Reader comments
Utah firm hired to smear Romney?

I received a similar "push poll" call last week from a local candidate whom I actually support in the upcoming special election to fill the congressional seat of Joann Davis (VA-1st dist.)

However,as a former Utahn, & even a former Western Wats employee, I was disgusted by the push polling from my local candidate and am equally disgusted by the push polling against Mitt Romney or anyone else.

That method is not how I choose to get information, if I am polled I want to give the info, & not be slimed in the form of a twisted question. It's like some creep in a trench coat sidling up to whisper, "Psssst--did you know...." & flashing porn just to try to dissuade you from voting for someone. Very creepy!

If anyone polls you at all this year, JUST SAY NO!

Enter comment Shame on you. Can't you run a business without smearing someone's personal life.

The least you could be is HONEST.

SInce the company does not qualify as a Doctor, Church, or lawyer, the cleint priviledge dodge is a sham. Money for morals is their game. Pay me enough and I will design a campaign to tarnish anyone.

You don't need to make things harder for this man especially from his own kind. I for one belong to the Native American church and the LDS church assisted in helping us in our time of need. This country is about religious freedom..as far as I can see there are no black leaders in our church ..there may be members who are part black but it is no more right to force one's idealogy upon any one's religion including the LDS church in how to run their doctrine. My people laid their lives down for the very principles that this man is standing up for. He certainly can't do any worse than the guy in there, who I don't ever recall was put under a microscope for all to see because of his religion. I hope if my children ever run for office , they will be judged by the content of their character. So don't back stab this brother.

While I am both a LDS and a democrat, and therefore not particularly interested in MR, unless he becomes the representative of his party ~ I am against negative politicking, regardless of the subject! I feel that our system is better served by discussing the *issues* or, at the very least, neutral information about each candidate ~ leaving it to the voter to decide if they think that is *negative* or *positive* or irrelevent completely. I do not feel, since a President of our country shouldn't be meddling into religious issues specifically, that his religion (or lack thereof) should be a factor in decision-making. If it should then all candidates should be *profiled* in that manner as to how completely they follow the dictates of their faith.
As to *push* or whatever word one cares to apply, each person has the capacity and responsibility to decide if they care to be tallied in such manner! As to MR specifically, I haven't paid too much attention to him (except as noted by friends whose opinion I respect) and won't unless, as stated previously, he becomes the representative for his party.

and the plot thickens...

The probability is that these calls came FROM the Romney camp.

Who here is saying that the questions were "smears"? Weren't they honest questions about the man's religion? Who reported getting them? His paid campaign workers, one of whom failed to reveal that when chosen to be interviewed (and didn't even state she was supporting him fully!)

A distasteful push-poll was the one George Bush and Karl Rove instigated against John McCain years ago: "Did you know McCain has an illegitimate black baby?" (The McCains had adopted the child, but that didn't stop Bush and Rove.)

Yet most of Utah, who knew about that, voted for Bush.

The mind boggles, but you all got what you voted for.

Who else BUT Romney would hire a Utah company to do that? Boggle again, Utah.

AMEN to CJ

If everyone would just IGNORE the IGNORANT idiots who are push polling or whisper campaigning and look at the track records of those running, then the candidates who are running would all be on the same page and we can look at the issues and compare apples to apples.

Whether you are in Utah or another state (I deplore how MY state voted in the last election), it behooves all of us to STUDY THE CANDIDATES AND THEIR ISSUES ... NOT their religion.

to NO SMEAR: You just did.

I worked for this company as a teenager 10 years ago. One night we hadn't hit our quota, so I was forced to keep calling Chicago (11 pm our time, 1 am their time, I believe) to find a male between ages 18 and 29 to complete my telephone survey. AT ONE AM! "Hello?" "Hello?" "Who the #!% is this!" Slam! After three well-deserved hang-ups and being cussed at ruthlessly by each, I left for the night. Ridiculous. "By their fruits..."

two words...slease balls!

If the voting public can't already see MR for the plastic, creepy candidate he is, shame on the voting public.

I we all treated others the way we would like to be treated, this would be a wonderful world. Then none of us would have to suffer unkindness from others.

LC: your equally (we can only hope) insightful estimation of HRC, please. The free world awaits your decree.

What makes you think I'm an HRC supporter? Are politics that black & white these days?

Like a salmon returning, another scandal involving Mitt returns to Utah.

The questions were "Are you award that [followed by a true statement of LDS beliefs/history]"

The only purpose for such questions, is to help MR decide whether he needs to come out and make a statement regarding his religious beliefs (like JFK did before the 1960 election.

I don't know why people are so offended by this. To those that are: WHICH questions were misleading?

After watching the Clinton administration run its policy by polls, I have decided to decline every poll that comes along. We should form our opinions by educating ourselves.

Boycott, all you're doing is then making sure that your opinion isn't represented at all. People of faith (esp. Mormons) need to be doubly sure that our voices are heard.

Frankly, I wish GW Bush *would* run his policy by polls. We wouldn't be in Iraq, we'd probably have captured bin Laden by now....and he may not be cast still as "worst president ever".

But hey, keep blaming Clinton. Because the Bible (Fox News, Rush and Hannity) tell you so.