Are You Buying This Crap?

The Montana GOP is so stupidly fact challenged, I often wonder how they manage to put their pants on in the morning.  Take a look at the latest e-brief, and tell me that their not full of shit.

First, they laud the newest Zogby poll, claiming that Burns and Tester are "neck and neck".  Actually, Tester leads Burns by 4 points, 46 to 42, extremely bad poll numbers for an incumbent with Burns' monetary assets.  As the dipsticks claim, that's a toss-up.  Their reasoning?

The poll has the race favoring Tester 46-42 and that is well within the margin of error and makes this race a toss-up.

I'm not saying that they're wrong about that, but I will happily claim that they are being stupidly inconsistent.  Slightly later in the brief, they claim that Republicans "Lead in State Legislative Races".  That's a lie, and little Chucky Denowh knows it.  After all,l they link to a headline that actually says:

GOP slightly favored in statewide polling

Uhmm, read the article and you find this in the second paragraph:

But the difference is within the poll's margin of error, so the proportion of voters favoring Republicans or Democrats is considered a statistical dead heat: Forty-five percent of those polled said they prefer Republican candidates for the state House, while 42 percent chose Democrats.

By the very reasoning that they use in the Senate race, there is no favoring of GOP candidates in the state.  It is a dead-heat.  It's even a closer margin than that they claim as insignificant in the national Senate race.  Why the inconsistency?

That should be obvious; the state GOP thinks we're stupid and wouldn't recognize such a ploy.  I'm happy to disappoint them.  Are you?

Had enough, yet?

Comments

[Patia]

That childhood toy, the Sit and Spin, comes to mind ....

I had enough a long time ago.

[Eric Coobs]

I agree with you right now that with the exception of Rehberg/Lindeen most races are a dead-heat. The voters are pretty much split down party lines. It'll be interesting to see the strategies that the candidates use to pull the fence riders over to their side.

[Shane C. Mason]

This seems pretty much par for the course from the state GOP. That's why they are losing elections like flies around here (Governor, state senate etc) and that trend will continue.

Eric, it is funny to hear you say that the vote will go down party lines... again. You are the only person I have heard say that, everyone else has an anecdotal tale of their republican friend who is voting for Tester or not at all. You must not get out much, or people are afraid to talk with you.

[Gee Guy]

While I agree with Wulfgar, I think both sides are guilty of it. Shouldn't all polls within the margin of error be considered a toss-up? I mean, isn't that why they do "scientific" polls, because they are using a statistical analysis? So, if the statistical analysis gives us a margin of error, and the result falls within it, shouldn't we accept the poll as not telling us anything statistically significant about the likely result?

[Eric Coobs]

I'm saying that right now, today, the vote seems to be split along party lines.

How the winning candidates pull themselves ahead is what I want to see.

Oh, yes, all your republican friends are switching parties... right. They tried saying that on the blogs too until I challenged them to put their names up, then they were quiet.

[rkba]

When can we expect the Montana Democrats to make public their 2006 Party Platform. Didn’t the convention wrap up the first week of August?

I asked Jim Walseth, Chairman of the Gallatin Democrats, and he had no answer. He said it was similar to the 2004 platform, so I should “just read that one.” That seems a little shadey to me.

Figured you guys seem to be up on everything, so this would be the best course of action.

It’s been two months since the wrap-up of the convention, and only four weeks until the general…just curious as to where the state Democratic Party stands on the issues.

A platform does exist, right?

[rkba]

Alright, I just got off the phone with Chris working with the party out of Helena with the state party, and apparently, the platform is STILL being “touched up”. So much touching up is to be had that the platform will not be ready for public consumption until AFTER the general election.

Found this to be interesting… from my original source discussing the Democrat convention held in early August:

http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/montana_democratic_convention_day_2/C70/L37/

“You don’t give ammunition to the enemy: no exceptions. The fight for a U.S. Senate seat, and majorities in the Montana House and Senate, are prime examples of this. Message control at the Democratic Party’s platform convention this weekend in Lewistown, Montana, is job one.”

I wonder what is meant by ammunition? Maybe facts? Hmm, I’m perplexed.

So, no electronic form, no written form, no platform available to the public at all. Odd.