Joni Balter at the Seattle Times has a blog post about a reader who was, apparently, surveyed for push-poll trying to slam King County Executive candidate Dow Constantine:
A reader called this week to report on a questionable campaign phone call she received testing negative messages about King County executive candidate Dow Constantine. Kaye Kilgour of Seattle, who ironically worked in market research, was asked a series of questions about whether she would be more or less likely to vote for Constantine if she knew different things about him.
She called me because she was insensed [sic] by a question about whether she knew that Constantine was 47 years old, never married and lived with a partner, the implication being he is somehow not OK because he isn’t married.
Constantine lives with his female partner, Shirley, and has for many years. He told me she is just very unconventional, not eager to get married.
If true, it seems obvious that this push poll isn’t trying to suggest that Constantine lives with a longtime girlfriend, but rather a partner—a male partner—implying that Constantine is gay. Which he isn’t.
That would be par for the course for push polls, which are often slimy, but it would also be seriously dirty politics—especially if the poll were paid for and conducted by the most likely suspect for an anti-Constantine push-poll: Susan Hutchison.
Her base is more conservative, more suburban, and more likely to be homophobic. However, Hutchison recently said she would back gay rights by voting to approve Referendum 71. If this poll was in fact run by Hutchison’s campaign, it would mean she’s comfortable working against homophobia while also stoking homophobia for her own political gain. In other words, a giant hypocrite.
So did her campaign run the survey?
“We don’t discuss any proprietary polling information,” says Hutchison’s campaign manager, Jordan McCarren. So he’s not saying it wasn’t them, right? “We don’t discuss polling.”
“Proprietary” has a pretty clear meaning. If this poll did in fact happen, and if it falls under the domain of polling that Hutchison’s campaign won’t discuss, then it would seem to be a poll that Hutchison’s campaign bought and paid for.
The questions is, did other people get the same homophobia-baiting question?
So, Slog, anyone else get the call? Send me a note.
Every post of this sort should come with a photo of Jordan just to stop everyone from seething.
Which reminds me, an online friend worked on the Huckabee campaign… I should ask him some questions.
Yes this must be another conspiracy! If one doesn’t have a wife and only a common law spouse, it MUST be an anti gay Agenda!
Unite!
Let’s hurry and jump to conclusions!
It’s what we do best!
All she has to do is realease a document saying that she was born in… I mean saying that she didn’t initiate the push poll and it would put the matter to rest.
bad scummy TV painted lady
“it seems obvious”
It does?
The trick seems to have a few in the media. It also turns dow’s campaign into a Seinfeld episode. Not that it matters…
Hey everyone! Raidrop is either an insufferable douch-bag, illiterate, or a disingenuous prick! Guess which one (or combination)?
Yeah, I’m with w7ngman on this one. The “obvious” part of the question is that they were testing to see if Dow being unmarried elicits a negative reaction. The leaping conclusion of homophobia, while at this point still a possibility, is not at all obvious from the little information we have.
@ 10) What seems obvious is that the poll suggested, by mentioning he’s never been married and lives with a partner, that his partner could be male.
@8 I’m going 30/30/30 with an extra 10% of inbred simpleton. But at least his mother/aunt and father/uncle were married!
And there’s absolutely no truth to the rumor that he murders seagulls, either.
@ 11 FAIL
Again.
Is work pretty tough at the Stranger lately?
Why are all the staff so eager to jump to conclusions?
@14: Is the fact that he has a long-term partner that happens to be female a commonly known thing? Did the call mention the gender of his partner? Did the call ask questions about him living with a woman he was not married to?
If no to any of the above, welcome to the reality of what a push-poll does!
Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend October 10 – 11, 2009
Seattle OUTProtest has brought together a grassroots coalition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight people and organizations to organize a series of solidarity events to coincide with the National March for Equality this October.
March and Rally
Forty years after the Stonewall Rebellion, we march in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and allies in Washington, DC to demand equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states and to show our public support for the Approval of Referendum 71 here in Washington state.
Sunday, October 11
2:00 pm: Volunteer Park, 10th Ave E & E Prospect
5:00 pm: Rally, Federal Courthouse, 7th & Stewart
Thinking Queerly: Community Workshops on LGBT Issues
Community organizers and activists will present a series of workshops on a range of issues affecting the lgbt community including Stonewall and lgbt movement history, homelessness, hate crimes and self defense, lgbt health, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, lgbt legal issues, Gay-Straight Alliances, marriage equality, and more.
Saturday, October 10
9:30 am to 5 pm
Piggot Auditorium, Seattle University
HIV/AIDS Vigil
As the AIDS pandemic nears its fourth decade, we gather to educate and raise awareness about the continued struggles of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, friends, and support networks as well as to demand all resources and all funding necessary for prevention, treatment, and a cure.
Saturday, October 10
Starting at 6 pm
Seattle Central Community College South Plaza, Broadway & E Pine
Generation Q Mega Mixer
Come mingle and mix with seasoned leaders and activists of the GLBTQ community at the Generation Q Mega Mixer. Young leaders (25 and under please) will have the opportunity to socialize, learn from, and quite possibly have a dance off with some of the community’s most inspiring members in a relaxed social environment.
Sunday, October 11
6:30 pm
Sole Repair Shop, 1001 E Pike
Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend March & Rally
http://nationalmarch.seattleoutprotest.o…
Get involved with one of our planning committees! Contact for more time and details:
March/Rally Committee, March@seattleoutprotest.org
Workshops Committee, Workshops@seattleoutprotest.org
Outreach Committee, Outreach@seattleoutprotest.org
Mixer Committee, Mixer@seattleoutprotest.org
HIV/AIDS Vigil Committee, Vigil@seattleoutprotest.org
Biweekly General Organizing Meetings, please contact whitney@seattleoutprotest.org for time and location.
National Equality March: Equality Across America
http://www.equalityacrossamerica.org
Approve Referendum 71
Keep the Domestic Partnership Law
I want Mr. Poe to come back and destroy Slog once and for all.
Everyone knows Chairman Dao only likes little girls waving little Red Books.
Probably a relevant point is whether Dow himself prefers to call her his “partner”.
This article would suggest that, though it does mention her name.
Also worth pointing out is that “partner” is a common term to describe unmarried senior couples. Calling a 50 year old a “girlfriend” seems weird, even to me, and Dow and his partner are easily bordering on that. It seems the likely target of this poll would feel the same way, and be similarly more familiar with that particular use of “partner”.
If the call had mentioned his “girlfriend” you could just as easily (read: not so easily) make the argument that they were trying to plant the image of an unmarried playboy courting young 20 somethings.
Furthermore we don’t even have the exact wording of the poll.
What’s with all the sleazy stuff from Suzie? I thought she was down with Jesus!
I think Shirley is really a front for Dow and Dominik’s domestic partnership!
The sad thing is the media won’t cover Susan Hutchinson’s lover.
But then, that would involve admitting Susan isn’t as straight as she likes to pretend.
@22: WHAT!
OMFG.