We closed our Monday mid-day digest: In which we stick a fork in it edition with some observations about a newly-released Tarrance Group poll commissioned by the Brian Davis Campaign/NRCC. We drew our comments from a press release and memo sent out via email from the Davis campaign that was forwarded to us.
A sharp-eyed friend noticed that the information we cited from that document wasn't part of the release posted at the Davis campaign's official blog, Brian 2008.
He's right: the Davis blog post only includes the generic party preference for the district ( 44 5 DFL; 39% GOP) and the matchup between McCain (45%) v. Obama (43%) in a survey with a margin of error of 6%.
We are then told:
Incumbent Democrat Tim Walz has lost four points off his ballot score over the last month. All of that vote and more, moved over to become part of the Davis coalition. Now that voters know who he faces in November, Walz garners just 50% of the vote.
What's missing in the post? Here it is, clipped from the email press release and memo that was forwarded to us:
Congressional Ballot: A Time Series
Aug. 17-18, 2008 Sept. 17-18 2008
Brian Davis (R) 27 32 +5
Tim Walz (D)* 54 50 -4
Greg Mikkelson (I) 4 4
Undecided 16 14[we add it up 101% 100%]
Thus, the Davis campaign wants readers to believe that Davis, at 32% (below the generic Republican, who would get 39%) is within striking distance of Walz, who enjoys an 18% edge.
This feat of persuasion can only be accomplished by failing to post the actual numbers polled in the race. It's one of the tackiest edits we've seen. It speaks volumes about the mendacity of the Davis candidacy-- and of any blogger or journalist who pimps this drivel. And, yes, we've saved screen shots of the entire post.
Roadkill: it's the new bump. Brian Daivs? Misleadership at it's most dismal.
I surely wouldn't brag about these numbers if I were Brian Davis. I looked back at Republicans in the Seventh District and Brian is outperforming Glen Menze who ran against Peterson in 2000 and is underperforming David Sturrock who ran against Peterson in 2004.
Posted by: Chris | September 22, 2008 at 06:41 PM