Partisan Polling Practices

There's definitely a close relationship with Scott Rasmussen and the entirety of the GOP. The love is showcased on a daily basis ( quite literally ) on Fox"News" and HotAir. But why do they consistently cite this pollster and not others?

Nate Silver over at 538.com has discussed, at length, how Rasmussen polls and how this could potentially show bias. Not simply due to the way the poll is conducted ( it's an IVR - robocall setup that has a lower completion rate than traditional 1-on-1 interview polling ) but in how the persons are chosen for the sample.

One reason why Rasmussen is so favored by conservatives is largely due to his contribution to Bush's 2000 election. Secondly, the style of questions used by Rasmussen tend to reflect conservative positions on various causes. But are his results as solid as many claim?

From the special Senate election coming up in 8 days to the popularity of healthcare reform, Scott Rasmussen taps into how conservative media ( like Fox"News" ) frames a particular debate and then translates that into polling data for Fox to use to further their standpoint.

But one thing that Rasmussen, Fox, and conservatives to rely exclusively on them for information don't realize is that polls are literal snapshots in time that only show how people feel at that precise moment in time. Polls do not and never have shown how a person is going to act.