A.M. Links: Trump's Approval Rating Drops to 36%, Harvey Weinstein Reportedly Used Private Investigators to Suppress Allegations, Saudi Arabia Accuses Iran of Committing an 'Act of War'

• 

  Gage Skidmore / Flickr.com

  President Donald Trump is visiting South Korea today.

• New poll: President Trump's approval rating has dropped to 36 percent.
• "Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page suggested sending then-candidate Donald Trump to meetings with Russian officials in May 2016, according to emails read during Page's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee last week."
• Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of committing an "act of war" after a missile was fired at Riyadh from Yemen.
• Harvey Weinstein reportedly "hired private investigators, including ex-Mossad agents, to track actresses and journalists."
• Florida State University has indefinitely suspended the school's 55 fraternities and sororities after the death of a first-year student following a frat party.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Donald Trump is visiting South Korea today.

The tweets are coming from inside the peninsula!

[Rat on a train]

He has been banned from Nork Twitter.

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Nork Twitter is just people writing messages in the dirt.

[Red Tony]

And the message is always "Praise be to our Glorious Leader."

[CE]

#LetMeOut

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

"New poll: President Trump's approval rating has dropped to 36 percent."

Ha, ha.

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Who will win, Trump's approval rating or Canada's daily high temperature?

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

C or F?

[Rat on a train]

K

[BigT]

R

[Crusty Juggler]

69

[Don't look at me.]

The last presidential election has revealed the accuracy of political polls.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

That they're quite accurate?

[BYODB]

But what about the pollsters themselves admitting that their polls are non-predictive?

[BestUsedCarSales]

You got an article I can read on that? I'd love to hear their own analysis of their polling techniques.

[BYODB]

I'm going to be lazy and choose the top result from a two second google search, but there is a lot of information out there. I honestly can't be bothered to dig up better citations but they are out there.

Gallup Gives up!

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

And?

Also: "Gallup has shifted its resources into understanding issues facing voters ? and won't be following the primary horse races, other than asking about how Americans feel about the individual candidates."

Are approval polls predicting something?

[BYODB]

Gee, so it's not remarkable that a polling company that's been doing it since circa 1939 decided just recently that they're getting out of the business of predicting polls?

Do tell.

If they can't call an election, which is a predictive endeavor, than what makes you think their polls on voter opinion are accurate?

If anything it's an admission that it's easier to poll 'feels' and be wrong than incorrectly call who wins an election which is an objective measure of success. Plus, who gives a shit if people 'feel' a certain way when that certainly changes over time? And how accurate are those polls when even psychology (another admittedly soft science) isn't predictive off questionnaires?

It is quite literally not rocket science.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Gee, so it's not remarkable that a polling company that's been doing it since circa 1939 decided just recently that they're getting out of the business of predicting polls?

You could also read it as an old stand-by is no longer competitive. The first paragraph mentions that their competitors were better predictors than they were. You could also read this as simple creative destruction as old companies no longer can keep up with new.

[gaoxiaen]

A few more years and he'll be as unpopular as Congress.

[SIV]

Trump is still more popular than Hitlery Kkklinton.

[Rhywun]

But probably not as popular as Block Yo Mamma.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Trump's approval rating has dropped to 36 percent.

That will all change now that he's on his apology tour (getting not giving).

[Chinny Chin Chin]

If/when The Donald's approval rating starts to climb, do you suppose the news will be reported like unfavorable economic news during Obama? "President Trump's approval rating unexpectedly higher this quarter..."

[Bee Tagger]

Should be called the Appy Polly Loggy tour in honor of our President (clockwork) Orange.

[Bee Tagger]

President Donald Trump is visiting South Korea today.

Can't wait to learn on Twitter about what dumb thing he doesn't actually say about Kia.

[Citizen X - #6]

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of committing an "act of war" after a missile was fired at Riyadh from Yemen.

This'll be fun!

[Conchfritters]

Gee, you've been carpet bombing Yemen for the past year, and you wonder why a missile was launched at you from Yemen.

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Those flying carpet bombers are badass.

[MP]

+1 Aladdin

[Bee Tagger]

New poll: President Trump's approval rating has dropped to 36 percent.

The singularity will be reached when Trump's approval rating drops to the same percentage number as the dimension of chess he's playing.

