“The Republican Brain: Constructing an Alternate Polling Reality for 2012” Really? I Don’t Think So
Admittedly, I had a hard time decided whether to categorize this under “Liberal/Conservative Brains” or “Liberal Lies”, but I decided to go with the liberal lies category.
What is it about liberals and the truth? In his column in “Mother Jones” Kevin Drum apparently is determined to provide further evidence that those on the left simply lack the necessary critical thinking skills to present a logical argument and reach reasonable conclusions.
From the title of his article I assume that Mr. Drum was attempting to explain why so many conservatives are questioning the results of various polls showing the Democratic Presidential candidate in the lead. Incredibly, he didn’t even come close to discussing the methodology which is at the heart of the controversy.
He starts off with a long explanation of how liberals got it wrong in 2004 by refusing to accept the polling numbers, but several years later a Mr. Nate Silver crunches the numbers and suddenly they see the light. Converted en masse to the new religion of taking polls at face value, they apparently accept every poll as being accurate and true and now, according to Kevin Drum, it is the conservatives who are making the same mistake. The problem in his analysis is that he makes the typical liberal mistake of equates two different sets of circumstances based on one or two characteristics in common.
Now I’m not betting the farm on a Romney/Ryan victory, but an article which, in the end, provides no relevant content, while throwing in some gratuitous swipes at the “Republican Brain” is certainly not going to sway my opinion one way or the other.
Mr. Drum! In case you missed it, conservatives have a problem with some of the results due to the methodology employed. Perhaps next time you might want to actually throw in a word or two addressing the actual reasons for the concern rather than a column filled with irrelevant material.
AaronInvestigates 
Is there a controversy, I mean, outside of news outlets saying there is? I’m about as liberal a voter as I know, and I don’t ever believe polls, except for the one that counts – when I get to cast my vote. My attitude for at least two years has been that it’s going to be close in the popular vote, since the political polarization of the country is strong, obvious, and roughly evenly balanced. There’s a smaller group of (supposedly) undecideds than supporters of either side, but I don’t believe they are undecided. They just concentrate on their work and their family life and don’t participate in focus groups or polls until right up to the day they vote. I would prefer that the low-information voters, which are only a part of the “undecideds”, would stay home anyway, and some will. I don’t think voting, if you haven’t thought much about it, is a good thing, even if it is a legal right.
The electoral vote is about the swing states, and it’s a chess game strategy kind of thing. Whoever moves people in those places toward their argument will win the chess game. Even though I live in WA, where Obama is almost certain to win no matter how I vote, there are many local candidates and state law changes for me to concentrate on learning about. In those contests, my vote counts for more.
The only thing that really smells about this election to me is attempts to disenfranchise people who used to be able to vote, and have before, based on the mathematically infinitesimal number of attempts made to vote on a fraudulent basis. 25% of black voters do not have photo IDs, compared to 8% of whites. That tells me everything I need to know about why voter ID laws are being pushed.
Thanks for your comment.
1. I would have to say, judging from the number of articles on the subject, that there is some controversy on the methodology and promotion of the various polls.
2. I agree with you on questioning the efficacy of uninformed voters casting a vote…but what about the misinformed or ignorant?
3. Yes, the so-called “swing states” are almost certainly going to make the difference in terms of how wins, but also agree with you that there are numerous other reasons for voting locally.
4. I disagree with the way you frame the effort to ensure the sanctity of the electoral process as a way of “disenfranchising” otherwise eligible voters. That particular topic I will be addressing shortly.
Thanks again.