At dinnertime, I received a robo-call.
I thought the robocall said it was from SurveyUSA, a respectable polling organization.
They asked me if I was a registered voter.
They asked me if I was going to vote for McCain.
They asked me if I was going to vote for Obama.
They asked me if I wanted my taxes cut.
They asked me if my opinion about Obama would change if I knew he would raise my taxes.
They then launched into telling me something about Obama and taxes that was strange and long and detailed and obviously false and made me realize this was definitely a “push poll” and possibly not SurveyUSA.
They asked me if I was pro-life.
They asked me again if knowing what they told me to be true, would I change my vote for Obama?
The call ended with words said rushed and low, that the survey was paid for by “Americans United to Preserve Marriage 703-861-7042”
On my caller ID, it said: AIC2008Res 703-263-0619

I immediately called back the number on my caller ID. Got a fast busy signal. I tried it again. The same.
Then I called the Amerians United to Preserve Marriage number. It rang awhile then put me on an answering machine. I did not leave a message.
I then looked up SurveyUSA, found that they follow the code of ethics of the American Association of Public Opinion Research and read that code of ethics to make sure push polling was not allowed. I contacted SurveyUSA. A very helpful person there named Jay Leve confirmed the poll was not theirs, agreed with me about the unethical nature of “push polls” and promised to do some checking.
Turns out this political organization that calls me owns the term “Survey 2008” (not SurveyUSA), even though what they wereconducting was a complete fraud. It was not a survey at all. Apparently this organization, which used to go by such names as “C C Advertising” and “Free Eats”, is used every election year by Republicans anxious to trick Americans into listening to their political message by masquerading as a legitimate polling organization.
This is what a “push poll” is, and I receive them every year about a week before election. It must work or they wouldn’t be paid to do it.
And as long as these dirty tricks are being played, I will report them. I encourage you to do the same.