[Citizen X - #6]

There aren't any whole numbers smaller than one, dude.

[Bee Tagger]

Then you just got checktrumped.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

POTUS prefers the term "Melania'd"

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

One dimensional chess is all about the rooks.

[loveconstitution1789]

At least some TDS-ers are finally admitting that Trump is playing chess while other are playing paddle ball.

[Tom Bombadil]

Zero is a whole number.

[Crusty Juggler]

One is the loneliest number.

[Libertarian]

+3D Night

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Awww.

[Hugs Crusty]

[Red Tony]

...you regretted that the instant you did it, didn't you.

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Something poked me.

[Mickey Rat]

Two can be as bad.

[Rhywun]

LOL

Up is down

[Red Tony]

I believe Trump's approval rose for how he handled the hurricanes in Houston and Florida but has since fallen, thus the reporting that it's dropped.

[Rhywun]

I get it, and it might be two different pollsters, etc... Just amused, I am.

I don't recall ever seeing a rise reported - I think that would cause the universe to implode or something.

[BYODB]

Trump's popularity is quantum at this point. It exists at all points on the spectrum simultaneously and only collapses into low numbers when observed.

[CE]

Or when pollsters ask you "Do you think President Trump is worse than Hitler? Or about the same?"

[Fist of Etiquette]

Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page suggested sending then-candidate Donald Trump to meetings with Russian officials...

Not even smart enough to filter through some kind of foundation.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of committing an "act of war" after a missile was fired at Riyadh from Yemen.

Someone needs a geography lesson. (Could be it's me.)

[Rat on a train]

Both countries end in N. Do I need to explain everything?

[Timrekgrun]

The missile had a layover, duh.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Harvey Weinstein reportedly "hired private investigators, including ex-Mossad agents, to track actresses and journalists."

AND potted plants.

[Anomalous]

I thought the potted plants were when he couldn't get the actresses and journalists.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Journalists were when he couldn't get actresses, but they're still included.

[Rich]

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of committing an "act of war" after a missile was fired at Riyadh from Yemen.

But it's an act of *holy* war!

[Palin's Buttplug]

Trump's approval rating has dropped to 36 percent.

The Aryan Nationalist population is 36% here. Coincidence?

[Rufus The Monocled]

I tag it at closer to 68%.

I come for the racism but stay for the misogyny.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Smart. All the good snark is in misogyny these days.

[Crusty Juggler]

Burt Bacharach wrote this and ended up with Angie Dickinson - coincidence?

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Crusty still would.

[Crusty Juggler]

Duh.

[BestUsedCarSales]

"It Might As Well Be Swing" sounds so defeated. His career was settled already and someone was paying him a million dollars to shit out a song. "Eh, might as well be swing."

[Crusty Juggler]

Palin's Buttplug literally cums for the rape apology.

[Citizen X - #6]

That statistic doesn't sound made up at all.

[Tom Bombadil]

Who here is pro-Nazi? Please cite a pro-Nazi post.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Dude. Hello. Like, everyone knows we're Nazis. Progs have said so because they're so wonderfully literate on the matter.

[Cy]

#wokeded

[Crusty Juggler]

The Nazi's had snazzy uniforms. I mean, olive drab? C'mon, America!

[Anomalous]

Most of us don't have Hugo Boss suits.

[Episteme]

I have some Hugo Boss shirts that I got on clearance.

[Cy]

They were also really good at following instructions.

[CE]

And getting the trains to run on time. Or was that the fascists?

[Crusty Juggler]

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of committing an "act of war" after a missile was fired at Riyadh from Yemen.

President Trump, do the right thing and insert the American military's might deep into this conflict.

[Timrekgrun]

America's Military: A Colonoscopy for the World.

[Rat on a train]

No. It is well past time America invades someplace nice. Our troops need a vacation.

[Cy]

There are all of those oppressed islands in the Caribbean that could use some good old fashion liberatin!

[Episteme]

The good old days of invading Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines?

[Conchfritters]

insert the American military's might deep into this conflict

Dear Gia. Saudis absolutely suck at war. We've sold them the best military hardware on the market, and they can't even beat down a rebel uprising in their back yard. After the first F-15 bombing runs last year they gave all their pilots Maseratis. These dumb asses could fuck up a cup of tea. Name for me the last great Saudi military victory.

