Associated Press Blows it on Health Care Poll Reporting

What's up with the Associated Press (AP)? Seems it's been captured by the transnational corporations too (like the other three branches: U.S. Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Executive). AP has teamed up on polling with GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications... I'm not kidding, that's their name.

I was drawn to this realization after reading a recent AP article entitled, "AP-GfK Poll: Americans Split On Health Care Repeal." Oh really? "Split" usually means 50 percent for and 50 percent against.

So, out come the latest AP corporate communications numbers on the recent health care legislation:

40% Support Health Care legislation
11% Neutral on it
51% Total

45% Oppose the Health Care legislation

45% to 51% percent is almost a "split," only six points apart, but not on "repeal" of the legislation.

32% want to repeal it completely, which isn't exactly a "split" when compared with 40% who "support."

But what really got me was that the AP article makes the lame oversight that so many polls do on this topic; it doesn't directly address the question that some people who are "opposed" to the legislation didn't feel it goes far enough to truly reform health care. Well it did, but it stacked that number up against "repeal" and called it a "split."

I went to the Oct. 13-18, 2010 corporate communications poll [PDF] to look at the numbers. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the follow-up question, "of those opposed, who wants stronger legislation?" But, you can get close to the answer of that question. Here are the numbers:

18% say leave the Health Care legislation as it is.
39% say change the Health Care legislation so it does MORE.
57% Total say keep it the same or stronger Health Care legislation


9% say change the Health Care legislation so it does LESS.
32% say completely repeal the Health Care legislation.
41% Total say make it weaker or repeal it.

41% Repeal or does LESS, 57% Keep as-is or does MORE. This should have been the headline, not a lame twisting of the number to say Americans are "split" on wanting to repeal the Health Care legislation.

Instead, AP cherry picks two numbers from "likely voters" that fit a story line: Those who want stronger health care legislation and those who want repeal it, as if that is a logical comparison.

But, the damage of the headline is done, less than two weeks before the elections. Shame on the Associated Press and its corporate communications partner. It's telling that it was AP's corporate communications partner that does the interpretation of the poll video.

Let AP Know What You Think:

Contact AP:

E-mail: info@ap.org
Phone: 212 621-1500

Contact FAIR: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting to let them know what you think.

E-mail: fair@fair.org

Obama's Healthcare Shadow

Remember the old Mad Magazine piece showing a series of cartoon frames in which people are doing one thing, but their shadow is doing something socially unacceptable that they really want to do? Like the example below:

I can't remove the image of Obama, with Rahm Emanuel standing there, saying

By standing up to the special interests who have prevented reform for decades and who are furiously lobbying against it now, the Senate has moved us closer to reform that makes a tremendous difference for families, for seniors, for businesses and for the country as a whole.

Meanwhile Obama's and Emanuel's shadows are high-fiving the health industry executives on sealing the deal. 30 million people forced to buy corporate health insurance, some subsidized by tax payer money, thereby strengthening the corporate power of an industry that is already controlling our governing system. WTF?

Establishment Position on Health Care

Obama took the establishment "middle of the road" position on health care reform, and look where it got him? He is capitulating on a public option. My message to President Obama:

By taking the middle of the road on health care, your "compromise" position is falling far short of meaningful reform. I'm urging my representatives to say "no" to any legislation that does not have a strong public option.

I am tired of the establishment controlling everything from the media, to the financial system, to the health care system, to our system of government. So, the message is, "fight for a public option or start over." The next time, take the far left position of which you're being accused, then compromise in the middle. This is negotiation 101.

GDAE Podcast - Episode 16

Episode 15 - June 17, 2009 Taliban & US Right Wing

• Briefly, Health Care Reform: Time for us to Make Noise!
• A tid bit on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
• Who are the Taliban?
• A Mid-East 101 by Chris Hedges 
• Sarah Palin's Future Plans: Will she help incite right-wing violence? (Re-visiting a theme of Episode 11)

Play GDAE Podcast Episode 16 from this page.

Previous Episodes & 60-Sec Promo:

GDAE Podcast 60-Second Promo

GDAE Podcast Episode 15 June 17, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 14 June 10, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 13 May 22, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 12May 5, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 11 April 24, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 10 April 9, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 9 March 28, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 8 March 15, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 7 March 1, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 6 February 17, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 5 February 6, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 4 January 24, 2009