.

8) Do you think that Mark Sanford should resign as Governor? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.

9) Do you think that Barack Obama’s speech to the schoolchildren of America earlier this week was appropriate? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.

10) Do you think Barack Obama was born in the United States? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.

11) Ideology

12) Gender

13) Party

14) Race

15) Age

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11 comments:

  1. Bob BrighamSeptember 10, 2009 at 1:14 PM

    In between 5 & 6.

    Does Joe Wilson calling the president a liar make you more or less likely to vote to re-elect him?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JoeSeptember 10, 2009 at 1:29 PM

    A. Did you watch President Obama's speech last night? 1 for yes / 2 for no

    (it would be useful to know approve / disapprove of you lie based on speech viewing)

    -Joe

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 10, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    You'll want to ask if they believe Hawai'i is part of the United States. It came out on another poll recently that a lot of the people who didn't believe President Obama wasn't born in the U.S. either were not sure or did not know that Hawai'i was part of the U.S.

    Not sure what poll that was - it was reported on The Rachel Maddow Show.

    ReplyDelete
  4. andgardenSeptember 10, 2009 at 1:44 PM

    I second cyberjoek's suggestion.

    Of course, this is a southern district. So I think it's perfectly possible that his constituents will agree with what he said.

    ReplyDelete
  5. -Mike in OmahaSeptember 10, 2009 at 1:45 PM

    How about, "Should all patients be required to provide proof of citizenship or legal residency prior to receiving medical care?"

    Kind of gets at the root issue that the moran Wilson thought Obama was lying about. Might correlate very strongly with the "do you think Obama was lying" question, though, so maybe not all that useful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownSeptember 10, 2009 at 1:51 PM

    See if this news affects their opinion of him as well?


    Jonathan Allen reports newly-amended financial disclosure forms show that Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) -- who heckled President Obama last night -- is heavily leveraged and his debts may even exceed his assets. The new filings reveal for the first time hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously unreported loans from federal credit unions and banks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. CrisitunitySeptember 10, 2009 at 2:12 PM

    Do you support the federal government creating a health insurance plan that would allow people who can't afford health insurance elsewhere to purchase it?

    (In other words, let's road-test Nate Silver's regression analysis on the relationship between Obama vote, poverty, and support for public option: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/09/analysis-public-option-is-likely.html)

    You also might want:

    Do you support creation of a "public option" health insurance plan?

    (To see whether people who support/don't support public option understand it, i.e. if they give different answers on the two questions.)

    One other suggestion, although it's a little frivoulous:

    Do you believe Barack Obama is the Antichrist?

    (I've always wanted to push slightly beyond the 'birther' stuff to see if this is what's really driving a portion of the population.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. DavidNYCSeptember 10, 2009 at 9:15 PM

    I love the Antichrist question. I also really like testing Nate Silver's thesis.

    ReplyDelete
  9. steeplebobSeptember 10, 2009 at 11:41 PM

    Yes, I'd love to see the "anti-Christ" question go mainstream. The "not sure" numbers would be very telling.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2009 at 12:01 PM

    Joe Wilson will easily win re-election. Stop wasting your time.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    I think I was a Respondent in your poll. It was very professional and worded in a neutral manner. Excellent job.

    ReplyDelete