[Memory Hole]

Name for me the last great Saudi military victory

9/11

[Citizen X - #6]

Oh shit!

[Conchfritters]

They fucked that one up too, unless they were hoping for their neighbor Iraq to be turned into an Iranian proxy, in which case they won.

[Episteme]

TOO SOON!

[Tom Bombadil]

Operation Desert Shield. The way they raked the sand smooth so coalition troops could sleep comfortably. Priceless.

[Bee Tagger]

Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page suggested sending then-candidate Donald Trump to meetings with Russian officials in May 2016

The problem with pushing the Russian meddling in social media narrative is that it dilutes the Trump colluding with Russia narrative. The first thing you think of when you say russia and elections is now general meddling and bots and manipulation, not nefarious Trump connections

[Memory Hole]

Mueller isn't confused about it.

[BYODB]

Is Mueller able to investigate himself, one wonders, since he's tangentially connected to the case now? I'm guessing not.

[Don't look at me.]

As intended.

[MP]

Apparently we've gone from full-on collusion to someone affiliated with Trump might have thought about it, yet we're supposed to be just as breathless.

[Don't look at me.]

The connections are getting thinner.

[Cy]

Not to the Clinton family...

[Sevo]

Steyer is whining that 'Trump accepted money from foreign governments!' in hid ads. As best I can find, he's referring to some RE deals before Trump was even a candidate, and I'm supposed to be aghast at a RE guy doing RE deals in anther country.
That, or he's confusing the hag with Trump.

[Red Tony]

That, or he's a liar intending to mislead people in order to gin up popular opposition to Trump.

[BYODB]

Steyer would know since he funnels foreign money into elections...

[Fist of Etiquette]

Florida State University has indefinitely suspended the school's 55 fraternities and sororities after the death of a first-year student following a frat party.

They should have been banned long ago for appropriating Greek Irish culture.

[Crusty Juggler]

Someone doesn't like the tax cut bill.

[Rhywun]

I don't recall the Weekly Standard being full-on lefty envy. Huh.

[BYODB]

Well, for one the 'tax cut' bill is really a 'higher taxes bill' for pretty much everyone except those who aren't actually paying taxes. Republicans are putting together a tax bill Obama would have loved to get out of them while in office. It's just more proof that they're a party of idiots.

Top so-called 'Bubble Rate' of 49.6% isn't a 'tax cut' for anyone except Apple. While I don't think Apple should pay the highest corporate rate in the Developed world, I'd prefer they cut spending rather than take more from the average tax payer.

That isn't a deal that will end well for them. We could have just elected a Bush if we wanted this type of shit.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

First rule of proxy war, never attack your true enemy directly.

[Crusty Juggler]

You don't see the NRA doing anything like this.

[Rat on a train]

How long is the donor wait list?

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Hope kitty gets her balloon knot.

[Rich]

her urine and feces come out of the same hole

Seems efficient.

[$park? leftist poser]

Simons hopes to raise $4,000 in the next week so that Cluck can get the anus she needs to survive.

I didn't realize there was a cat shortage in the US.

[Don't look at me.]

For $4000, it better start laying golden eggs.

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

The marginal utility of feels is priceless.

[MP]

Just what the world needs, one more asshole.

[BestUsedCarSales]

This sounds like an episode of South Park.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Haven't you heard that Bon Jovi song? Pig and Elephant DNA just don't mix.

[DajjaI]

Harvey Weinstein reportedly "hired private investigators, including ex-Mossad agents, to track actresses and journalists."

Why would Shikha let Reason disparage Israel's attempts to import its police state?

[Rufus The Monocled]

Weinstein is some kind of nasty.

It'll be fun watching him fall.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot]

Is there video of him commenting on how an 11 year old was hot as she went up an escalator?

[Sevo]

Since we're changing the subject, is there one of him taking bribes for political access while he was a sitting SoS? Arranging an illegal server network to hide his correspondence? Destroying subpoenaed evidence?
Just wondering

[Rich]

Harvey Weinstein reportedly "hired private investigators, including ex-Mossad agents, to track actresses and journalists."

"Jew find anything out today?"

/Woody Allen

[Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot]

It's too bad Rand Paul's neighbor didn't have an AK-47. Then he could have redressed his grievances over the height of the Senator's shrubs the way the Founders had intended. Oh well. Next time.

