GOP caught push-polling in WI

[Rspaight]

Pushed by poll, state Democrat pushes back
Posted: Aug. 31, 2004
Spivak & Bice

An out-of-state Republican polling firm faces at least one danger when calling Wisconsin voters to ask for their opinions:

It might dial up Democratic activist and former lobbyist Tom Krajewski.

If Krajewski does pick up the phone, look out - he might just write and sign an affidavit implying your firm broke a state law. Then he might send his sworn statement to the presidential candidate John Kerry's campaign and two guys with a column in Milwaukee.

And then, Mr. Pollster, you might just have to spend some time explaining to reporters why your employees won't disclose who is paying for the survey - as required by state law.

What a pain.

This month, Oregon-based Moore Information called hundreds of state residents to ask them questions about the presidential contest.

Little did the questioner know that one of the respondents was Krajewski, who immediately began taking notes. And when the survey veered toward becoming a push poll - encouraging answers with slanted questions, particularly about the current swift-boat controversy - Krajewski quickly called foul.

And when a political veteran such as Krajewski calls foul, he knows whom to call to make a little mischief.

"I wrote the affidavit so I would have an accurate representation, to the best of my recollection, of what happened," Krajewski said, sounding as innocent as an altar boy.

"I gave it to the Kerry people; I thought they should be aware of it."

Krajewski, a veteran spinmeister, said he was "terribly offended" by one question in particular.

The question, as Krajewski wrote in his affidavit: "Whose position do you think is closer to the truth - those 'veterans who served with John Kerry' and say that he does not deserve the medals that he received, or John Kerry who disagrees with the veterans that he served with and who appear in the ad?"

That is, to put it mildly, a nudge, if not an all-out shove.

Days after conducting the poll, the firm put out a news release nationally, saying it had found that President Bush was slightly ahead of his Democratic challenger in Wisconsin, though the lead was within the 4 percentage point margin of error. The release said the poll was conducted "for our own consumption."

Turns out that might be not completely accurate.

Bob Moore, the firm's president and founder, declined to discuss any of the questions in the poll, including the one on the controversial ads put out by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

He wouldn't even say whether Krajewski's notes were accurate.

As for who paid for the poll, Moore said his firm picked up the cost for the single question about which presidential candidate Wisconsin residents support.

He wouldn't disclose who paid for any of the other questions.

"I don't want to open that Pandora's box," said Moore, whose 20-year-old firm does polling for a variety of businesses but handles only Republican political clients.

Actually, Wisconsin law requires pollsters to disclose who is paying them if a person being questioned asks for that info. And - no surprise here - Krajewski swears he repeatedly demanded the info of the questioner, her supervisor and, ultimately, Moore himself.

Moore told us, "I never heard of that law before."

Learn something new every day - even after 20 years in the business.