Utah firm hired to smear Romney?
Company in Orem says polling was only 'message testing'
But a recent political brouhaha ended that behind-the-scenes anonymity.
Reports surfaced that telephone "push polls," purported by some to have been done by Western Wats interviewers, were attempts to plant negative views of Mitt Romney in critical presidential primary states.
But, without acknowledging a role in the survey, Western Wats' own Web site points readers to another term: "message testing."
On Nov. 11, at least 16 people in New Hampshire and Iowa, states with early presidential primaries, participated in 20-minute phone surveys about the election and candidates. Critics labeled the surveys "push polls."
Employees at the Western Wats offices on the old WordPerfect campus in north Orem are aware of the national attention their company has been garnering but they declined to talk about it and referred all questions to a company spokesman.
Western Wats officials have been under scrutiny since allegations were made that the company engaged in a push poll to taint the public's view of GOP presidential candidate Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and the man largely credited with turning around the scandal-ridden 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
Robert Maccabee, the company's director of client services, denied that the company, which also has offices in Provo and Spanish Fork, engaged in push polling, a method of influencing voters through the auspices of a poll.
"I can tell you we do not do push polling," Maccabee said.
Maccabee pointed to Western Wats' Web site, in which readers are presented definitions of legitimate polling, "message testing" and "unethical" push polls.
The site in turn refers readers to a Web-posted statement from the American Association for Public Opinion Research, which does not consider "message testing" to be unethical.
"Political campaigns routinely sponsor legitimate 'message-testing' surveys that are used by campaign consults to test out the effectiveness of various possible campaign messages or campaign ad content, often including negative messages," the AAPOR statement reads. "Political message-testing surveys may sometimes be confused with fake polling."
So the subject may come down to whether the controversial survey was a "push poll" or "message testing." And Western Wats isn't saying whether it played a role. "Confidentiality agreements prohibit us from commenting on specific projects and/or clients," the company's statement says.
Recent comments
I think the calls were made at the behest of the Romney campaign. I...
Joe S | Nov. 28, 2007 at 4:15 p.m.
It might be useful for the Deseret News to mention that, when this...
Joe S | Nov. 28, 2007 at 4:01 p.m.
Man, "message testing"? Push polls are illegal so let's name it...
A push poll by any other name... | Nov. 24, 2007 at 11:48 p.m.
- Luxury home market stalls 12:02 p.m.
- Kirk Douglas classic on DVD 11:38 a.m.
- Zion fire moving southeast 11:36 a.m.
- More school-money than expected 11:24 a.m.
- Virginia 'Freedman's' project done 11:12 a.m.
- Teen relive Mormon trek 11:12 a.m.
- Oldest American to scale Mount Everest 11:07 a.m.
- Knicks sign first-round pick 10:59 a.m.
- Armstrong third, Leipheimer fourthe 10:58 a.m.
- 6.0 quake in China 10:43 a.m.
- Jazz brass debate Millsap match
- LDS seminary principal arrested
- 2 men cited on LDS plaza
- Jazz finances not quite so bleak
- HBO defends U. logo use in 'Love'
- Reactions on Boozer speculation
- Cash for Clunkers to get rolling soon
- Utahns among Texans' investors
- Man spots his stolen car
- Jazz rookies quiet Thunder youngsters
- LDS seminary principal arrested
261 - Jazz brass debate Millsap match
168 - Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
141 - Jazz talking Boozer trade?
140 - 2 men cited on LDS plaza
127 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
124 - Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
99 - Fairness of BCS debated
81 - Chaffetz eyes challenging Bennett
76 - Letters: Single-payer system best
75
As more and more dads are put out of work in this economy, I've been...
The photographs are mysterious, brooding, dark. They show dimples and...
Guess what?!! The rest of the world thinks MORMONS ARE NOT MORAL!!!
@If I were Obama | 7:25 a.m. So funny. LMAO with this comment. Just...
"Fight the Power" is trying to make a civil rights analogy here that...
To imply that seniority is any substitute for effort under Jerry Sloan is...
Both for us fans and Jazz management. Millie was a great 2nd round pick,...
Like so many laws suits, Utah will loose. This use isn't any violation of...
"The Sutherland institute study shows that 96% of the immigrants lead crime...
continued: But most important, her gaffes reveal one who is woefully lacking...
suffers from a terrible case of 'god complex' wherein he thinks he is god the...
Biden or Sarah Palin? Looking at a catalogue of Biden’s gaffes, one is...