[Crusty Juggler]

D-minus troll, bro.

[Citizen X - #6]

It's sad, isn't it? Won't pay his mortgage AND thinks that being a douchebag is the height of statement.

[Crusty Juggler]

I am pro-douchebag, I am just not pro-uninteresting douchebag. I mean, if you want to soak the board with your vinegar breath at least be creative about it, know what I'm sayin'?

[$park? leftist poser]

It's tough to be interesting and creative when your intellectual capacity maxes out at average. Trust me.

[Sevo]

Yeah, you want pathetic, get him to sign in as the redneck who is a libertarian and can't spell. Laugh a minute, right there.

[Rhywun]

It's the same level of humor in a Samantha Bee commercial. Stupid and unfunny.

Hey, maybe it IS Samantha Bee.

[$park? leftist poser]

I don't think Samantha Bee would use a bunch of men's names. But Seth Meyers might...

[Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot]

On Breitbart, certainly. Here? No.

[Don't look at me.]

Why would he want a junky Russian gun? Buy American!

[Fist of Etiquette]

I don't know about junky but it is a commie weapon. On the other hand, if it was good enough for the A-Team...

[NYC2AZ]

Hey, those were American made Mini 14's man... I pitty da fool that dont know that!

[CE]

Reliability?

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""It's too bad Rand Paul's neighbor didn't have an AK-47. Then he could have redressed his grievances over the height of the Senator's shrubs the way the Founders had intended."""

Congrats. You beat Tony for the stupid comment of the year.

[Red Tony]

Vengeance will be mine! I'm gonna take that title BACK!

[gaoxiaen]

Death happens.

[Sevo]

"Trump wrong to blame mass killings on mental illness rather than guns, experts say"
http://www.sfchronicle.com/pol.....336988.php

You're welcome to read it, but once you read the headline and understand it is by the political columnist of the SF Chron, you've already got the story.

[Rhywun]

Stone and others say the root of the gun violence isn't medical but political, and can be traced to the National Rifle Association, which wants no curbs on guns.

LOL, "experts".

[BYODB]

Except for all those times that the NRA goes along with Regulation. Hmm...

[Sevo]

And I know that when I want the bestest public policy guidance I can find, why I just contact my nearest NBA coach!

"Steve Kerr on addressing gun violence: 'It's got to be a public safety issue'Steve Kerr on addressing gun violence: 'It's got to be a public safety issue'"
[...]
"..."Too often, we get caught up in political rhetoric, 2nd amendment rights, NRA stuff..."
http://www.sfchronicle.com/war.....336772.php

Yeah, that A2 is just so much political rhetoric, right?

[John]

The irony of that is that he is placing his own players in danger. A lot NBA players come from neighborhoods that nice white people like Kerr would never want to drive through much less live. And anyone good enough to make the NBA is going to be known as the neighborhood hero. That means his players are known to be very rich by a lot of people you would not want to meet. Even if a player never associated with criminals growing up, he very well may have family who do. That is what happened to Redskins' safety Sean Taylor. He was by all accounts a decent guy but he had a cousin who had a deadbeat boyfriend who decided to rob and murder Taylor.

Given those facts, there are few people in this country who have more of a reason to be armed than NBA players. Yet, Kerr would happily disarm them because "guns need to be a public safety issue". What a dumb ass.

[BigT]

Bet he wishes his dad was carrying in Beirut.

[Red Tony]

Thing is, if it's a public safety issue, that's exactly the argument to be made?that guns make people safer, including his own players. Consequently, there is a public safety part of gun possession where guns can and are used in self-defense, and where the mere presence of weapons in a residence can dissuade criminals from robbing the residence or the people therein.

[John]

The fact that guns make people safer is undeniable. The other ironic thing is that the people who claim that guns do not make people safer at the same time claim to be against guns out of a concern for the most vulnerable in our society. The world before firearms was ruled by the young and the violent. Guns are more than anything the great equalizer. If I have a gun, it doesn't matter if I am 80 years old and weigh 120 pounds and you are 20 years old and weighs 200 pounds. All I have to do is be able to pull the trigger and you are dead. Without a gun, I am at your mercy in that situation.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

"" The other ironic thing is that the people who claim that guns do not make people safer at the same time claim to be against guns out of a concern for the most vulnerable in our society."'

