UPDATED WITH LAUGHER!!!! *****Light Rail Backers Claim Clackamas Co Clamoring for Higher Car Taxes!

…But they won’t tell you how they know that. The Clackamas Review reports that “55%” of Clackamas voters think this car tax to supposedly finance improvements to the Sellwood Bridge (and to free up Portland’s money for light rail to Clackamas which I imagine this same “poll” found “support” for…) is a fabulous idea! What a surprise! These poll results, of course, are entirely different than the one

commissioned by opponents of the plan. See it nearby.

So what question could possibly have elicited the 55% in favor response rate? UPDATE BELOW

The group which commissioned the poll is, as we reported here, bought and paid for by mostly groups outside Clackamas County, including public employee unions and engineering firms which would stand to make a buck off the deal. They claim the Lisa Grove poll is legit, but they won’t tell us the question they asked to elicit that never- before-seen 55% approval rate:

Chris Edmonds, political director for the campaign to pass the fee, said that details about specific questions that were asked are proprietary information and not subject to public scrutiny.

And I know why. The last time I got a look at a Lisa Grove poll question I wrote several blog pieces, talked incessantly about it on my program and wrote an op ed for the Zero. Nothing about the question was accurate. This debunked poll has served as the imprimatur for the pro “plastic” bag banners to institute their draconian ban on one of most ubiquitous and useful devices ever devised. Here’s the question she wrote as discussed here and here and here. Inaccuracies or outright lies are highlighted:

“Single-use petroleum-based plastic shopping bags pollute our land, contribute to a swirling mass of garbage twice the size of Texas off Oregon’s coast, and continue our dependence on dangerous foreign oil supplies. Making paper shopping bags is a toxic process that pollutes our rivers. To encourage more use of reusable shopping bags, do you favor or oppose banning plastic bags in the City of Portland and requiring a 5-cent fee on paper bags?”

This question gives push polling a bad name. No wonder the pro-car-tax crowd wants to keep their latest Lisa Grove poll question under wraps.

Musing on another question with respect to Grove Insight, it does make you appreciate just how bad David Wu was to make her quit his campaign.

Grove isn’t answering any questions from us about her methodology but an alert 5th listener went to her website and found out that she actually ADVERTISES slanted poll questions:

Innovative Research Methods
Creating a persuasive message starts with an in-depth understanding of the people you’re trying to talk to – and Grove Insight can help you speak their language. We’ll help identify your audience, define the element that makes your message unique, and connect it in a meaningful way with the people you need to reach.

Get the Win
We win because we have a wealth of experience asking the right questions, the right way.

Source: http://www.groveinsight.com/what-we-do.html

Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com