Observations on Advertising, Polls and Opinions

Observations on Advertising, Polls and Opinions
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This election has brought me several epiphanies.

Our phone has been ringing off the hook for days. The term is for these intrusions is robocalls. My dear wife Monqiue calls them robo-bullying. Since so many of them are coming from Crossroads GPS, I'm calling them Rove-o-bullying.

The more cash you have, the more advertising you can do. Corporations and rich folks with monetary self-interests tend to have more cash. Now that the Citizens United case opened the floodgates to uncontrolled spending, any millionaire or rich corporation, domestic or foreign, can attempt to sway an election. It has become harder and harder to follow the money, so I can see many people (including myself) voting against proposals and candidates with major unknown backing, such as no on Amendment 4,5 and 6 in Florida.

Bottom line, if the amendment/candidate would harm a corporate interest but not people -- and there is major advertising -- it is time that people once again vote for their own self interest. I heard a comment made on a talk show recently stating that the rich move this country's economy, and the Republicans care for the rich. However, the rich seem to be driving this economy into the ground. Tell me I'm wrong.

The last point about campaign spending is that, if you can't follow the money, don't vote for that candidate/amendment. Who paid for Rubio's ad that have been flooding the mailboxes, airwaves and our telephones in Florida? BP? Chavez? Castro? If you don't know, it could be anyone. I doubt it is your unemployed neighbor.

Meanwhile, polls are great tools for understanding public opinion on everything from breastfeeding to the legalization of marijuana, but their use in elections has become precarious.

Polls are meant to be influenced by the results of an election. However, with poor or skewed sampling techniques and too much publicity (which is easy in this 24-hour news cycle world) the opposite can be achieved. When polls can influence elections, and become self-fulfilling prophecies, were are all in trouble being influenced by outside sources, which is not what the founding fathers invisioned.

Don't look at the polls. If you do, don't give them much credence. Think of polls as the Medusa, or Sodam and Gamorra on fire. Look forward, and vote your conscience.

Finally, it seems as though the definitions of die-hard Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats are always waiting for the government to help them. Republicans are waiting for the rich to help them. Who do you think will be waiting longer? We need more independant thinkers, with the ability to see the merits in both sides, and move forward with the best notions of both worlds.

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