I can't ever take them seriously because if someone breaks into their house, they want a good guy with a gun to come running to their aid.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Next you'll tell me that street lighting helps prevent crime or that guns deter rapists.

[BestUsedCarSales]

The difficulty with those is that rarely is negative evidence convincing to many people. It's the same reason one person living in poverty is more politically affecting than 99 living well. We don't see people NOT having bad things.

[Fuck =><= sevo]

I do.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Well, a positive outcome will never be admitted by the people who think shooting anyone with a gun is wrong, regardless of reason.

[colorblindkid]

So is there basically a coup of sorts going on in Saudi Arabia? The Crown Prince just arrested like half his family, one of which died in a gun battle while resisting arrest. A separate prince just died in a helicopter crash, too. Also, the King has Alzheimer's. There's some serious shit going down in the Middle East and nobody seems to care.

[Tom Bombadil]

Didn't you hear? Bill Weld is going to stay L.P. That should dominate the news here for a few cycles. Exciting shit.

[Red Tony]

It's the Middle East, and Townshend's words probably apply. Maybe the coup results in SA being anti-US, maybe it results in them being more pro-US, but it probably won't have much of an impact the exact moment the dust settles, and projecting beyond that is nigh-impossible.

[Rhywun]

I would love to stop pretending they are our friends.

[CE]

But not if they stop pretending first.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Purge not coup.

[CE]

That's what they always say.

[Bubba Jones]

No, no, no.

It's a crackdown on corruption. Nothing to see!

[CE]

Right after Trump visited?

[Sevo]

And, I hope you will all get a chance to raise a glass at least once today:

IT HAS BEEN ONE YEAR TO THE DAY SINCE THAT MISERABLE HAG WAS SHOWN THE DOOR!
The continued lefty whining and dissembling is just so much icing on the cake.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot]

How long has it been since you've been employing such ugly and wretched misogyny? It's getting old. Are you married and, if so, does your wife know the terrible ways you express your bigotry?

[Tom Bombadil]

F-. Weakest Troll Evah.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot]

Not a troll. Probably been here longer than you talking about dumb wars, gay marriage, and drug legalization.

Do you talk to women like he does?

[Citizen X - #6]

Sorry, hoss, you are definitely a troll. And not an interesting one, either.

[Sevo]

Citizen X - #6|11.7.17 @ 10:20AM|#
"Sorry, hoss, you are definitely a troll."

Well, maybe you and I are wrong. Maybe he's just a run-of-the-mill hypocritical lefty asshole.

[Cy]

If you think how we talk to women is bad, you should hear how we talk to men! Your fragile little self couldn't handle it.

[Red Tony]

I know I can't.

[Rhywun]

WORST H*ACK EVAH!

[Rhywun]

Ugh I f*cked that up

[BestUsedCarSales]

You know what this means? You have to spend 24 hours with Anal Van Man as penance.

[Citizen X - #6]

WORST D*Y EVAH!

[Fuck =><= sevo]

That's not how you do that.

[Rhywun]

DON"T I EVAH KNOW TH*T

[Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot]

This is how you do it...

Best Trump Co*k Evah.

[Fuck =><= sevo]

Tell us less about your sex life.

[Citizen X - #6]

Now THAT is a typical socialist - tells you how to do it, then does it wrong.

WORST TR*LL EVAH!

[Philadelphia Collins]

The economy is growing at 3%, something that didn't happen in the last 8 years.

[Sevo]

"How long has it been since you've been employing such ugly and wretched misogyny?"

Oh, oh, look! Thug who gets his panats wet over mass murder feigns concern about a hag being called a hag!
Fuck off, troll.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Hell, he's calling others out for being shitty towards women, and then comes out as Pro-Raping women. I'm not certain, but I think disliking Hillary Clinton might be less egregious than being Pro-Rape in general.

[Red Tony]

STEVE SMITH DISAGREES.

[Sevo]

Oh, and:

Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot|11.7.17 @ 10:05AM|#
"...Are you married and, if so, does your wife know the terrible ways you express your bigotry?"

