Polls and Their Interpretation

Just a few thoughts about the midterm election polls and their misinterpretation not only by the media but also by both political parties. I’m particularly concerned with the question asked by almost all pollsters. The question might be phrased somewhat differently by each pollster, but essentially they all ask: “What’s the most important issue for you in the midterm elections?” The question might be followed by a list of several issues from recent headlines; for example: crime, border security, national defense, Communist China, immigration, education, inflation, abortion, democracy, the president, and many others.

The left has been enthused about what they believe to be a growing number of voters who name abortion as their key issue, assuming this will drive their voting decisions. And they may well be correct, but not perhaps in the way they think. Let me explain.

The other day I received a request via text message to take part in a poll. I usually ignore these requests, but for some reason I figured, what the heck! I’ll give it a try. It didn’t take long to realize this was no politically neutral poll. It was obviously created to support a particular Democrat candidate who is running for Florida Attorney General. The questions were worded in a way that denigrated conservative viewpoints and extolled the candidate’s leftist beliefs. As expected, one of the questions asked me to identify the issue most important to me as a voter. I selected “abortion” simply because it is my driving issue. I have never voted for a “pro-choice” candidate at any level and never will. In fact, when faced with two candidates who both support abortion, I have simply not voted for either. To me, anyone who supports abortion is in a state of severe moral confusion and cannot be trusted to respond correctly to any moral issue.

Anyway, my poll response got me thinking, so I sent an email to a bunch of folks whom I know are pro-life. I just asked them the same question I’d been asked and listed many of those hot issues. Of the 24 folks who responded, 21 selected “abortion.” My conclusion, then, is something the pro-abortion crowd doesn’t want to hear. Many of those who say their primary issue is abortion are probably pro-life, and not pro-choice. I suppose we’ll just have to wait until November 9th to find out.