THE BLACK KNIGHT
TO THE POLLS, TO THE POLLS
BY GEORGE HARRIS

Polls were originally used for marketing products but have since metamorphosed into complicated political tools for politicians to raise money or destroy their opponents through push questions of mostly exaggerated facts. 

Recently, a poll indicated Rep. Jim Gibbons had 87-percent name recognition statewide. The same poll had State Sen. Bob Beers with 18-percent name recognition, followed by Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt with 7 percent. For Gibbons, those are pretty incredible numbers ... and of course they're wrong.

To believe Gibbons has an 87-percent name recognition is laughable. Gibbons has spent most of the last decade in Washington, D.C., while Nevada's population has almost doubled, with the majority of that growth being in Clark County. Many who live here can't identify who the governor is, let alone a congressman representing primarily eastern and northern Nevada. 

So how could a poll generate this great name recognition? It's all in how you ask the question. 

A friend who was polled explained the caller's wording. "I'm going to mention some names. Please indicate if you know them. First, Lorraine Hunt; second, Bob Beers; third, Jim Rogers; and finally Congressman Jim Gibbons." 

Now if you're being polled, you wouldn't want to seem ignorant by admitting that you don't know who a congressman is. Maybe the congressman is well-known all over the state, but so are Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and State Sen. Bob Beers. 

In Gibbons' defense, he's not writing the polling question. That's being handled by close Kenny-Guinn confidant and pied piper of bullshit Sig Rogich, who is now Gibbons' consultant. 

Rogich wants his man to look invincible. So the master manipulator slants the questions and suddenly his guy looks unbeatable.

To test the Gibbons coronation poll, Liberty Watch did a poll of its own the last weekend of August. We polled 700 likely Republican primary voters statewide, asking three simple questions. First, do you recognize these following names: Jim Gibbons, Bob Beers, Lorraine Hunt and George Harris?

Thirty-two percent of those polled recognized Gibbons, 28 percent recognized Beers, 18 percent knew Hunt, and 6 percent had heard of me. Sixteen percent didn't know any. 

Our second question asked: Do you have a positive or negative feeling of the following individuals? Thirty-one percent had a favorable opinion of Gibbons; 21 percent didn't. Twenty-one percent felt good about Beers while 6 percent didn't and 73 percent had no opinion. For Hunt, 38 percent of those polled liked her while 9 percent did not. Then there was me; 14 percent had a warm feeling, 2 percent didn't like me and 84 percent had no opinion.

Our third question wanted to know if the election for governor was held today, for whom would you vote? Sixty-two percent were undecided, 16 percent would vote for Gibbons, 12 percent for Beers, 7 percent for Hunt and 3 percent for me.

By the looks of it, the Republican primary is wide open. That's good news for the voters and bad news for the power brokers. Plus, it's likely I'll get out of the race and endorse Beers. 

With this race a virtual dead heat, I'm certain that's sending chills down the backs of the Little King from Nowhere Sig Rogich and Jim "Let's Use Americans as Human Shields" Gibbons. 

The media may be falling for Rogich's polling poo, but Nevada voters will make the final decision. So study up Bob, Lorraine and Jim because these voters are far from naïve. LW