Darlin' wife is will familiar with that hag and some others. We both know some real; bastards, too and you are among the worst in my experience.
Please fuck off and go to your safe space.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin Pot]

So, she's used to your abuse and bigotry? I'm sorry for her. Maybe it's PTSD from 'Nam.

[Sevo]

How
.
.
.
.
pathetic.
Willful ignorance is exactly what we expect from the lefty asshole.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I may be a misogynist but at least I pay my bills.

[MarkLastname]

Pro tip: don't play the nice, feminist concern troll in the very same thread in which you 1) defended Harvey Weinstein and 2) wished violence on politicians with whom you disagree.

You don't get to be both an "edgy", sociopathic, Stalinist troll and a disdainful moralist at the same time. Maybe go make second handle for your other personality.

[BigT]

You're a day early.

[Sevo]

So I'll do it again on Wednesday.
HOORAY!

[BigT]

The most useful idiots will be screaming towards the sky. I'll be lifting a brew.

[Philadelphia Collins]

Donald John Trump
mmm mmm mmm

[BigT]

"The continued lefty whining and dissembling is just so much icing on the cake"

A river of salty ham tears floats our boats.

[John]

Dailey Beast reporter "accidentally" tweets Rand Paul's address. It was an accident. Honest. The fact that no lefty reporter has ever done such a thing to a Democrat politician is just bad luck. These people are scum.

http://twitchy.com/brettt-3136.....d-assault/

[BestUsedCarSales]

A lot of people say "Lefty" for left-wingers. Does anyone say "Righty" for right wingers?

[John]

I think they do, yes.

[Chipper Morning Truthjammer]

Righty tighty, leftie loosie. Works for most screws.

[$park? leftist poser]

Pretty sure everyone just uses alt-right now.

[Episteme]

Alt-righty then!

[Citizen X - #6]

The preferred nomenclature is "literal Nazi."

[Bubba Jones]

Second page of google search has this:

http://virtualglobetrotting.co.....uls-house/

[BYODB]

Yeah, who owns what property is a matter of public record unless someone wants to get tricky with what entity technically owns their property and even then you could likely figure it out given enough time and resources.

[BYODB]

New poll: President Trump's approval rating has dropped to 36 percent.

And don't forget Hillary is definitely going to be President!

Notably I didn't pay any damn attention to Obama's approval rating. I'm not sure why anyone pays attention, honestly, least of all the President.

[John]

Obama's approval ratings were always high. Yet, he got fewer votes for his re-election than he got to be elected and the Democratic party suffered losses not seen since Reconstruction. The reason for this was that while people didn't like what Obama was doing, they felt that they couldn't socially object to the first black President. So they told pollsters how much they liked Obama but then voted in ways that showed how much they really objected to him.

I think the reverse is happening with Trump. Nothing is more socially acceptable than objecting to Trump. And in many places it is very unacceptable to openly support him. So, people are saying how much they object to Trump because that is what they think they should say. But just like Obama, they will vote in ways that shows what they actually think of his policies, which is likely to be positive.

[BestUsedCarSales]

The other thing I wonder is how effectively they target people with polls. For instance, if they poll all registered voters, but only 40% of that group actually vote in the end, then you can't necessarily compare things.

Also, what should always be remembered is that phrasing is incredibly important and that polls can easily be made that lead towards certain results. I remember a poll that asked me my opinion on the stance that, "the state water commission should design to efficiently handle the water distribution of our state." The answers were Agree/Disagree. I actually laughed at the pollster and asked them if anyone actually disagreed with an unqualified statement asking for efficiency. The pollster wasn't amused.

There is also just the issue of many people answering who don't really hold opinions.
This is a silly and straightforward examples, but once I received a phone poll about a local election. and they asked me questions about who I would vote for for state energy commission. I told them I wasn't familiar with them at all and probably wouldn't vote in that election. The pollster responded, "Please just pick one then."

My guess is that my knowledge of state energy politics is not unusually low. Most people don't have opinions on most things.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

I think all we need to do is look at Podesta's email about rigging the polls for Clinton.

You over sample in the demographics that are friendly to you.

Inversely, if you want a negative outcome, oversample the demographics that are not friendly.

[BYODB]

We don't need to wonder, pretty much every major political polling company admitted that their polls are no longer predictive. They don't really have an answer for the why, but I suspect that John is close to the mark with his appraisal.

