Under the Dome doesn’t like the Civitas Poll, calling it biased and unusable. But Beckwith failed to mention the other poll questions that were ostensibly free of bias.
To be fair, drag-racing museum has since been cut from the budget. But it was present in the proposed budget at the time of the Civitas Poll. Furthermore, why is it biased to state the fact of over $1BILLION in budget surplus? How can it be biased that we mention the all the pork the government had planned to buy–AND STILL DOES? We couldn’t change the question ex post facto (But there is still $2.2 million going to a biofuels company — is that biased?) How are we biased in asking North Carolinians if they believe the taxes will be spent on pork or education?
If pollers don’t provide some context, people can’t offer informed answers. But if pollers do provide some context, the left accuses them of bias. Anyway, if you’re laboring under the theory that we’re biased, you’re actually attacking the usefulness of polls more than the our supposed bias.
(Update: BTW, Civitas doesn’t say "it has a poll showing voters do not support the state budget". The poll shows that NCians don’t support continuing the temporary taxes. Who, indeed, is biased, Ryan?)
That’s some funny stuff, Max. I guess Ryan wants the issues framed exactly as he sees the issues, or you cannot poll on them. Good thing he doesn’t live in Mecklenburg, where the other week we had a round of polling by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce on the school bond and transit tax repeal the Chamber will not even admit to.