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Exit Polls --- An Attempt to Manipulate the Election?

by Conservativity Staff,
Originally Posted: 11/3/2004

ORIGINAL POST DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2004:  Let’s go back to Election Day 2004.  The exit polls came out and were privately sent to the networks.  The anchors read them.  When I tuned on Fox News, I noticed a glum attitude with Brit, Mort, Fred and Bill.  In fact, they looked as if they were all about to announce a presidential funeral.  Juan looked as if he would burst into tears.  Susan Estrich came on, and even though Brit inadvertantly called her a "know-it-all,"  she maintained a smile as she said, "Either every exit poll I have seen is wrong or George Bush loses."  She was supremely calm and confident.  She was misled.  So was Joe Lockhart. So was Karl Rove.  So was Zogby.  So was Mary Beth Cahill.  So was every newsperson on Earth.  And I was too.  To his credit, the only person I heard who was not misled at all was Rush Limbaugh.  He figured it out and told everyone to ignore the exit polls.  He had, as per usual, figured it out.

After seeing Susan’s appearance, I went to the bathroom and "bowed before the Porcelain throne" at the thought of Kerry being our President.  I then saw Fox refusing to call Virginia, North Carolina and Souith Carolina!  More nausea ensued.  Then my son, who is eight years old, came up to me.  He said, "Daddy, we had a vote at our school today.  Bush won big!"  He then smiled broadly and showed me his "I voted at school" badge.  He gave me a glimmer of hope, because there’s nothing like seeing your own son beaming and proud. 

Even better, there’s nothing better than knowing that your 8 year old son is already a conservative!  Soon thereafter, Brit Hume came right out and said that their exit polls did not match the returns, and they were being cautious.  Then the night progressed.  And, at about 9:30PM CST, I could see the difference.  The mood swing was palpable.  The exit polls were pure crap.  Fox and -- believe it or not, CBS -- appeared to be the first ones to recognize this.  I thought that Juan Williams was about to get out of his chair and whoop it up (just kidding)!

Rush mused on the 4th that the exit polls were engineered to deflate Republicans and influence the elections.  They polled 60% female and 90% urban.  The Fox boys, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings, went on-air believing that they would be reporting a Kerry landslide as the night went on.  Fortunately, the voters had a different mind.  In fact, the end result of the election was a dream!  We gained 4 net seats in the senate!  We gained in the house!  We gained governorships!  The GOP had a Grand Old Party on Election Night!

"The goal was obvious:  Flip enough Bush states to Kerry to steal the election.  This was the left’s final effort to try to cheat up a win for senator Kerry."

These exit pollsters are supposedly professionals.  They had to know that sampling only urban voters and disproportionately high female urban voters would result in a number radically skewed to Kerry’s favor.  Why?  It makes no sense to try to do this.  The networks were not going to go two presidential elections in a row calling states based only on exit polls.  But this is the only scenario that explains the goofy polling.  The pollsters were trying to get a few red states called blue early on, and hoped to deflate the Bush vote west of the Mississippi where the polls were still open, like New Mexico and Nevada.  The goal was obvious:  Flip enough Bush states to Kerry to steal the election.  This was the left’s final effort to try to cheat up a win for senator Kerry.

Unfortunately, for them, the credibility-challenged networks were not going to bite.  Nobody wanted to be the one who called Florida wrong again.  Fox, CBS (yes CBS) and others were checking the votes against the exit polls, and not calling anything unless they could verify the polls.  We benefitted!  The pollsters did screw up, however.  They did not tell the Kerry campaign, and Kerry’s people also were misled.  They were further made to look like clowns when their supremely confident predictions turned sour, all of them, to a one.

As an aside, some loony types have posited that Karl Rove tried to spike the exit polls in order to embarass the press.  That is stupid beyond belief.  He would never jeopardize his man with a lame brained plot merely for spite.  Secondly, Karl needed to to absolutely nothing to embarass the press; they did an ample job themselves.  This was a lefty plot to try to deflate the right in the West.  It failed.  The cheaters’ cheats failed.

And the exit pollsters are inducted into the Hall of Shame.