Think about it like this, Trump's so-called 'approval rating' has been low since he won the general election. How could such a thing be possible when those people had literally just voted for him and he hadn't done a single thing yet.

So yeah, non-predictive polls are only cited by people with an axe to grind in my opinion. I know, it's data and we love data but it is highly suspect data in this particular case. Needless to say, it was during the Obama years as well. It's even possible it's always been this way, but I haven't been around forever.

It's more or less an exercise in confirmation bias. I don't like Trump, so I want to hear that other people don't like him, but then there are things he does that I absolutely like so if someone asked me in a poll what I thought of him it would be a highly volatile number and it wouldn't be worth the paper the questions were written on.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Think about it like this, Trump's so-called 'approval rating' has been low since he won the general election. How could such a thing be possible when those people had literally just voted for him and he hadn't done a single thing yet.

For one thing, only about 25% of American adults voted for Trump.

[BYODB]

And yet the one's who don't vote at all end up being polled. Problem #1?

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

For general approval polls, yes, sometimes. What's the problem?

[BYODB]

That they amount to pseudo-scientific mental masturbation? Maybe that's not a 'problem' but it's basically the state of the game.

[BestUsedCarSales]

That's actually the same issue as my first one. If it is getting a reliable reading of the population at large, but not the population that bothers to vote then there will be disjunction there.

That being said, it may be correctly representing the population at large. It seems your comment is that it doesn't matter if they don't vote. I don't know if that makes it mental masturbation. Once again, the issue may be people reading more into polls than they are actually saying.

[BYODB]

My only real point is that political polling is broken. The how and why, and even the extent of it, can all be debated because I'm aware of no concrete answer.

As far as if the 'general populations opinion' matters or not, well, it doesn't unless they vote. That's a simple fact. So you can measure it all you want, and it can be anything, but unless it results in an action it's all noise and thunder.

Hence why I say that it amounts to mental masturbation. It's something to cite, so people use it, but citing it might as well read 'Homeless Joe on the Corner Think's Trump is Mean!'. It would be about as accurate.

[colorblindkid]

Also, a significant amount of both Trump and Hillary voters actually hated the candidate they voted for.

[Bubba Jones]

A simpler explanation is that black people came out to vote for him, and not for the other democrats.

[John]

That doesn't explain the large numbers of white people who came out to vote for him that didn't vote for other Democrats and in many cases voted for Trump last year.

[CE]

And don't forget the blue state "permanent Electoral majority". Now they want to do away with the Electoral College.

[BYODB]

Anyone who cites a permanent electoral majority is smoking crack. There has never been such an animal.

[ChipToBeSquare]

I kinda believe them. I think most people genuinely don't think Trump is doing a good job. I just don't think that correlates at all to how voting will turn out. The left just demonized praying after tragedies and protested the national anthem, and are obsessed with how Trump feeds fish and eats steak. Voters will come out against the people who have nothing but contempt for them

[BYODB]

?"Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page suggested sending then-candidate Donald Trump to meetings with Russian officials in May 2016, according to emails read during Page's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee last week."

I distinctly remember Obama going to Europe as a candidate, and many others before them, so I really don't understand what this is intended to prove anymore.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

It's the same people that though the republicans senators were out of bounds by sending that letter to Iran claiming it usurps Obama's authority, but will never mention Pelosi taking a delegation to Syria to usurp Bush jr's authority.

It's only wrong when the other team does it.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

cf. Ted Kennedy and Andropov or Hillary and Putin.

[BYODB]

It seems to be that the Democrats are really shooting themselves in the foot with this witch hunt since literally everyone in Congress, the Senate, and each candidate for President do all of the things that people claim are 'collusion' when it comes to Trump. I mean, I'm not trying to make a whataboutism argument or anything but it's fairly clear that if what Trump did was somehow 'illegal' every single last person in office today is almost certainly guilty as well.

I don't think they've really thought through the end game on this one.

[Fuck =><= sevo]

Nixon clearly collaborated with the Chinese, and didn't even try to hide it!!!

[colorblindkid]

Bill Clinton, against the vehement wishes of this own FBI director, refused to appoint a special investigator when a bunch of Chinese nationals were caught illegally funding a bunch of Democrat candidates and the DNC. They said they investigated it and found that it never reached the presidential election, only down-ballot races. Convenient.