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Although I don't live in Denver, I have tried to follow the Denver mayoral campaigns. Since what happens in Denver affects the entire state, I couldn't help but wonder.
Did any candidate offer a sensible water policy (i.e., enough is enough)? Did any contender announce that Denver might survive, even if every jet in America doesn't stop to refuel at Stapleton? Has any candidate decided that taxpayers all over Colorado shouldn't have to pay for a convention center that might provide a few urban minimum-wage jobs? Under whose regime might the police be least likely to harass me the next time I need to visit civilization?
When I looked for answers in the past fortnight's election coverage, I found these headlines:
Peña hangs in there; Bain spurts 18 points in 3 weeks. Bain pulls ahead of Peña in mayor race. Support for Bain hits 35%; Peña's popularity continues to drop. Bain leads Peña by 10 points. Peña closing in on Bain. Bain clings to lead.
What's being covered here? An election that determines public policy? Or are we getting step-by-step account from a race-track announcer?
If I were a serious columnist who explicated grave matters, I'd start pontificating about this.
What do campaigns mean when their most prominent aspect is not what the candidates say and do, not the policies they propose nor the appointments they advocate, but the candidates' standing in the polls? How are voters supposed to make decisions when the information they get is designed for bettors?
I'd also wonder at a headline like Denver schools
fare poorly in image poll.
What's the issue here?
Whether children are in fact getting an adequate education?
Or what people think, even if they don't know anything
about the issue?
If there are problems, doesn't this emphasis on opinion lead to cosmetic changes without addressing fundamental needs? It's certainly easier to change the advertising than to improve the product.
And how accurate are these polls?
I'm sure that their tabulations and extrapolations are
reasonably valid, given that statistical sampling is a
discipline which features standard deviations.
But
what of the questions?
Several months ago, a poll revealed that the majority of Denver residents were opposed to Two Forks Reservoir. The poll was attacked by Two Forks advocates, who claimed the question was loaded.
As I recall, the question went to this effect: Do you favor drowning a scenic canyon, destroying an outstanding fishery, raising your taxes and increasing congestion and pollution just to benefit some suburban real estate speculators? Or do you oppose Two Forks?
Such phrasing sounds reasonable to me. And it makes me believe that I could demonstrate that most Coloradans are in agreement on the significant issues of the day. Try this short version of the Quillen Poll.
1. When Ronald Reagan was elected President, he said he
wanted America to stand tall again.
Are you standing
tall today because of your pride in his foreign policy, as
exemplified by the Iran-Contra deal? Or are you standing
tall because you've gotten so much practice at it; lately,
instead of sitting at your desk, you've been standing in an
unemployment line?
2. Is raising the drinking age to 21 a good idea because it will teach youngsters, early on during their formative years, that not all citizens enjoy equal rights, no matter what they might have heard in school? Or does it make sense because henceforth, college students will stay in their dorm rooms and smoke pot, instead of driving to taverns and keg parties?
3. The state budget is coming up short, and something will have to be eliminated. Pick something to terminate:
A) The Field Auditing Division of the Department of Revenue. B) All state troopers who ever gave tickets to people going 58 mph in a 55-mph zone. C) The Colorado General Assembly.
4. King Soopers employees have gone on strike to preserve their current wages and benefits. Do you think their cause is reasonable? Or do you believe that a corporation with outstanding profit margins and market share should try to squeeze its employees for even more?
Don't bother sending in your responses. That's the joy of designing one's own poll. I already know what the answers will be.
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