[lbo-talk] [Pen-l] Where are the anti-war liberals?

[Nathan]

On Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 09:37:57AM -0500, Wojtek S wrote:
> Robert: "I bet if the question asked: "Do you think the U.S. should continue to
> use drone strikes to target low-level fighters in Pakistan, who are
> not known to have engaged in any attacks against the United States,
> despite the fact that many current and former U.S. officials say that
> the policy has become counterproductive, and despite the fact that
> many Pakistanis and independent groups believe that the policy has
> produced significant civilian casualties," the answer would be very
> different."
> 
> [WS:]  Which is a textbook example of how NOT to ask survey questions.
> 
> The broader point here is that the so-called opinion surveys are, for
> the most part utterly useless, a total waste of resources...
> Most surveys are used the same way as drunks use lamp posts - for
> support rather than enlightenment.
> 
> Wojtek

Maybe this is me being didactic, but I can't help but think that those
survey questions, and their failure to be formulated in a style like
Robert suggests, are as much part of that "Crackpot Realism" or
"Politics of Violence" as anything else. 

-- 
Nathan