Tuesday, March 21, 2006
The Silly Nature of Pollfixers
You really can't put much stock in polling. If you put much stock in Internet polling that allows for you to vote multiple times, there probably isn't much hope for you.
A case in point is an interactive poll put up in the past day or so from The Herald & Tribune, a newspaper in Washington County. I was made aware of this poll last night around 10:30 P.M. I cast my vote just to see how the results were going, and it showed Ed Bryant with 52%, Van Hilleary with 48%, and Bob Corker with 0%. There were about 2100 votes cast, which is a bit high I should think.
My curiosity sparked, I checked back in 30 minutes. Now the poll read Van Hilleary with 51%, Ed Bryant with 49%, and Bob Corker still with 0%. There were now 2356 votes cast. Something was rotten in Denmark. I started watching the poll numbers click off, and I was able (with some help from a friend) to determine that 99% of the hundreds of votes cast in the next half an hour span were for Van Hilleary, those votes were coming at a clip that couldn't be reproduced with one user, and those votes were coming from the same Middle Tennessee server. However, whomever in Van's camp that thought it was important enough to spend the time doing so had succeeded, pushing Van to a whopping 54-46 lead over Ed Bryant.
The Corker camp became aware of the poll and their embarrassing 0% standing this morning. (They were probably asleep or counting money last night.) They have now pushed Corker to 25% in a matter of hours, and, again, all of the litany of votes are coming from the same server, this time in Chattanooga. Over 1000 votes have been cast this morning, and I dare say, having lived in Washington County for many years, that The Herald & Tribune's website has never seen so much traffic.
Memo to those on the Corker and Hilleary payrolls - if you were out meeting the people of Tennessee and convincing them to vote for your candidate instead of trying to rig Internet polls, your candidate might stand a chance. Well, maybe not, given that Corker is even called a "progressive" (read: liberal) by his own supporter, Congressman Zach Wamp, and Van Hilleary doesn't have the actual grassroots support to win this Senate race (and by actual grassroots support I mean the kind that directs elections, not the kind that is bussed into Lincoln Day Dinner straw polls). But at least your candidates would have a better shot at winning the only poll that matters in August, and it won't be held on the Internet.
A case in point is an interactive poll put up in the past day or so from The Herald & Tribune, a newspaper in Washington County. I was made aware of this poll last night around 10:30 P.M. I cast my vote just to see how the results were going, and it showed Ed Bryant with 52%, Van Hilleary with 48%, and Bob Corker with 0%. There were about 2100 votes cast, which is a bit high I should think.
My curiosity sparked, I checked back in 30 minutes. Now the poll read Van Hilleary with 51%, Ed Bryant with 49%, and Bob Corker still with 0%. There were now 2356 votes cast. Something was rotten in Denmark. I started watching the poll numbers click off, and I was able (with some help from a friend) to determine that 99% of the hundreds of votes cast in the next half an hour span were for Van Hilleary, those votes were coming at a clip that couldn't be reproduced with one user, and those votes were coming from the same Middle Tennessee server. However, whomever in Van's camp that thought it was important enough to spend the time doing so had succeeded, pushing Van to a whopping 54-46 lead over Ed Bryant.
The Corker camp became aware of the poll and their embarrassing 0% standing this morning. (They were probably asleep or counting money last night.) They have now pushed Corker to 25% in a matter of hours, and, again, all of the litany of votes are coming from the same server, this time in Chattanooga. Over 1000 votes have been cast this morning, and I dare say, having lived in Washington County for many years, that The Herald & Tribune's website has never seen so much traffic.
Memo to those on the Corker and Hilleary payrolls - if you were out meeting the people of Tennessee and convincing them to vote for your candidate instead of trying to rig Internet polls, your candidate might stand a chance. Well, maybe not, given that Corker is even called a "progressive" (read: liberal) by his own supporter, Congressman Zach Wamp, and Van Hilleary doesn't have the actual grassroots support to win this Senate race (and by actual grassroots support I mean the kind that directs elections, not the kind that is bussed into Lincoln Day Dinner straw polls). But at least your candidates would have a better shot at winning the only poll that matters in August, and it won't be held on the Internet.
Permalink posted by Rob Huddleston @ 10:28 AM 
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Rob-
You have too much time on your hands. Do you see the Black helicopters- I think so. Always a conspiracy theory with the Bryant bloggers. I wont even connect Ed to this- because I dont think he even knows the stupid stuff that all of you waste your time with. Try doing something that matters and that actually gets votes- like walk a precinct or make a call. Maybe- I just dont know- but what proof of grassroots support does Ed have besides- his faulty RTL endorsement that was done by Brian "I have a man crush on Ed Bryant" Harris- that really has not produced much. Prove to me that Ed is organized. The other camps are not touting much of that and to be honest with you it is sad that people like you and JB are connected to such a nice man.
You have too much time on your hands. Do you see the Black helicopters- I think so. Always a conspiracy theory with the Bryant bloggers. I wont even connect Ed to this- because I dont think he even knows the stupid stuff that all of you waste your time with. Try doing something that matters and that actually gets votes- like walk a precinct or make a call. Maybe- I just dont know- but what proof of grassroots support does Ed have besides- his faulty RTL endorsement that was done by Brian "I have a man crush on Ed Bryant" Harris- that really has not produced much. Prove to me that Ed is organized. The other camps are not touting much of that and to be honest with you it is sad that people like you and JB are connected to such a nice man.
# posted by 
: 1:24 PM
: 1:24 PM
Anon -
Yes, I think it's all a big conspiracy. That's why my name is out, front and center, and you post from behind a veil of anonymity. Which one of us supposed to be paranoid, again?
