Who's behind racially charged Zogby poll question?
October 28, 2009 9:17 am ET by Terry Krepel
Yesterday, we highlighted a Zogby poll question asking whether "good white people in positions of power in the broadcast industry" should "step down to make room for more African-Americans and gays to fill those positions." But given that Zogby does a lot of polling-for-hire, the probability is high that someone paid Zogby to ask that question.
Indeed, that's the case here. As FAIR noted, that poll was paid for by conservative activist Brad O'Leary. He's the guy who presented an award to Rush Limbaugh at CPAC earlier this year. He has also penned two books, one a speculative, factually challenged attack on Barack Obama, that were published by WorldNetDaily.
O'Leary also has a history of hiring Zogby to do slanted polling. Eric Boehlert has previously noted that these polls -- which are conducted with Zogby under names such as ATI News and the O'Leary Report -- include vague and leading phraseology designed to elicit a specific answer, which O'Leary can then promote to further his anti-Obama agenda.
WorldNetDaily, which has regularly promoted O'Leary's slanted polls, did so again with this one, even faithfully reproducing the "good white people" question and adding a email address to contact WND's PR folks if "you are a member of the media and would like to interview Brad O'Leary about this story." Interesting that WND would let that poll wording slide by. Or Zogby, for that matter.
UPDATE: It seems the "good white people" phrase is taken from a statement by FCC official (and right-wing witch hunt target) Mark Lloyd. But the O'Leary/Zogby poll's claim that Lloyd "wants the FCC to force good white people in positions of power in the broadcast industry to step down to make room for more African-Americans and gays to fill those positions" is completely false.
Seriously, "As it is currently the written," this junk has no legitimacy whatsoever.
"Do you think talk show hosts like Glen Beck should be allowed to encourage audience members to perpetrate acts of politically motivated violence?"
Sounds to me like a natural set-up for a Progressive "sting." Somebody ought to contact Zogby with a very far-out question and see if they accept.
NB: These really aren't stings, of course. Anyone who has seen the movie knows that.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/seton-motley/2009/09/23/fccs-diversity-czar-white-people-need-be-forced-step-down-so-someone-0
No, you are wrong. Unless you can prove otherwise, Lloyd did not use that language.
Zogby's poll question claims Lloyd wants the FCC to force white people out of their jobs. Lloyd has never said that.
I'm a little surprised you don't conduct better research.
Considering how long-winded many of these questions are in the poll, you'd think that if the real goal had been to get people's honest responses to Lloyd's actual comments then the question could have included at least a full sentence of Lloyd's original remarks.