RealClearPolitics.com is Run by GOP Hacks

By: TJHalva | Comments [10] | Category: VFA Original | 10/23/2008 10:16:49 PM CT

Yesterday we incorporated two polls conducted by Orion Strategies (R) into our database. Today RealClearPolitics.com followed suit, but in doing so erroneously (or perhaps intentionally) labeled them as Democratically skewed. Orion Strategies LLC is co-owned by Randy Scheunemann, a die hard Republican based on about five minutes of research. You've probably never heard of this guy but he's donated $2,000 to McCain and upon further examination he's actually a foreign-policy aide to John McCain. I don't know how a given pollster could be more partisan, but RealClearPolitics.com seems to disagree with this assessment. Did they even do the leg work?

My guess is surprisingly yes and here's why. RealClearPolitics.com has consistently conveyed a conservative slant; this does not necessarily mean that their polling averages are partisan however; although they do have some questionable practices. Lets give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that their polling methods are impartial. If an impartial algorithm exists, the only way to control the output is by altering the input. Well they tried this and got caught. The only remaining avenue for manipulation lies in the presentation. By mislabeling the polls' party affiliation they do no harm to their averages' credibility (as its still classified as partisan), but they are still manipulating their supposedly impartial presentation to fulfill their agenda.

When RealClearPolitics.com was previously called out for bias they pleaded innocent, but they seem to be repeat offenders. This latest example serves to highlight the fact that RealClearPolitics.com is run by Republican hacks who will go to the end of the earth to further their political beliefs. This example of intentional misinformation highlights everything wrong with the current Republican movement. The means by which they seek to improve the democracy actually runs counter to the principles of democracy.

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10 Response(s) to RealClearPolitics.com is Run by GOP Hacks

1
KS DEM
10/24/2008 12:07:30 AM CT

Ive been wondering about this...why isn't dailykos poll included in RCP tallies?? Then I read some of the 'banner news'...whewee...really really right of the right stuff.
2
Anonymous
10/24/2008 12:44:43 AM CT

If they are pro-McCain, why do their polls show Obama ahead in most states, more than the CNN polls do? I don't get what their agenda is, trying to say McCain's a loser? To lull the Dems into complacency? Doesn't make sense.
3
Anonymous
10/24/2008 5:07:30 AM CT

I have no idea what their agenda is but it's very clear that they have in the past altered numbers to favour McCain. Though the RCP avg. is still quite reliable because if it weren't they would lose their dominant position in a heartbeat. I guess it's an emotional thing, that some people or someone in their staff just wants to give McCain a break.
4
B. Brown
10/24/2008 2:22:03 PM CT

Add to that list of Right-leaning bias, at least one of the hosts on XM Radio POTUS 08, Scott Walterman. Fo certain, in the tank.
5
Anonymous
10/24/2008 3:16:32 PM CT

Just so we are clear we dont live in a democracy.
The United States is a republic
so forget the "principles of democracy"
6
Anonymous
10/24/2008 3:18:02 PM CT

oh and by the way factcheck.org leans way to the left, is it any surprise you can find an unbiased source for news, etc...
7
Dan
10/25/2008 8:06:24 AM CT

Good reporting! You are right. I've been watching this site since the 2004 election, and it has always been obvious that they slant VERY far to the right. Just read their articles and notice how they use words and, more importantly, how they use word order to covey their bias. I've never held much respect for such hacks on either side of the spectrum, but these guys are real hack pros.
8
Anonymous
10/25/2008 10:09:47 PM CT

NPR keeps referring to "the non-partisan website realclearpolitics.com," and it's really starting to get to me.
9
Anonymous
10/28/2008 2:32:20 PM CT

They show Obama winning despite leaning hard right because it's not plausible - not even to the most biased right-wingers - to show McCain winning. They do everything they can to soften the margin of Obama's lead, though.

They're like Drudge, in some ways - going out of their way to make the race seem close even when it isn't (assuming their intentions are innocent, in order to keep morale up and encourage higher turnout; more cynically, so that if the GOP voter suppression tactics work, it will be more acceptable to the public).
10
Anonymous
10/28/2008 3:01:51 PM CT

Hey, it's cool to see someone mention Walterman! I love listening to POTUS, but that guy is truly a serious rightie. And it's tricky because POTUS seems very well balanced to me, not only non-partisan, but non-inflammatory. Just reporting and playing the candidates' own speeches and words. Even Scott acts quite balanced most of the time, but he lets these extremely wrong things slip out sometimes. The other day it was (with regard to Ashley Todd before it was known to be a hoax), "If this was a white-on-black crime, it'd be all over the national news by now, wouldn't it?" It was like he was channeling Rush Limbaugh! Another guy was in the studio with him and was pretty much flabbergasted at that point.

I've been really disgusted with him for months, and it's fun to see that I'm not just crazy.

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