Ed has a great grassroots nextwork because he has people who have worked dozens of grassroots campaigns as key nodes throughout Tennessee. Van thinks he has a good grassroots team, but he also thinks he has a good campaign team. Bob isn't even pretending to have a grassroots effort. He's looking to buy this one outright with a major media campaign.
What does any of this have to do with the silly actions by the Hilleary and Corker supporters? Or is that part of the conspiracy -to take this subject off on a tangent?
Cheers,
Rob
Yes, I think it's all a big conspiracy. That's why my name is out, front and center, and you post from behind a veil of anonymity. Which one of us supposed to be paranoid, again?
Ed has a great grassroots nextwork because he has people who have worked dozens of grassroots campaigns as key nodes throughout Tennessee. Van thinks he has a good grassroots team, but he also thinks he has a good campaign team. Bob isn't even pretending to have a grassroots effort. He's looking to buy this one outright with a major media campaign.
What does any of this have to do with the silly actions by the Hilleary and Corker supporters? Or is that part of the conspiracy -to take this subject off on a tangent?
Cheers,
Rob
Always a conspiracy theory with the Bryant bloggers. I wont even connect Ed to this- because I dont think he even knows the stupid stuff that all of you waste your time with. Try doing something that matters and that actually gets votes- like walk a precinct or make a call.
Anon - Blogging is a form of grassroots campaigning. There are thousands of Tennesseans who read blogs and go online for information about the race. I don't consider blogging to be a waste of time.
Perhaps the Hilleary camp should embrace blogging. It does matter.
Maybe- I just dont know- but what proof of grassroots support does Ed have besides- his faulty RTL endorsement that was done by Brian "I have a man crush on Ed Bryant" Harris- that really has not produced much. Prove to me that Ed is organized.
Ed has an energetic campaign staff and a strong network of grassroots volunteers of which I'm proud to be a part of. The campaign has regional chairs and is organized in all 95 counties.
While it sure takes a lot of courage for you to anonymously slander Brian Harris and TN Right to Life, it's an important grassroots endorsement, whether you agree with it or not. If it didn't matter, I don't think we'd see the vitriol coming from the Hilleary camp and directed at the pro-life community supporting Ed. Additionally, Ed has the support of TN's homeschool network. Don't underestimate their numbers. Other important endorsements include Ben Cunningham, founder of grassroots TN Tax Revolt and over a dozen state legislators (more than any other Senate candidate).
The other camps are not touting much of that and to be honest with you it is sad that people like you and JB are connected to such a nice man.
I'm sorry you feel like Rob and I are such a detriment to the ranks of Ed Bryant's grassroots volunteers, but personally I've got some campaign experience under by belt and I plan on using it to help Ed get elected. After managing the campaign of the only Republican House challenger to defeat an incumbent Democrat in 2004, I think I know just a little about this stuff. Hopefully it will help Ed out.
Anon - Blogging is a form of grassroots campaigning. There are thousands of Tennesseans who read blogs and go online for information about the race. I don't consider blogging to be a waste of time.
Perhaps the Hilleary camp should embrace blogging. It does matter.
Maybe- I just dont know- but what proof of grassroots support does Ed have besides- his faulty RTL endorsement that was done by Brian "I have a man crush on Ed Bryant" Harris- that really has not produced much. Prove to me that Ed is organized.
Ed has an energetic campaign staff and a strong network of grassroots volunteers of which I'm proud to be a part of. The campaign has regional chairs and is organized in all 95 counties.
While it sure takes a lot of courage for you to anonymously slander Brian Harris and TN Right to Life, it's an important grassroots endorsement, whether you agree with it or not. If it didn't matter, I don't think we'd see the vitriol coming from the Hilleary camp and directed at the pro-life community supporting Ed. Additionally, Ed has the support of TN's homeschool network. Don't underestimate their numbers. Other important endorsements include Ben Cunningham, founder of grassroots TN Tax Revolt and over a dozen state legislators (more than any other Senate candidate).
The other camps are not touting much of that and to be honest with you it is sad that people like you and JB are connected to such a nice man.
I'm sorry you feel like Rob and I are such a detriment to the ranks of Ed Bryant's grassroots volunteers, but personally I've got some campaign experience under by belt and I plan on using it to help Ed get elected. After managing the campaign of the only Republican House challenger to defeat an incumbent Democrat in 2004, I think I know just a little about this stuff. Hopefully it will help Ed out.
Perhaps the Hilleary camp should embrace blogging. It does matter.
Whoa! Whoa! Hold the phone! Don't connect that nutcase to us. He doesn't speak for Hilleary supporters. That anon challenged Huddleston, he didn't say he was a Hilleary supporter. For all we know, he could be a Corker supporter. He's certainly not one of us. So don't lump him in with Hilleary supporters.
Van values blogging, and you know it, JB. JO and I at the Van Wagon and the guys at Van Fans prove that.
Whoa! Whoa! Hold the phone! Don't connect that nutcase to us. He doesn't speak for Hilleary supporters. That anon challenged Huddleston, he didn't say he was a Hilleary supporter. For all we know, he could be a Corker supporter. He's certainly not one of us. So don't lump him in with Hilleary supporters.
Van values blogging, and you know it, JB. JO and I at the Van Wagon and the guys at Van Fans prove that.
Does anyone thihk bob has had botox treatment to his face. check out old (2 years ago) and compare to present photos.
# posted by : 9:19 AM
: 9:19 AM
Charles -
I can't agree on Van Fans. What are they averaging - 3 posts a month? I've seen blogs about toxic mold with more life.
Cheers,
Rob
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I can't agree on Van Fans. What are they averaging - 3 posts a month? I've seen blogs about toxic mold with more life.
Cheers,
Rob
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