Manufactured Discontent

Atrios is trumpeting a poll that supposedly says that 1/3rd of America thinks Bush should be impeached for "lies" over Iraq. Sounds unbelievable?

That’s because it is.

Atrios links to another fawning review of this poll that actually gives more details about the poll, including the polling organization.

When you have a polling organization whose slogan includes the phrase "manufacturing consent" you know you’re not dealing with people who have their heads on straight. Indeed, the polling organization in question, RetroPoll, is hardly the kind of organization that seems A:) scientific B:) respectable or C:) sane.

Looking at some of the questions for the poll, it’s clear that this is a classic push poll. Looking at the results of the poll proves it. The questions are clearly weighted in such a way as to produce a particular outcome – a classic technique of political polling agencies.

A legitimate poll doesn’t try to lead respondants on by asking them "factual" questions. A legitimate poll doesn’t use the way questions are phrased to shape the way in which people are likely to answer. A legitimate poll would have a sample size of more than 150 respondants.

In other words, we have a very clear case of "manufactured discontent" – a horrendously biased poll is conducted by a hack polling firm, picked up on by one blogger, and disseminated across the left wing blogosphere without anyone every questioning a poll that clearly doesn’t mesh with any respectable poll on the topic. This is why the left-wing of the blogosphere has become little more than an echo chamber in which contrary ideas are rejected in favor of the group consensus. It’s a classic case of groupthink, and it’s why the left-wing of the blogosphere is becoming it’s own little intellectual ghetto locked behind a wall of ideology and offering little to those who don’t already toe the party line.