Okay, This Illustrates the Silliness of Polls

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Under the short but entirely appropriate heading of “WTF?” Wonkette observes that the Lifetime Network actually commissioned a poll to ask women voters… well, I’ll let Wonkette explain.

“NEW YORK (Reuters) – Women would rather carpool or go on vacation with Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama than with his Republican rival John McCain, a new poll of U.S. women voters showed on Tuesday.” What the fuck does this even mean? “Carpooling” and “vacationing” are two very distinct acts. So they have asked women across the country, basically, which candidate they would rather schlep to pre-school or, conversely, go to the Jersey Shore with.

And that’s relevant how? Lifetime commissioned the poll as part of its “Every Woman Counts” campaign, which seeks to increase engagement in politics by women. Is it making the incredibly patronizing suggestion that women’s voting behavior is informed by which candidate they would rather take on a beach getaway? As opposed to, say, the candidates’ energy platforms?

We’ll know even more after the Golf Channel’s poll on which candidate male voters want to snap towels with at the Elks Lodge. Thanks, Lifetime!

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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