Warning: Crappy landlines-only poll (Emerson) has Clinton +3 in PA

Expect the media to go gaga over a new poll that underestimates the most liberal candidate (in this case, Hillary Clinton) by not bothering to poll cell phones. The pollster is pretending that Hillary and Trump are not only tied in Ohio but separated by only 3% in Pennsylvania. Clinton leads by 5% in MI which suggests that lead is larger.

Methodology:

The Emerson College Polling Society Ohio poll was conducted from August 25-27, 2016. The Michigan and Pennsylvania polls were conducted August 25-28, 2016. The samples consisted of 800 likely general election voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.4%. Data was weighted by 2012 election results and Michigan results included regional weights. Data was collected using an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of landlines only.

Morning Consult is owned by Republican Michael Ramlet

Regarding a poll that has no track record whatsoever (Morning Consult), here is information about its CEO, Michael Ramlet, from his bio:

Michael Ramlet is a domestic policy and economic expert. He leads Purple Policy, a consulting practice that advises government affairs, business strategy, and financial services clients on the economic impact of political and policy changes. In addition, Ramlet is the founder and editor of The Morning Consult, a daily healthcare industry and public policy briefing that is subscribed to by over 2400 policymakers and executives. He has also served as an outside adviser to the nation’s Republican Governors. Prior to joining Purple, Michael was a policy director at the American Action Forum. In this role, Ramlet regularly contributed to Congressional testimony, published over 45 policy papers, and ran point for more than 100 economists in filing Supreme Court amicus briefs on the economics of the Affordable Care Act. His work has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and the New York Times.

Jill Stein fires back at Liz Warren

Source: Boston Herald

Presidential candidate Jill Stein fired back at Bay State U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for claiming that a vote for the Green Party nominee could only help Donald Trump.

Stein, a Lexington physician lagging far behind in the polls — pulling only single digits — said votes still need to be “earned.”

“Politicians are not ‘entitled’ to our votes simply because they represent the establishment political parties,” she said in an email to the Herald.

“With a majority of Americans rejecting (Hillary) Clinton and Trump with record high levels of dislike and distrust, neither of them has earned our votes. I say: Don’t waste your vote on politics as usual that’s throwing us under the bus. Invest your vote in a movement for real change,” Stein said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/2016/08/jill_stein_fires_back_at_liz_warren

Warning about the "UPI/CVoter" poll (Owned by a right-wing nut)

There is a tracking poll pretending to show Donald Trump ahead of Hillary Clinton by 1% nationally. Link
It has to be noted that this poll is owned by the same corporation that owns the right-wing Washignton Times newspaper, whose chairman is right-wing nut Preston Moon, son of the right-wing nut Sun Myung Moon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_World_Communications

Right-wing sites often tout this poll as proof that Trump is doing well against Clinton.

Warning: Quinnipiac will release national poll at 12PM today

Warning, because the attention-seeking Quinnipiac has a well-known anti-clinton bias.

Giuliani shows possible signs of nerve damage or Alzheimer (Washington Post editorial)

the Washington Post editorial reveals that the former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani has been showing symptoms of deteriorating physical or mental health:

Also — we’re noting this purely out of concern — during his speech he often licked his lips, indicating dry mouth, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, can be a symptom of nerve damage, stroke or Alzheimer’s disease. At the end of his address, beads of sweat were visible on his pate — did that not suggest heart disease?

Mr. Giuliani is just 72, but he seemed slightly stooped as he walked to the lectern, where his wide stance made us wonder if he’s unsteady on his feet. Then there was his slurred diction, as when he referred to “jushtified” police shootings and Syrian “refyoongees.” More evidence of a stroke?

Florida pollster called landlines only (Trump +2)

A recent outlier from Florida Atlantic University used an "IVR" methodology, also known as "robocalls", which are simply phone calls made to landlines (no cellphones).
This type of poll usually underestimate support for the most liberal candidate (in this case Clinton).

When I clicked on the pollster's media release, I found no mention of its methodology.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/docs/2016/FAU_Florida_August.pdf

Feel free to email FAU at BEPI@fau.edu and ask why this pollster does not post the methodology.

My bet is that they are hiding the fact that they use a crappy methodology.

Donald Trump Used Campaign Donations to Buy $55,000 of His Own Book

Source: The Daily Beast

Donald Trump used his campaign funds to buy thousands of copies of his own book at retail cost, simultaneously diverting donor money back into his pockets while artificially boosting his sales figures. It’s a tactic that may be illegal, campaign finance experts say.

On May 10, the Trump campaign paid Barnes & Noble $55,055, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission. That amounts to more than 3,500 copies of the hardcover version of Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, or just over 5,000 copies of the renamed paperback release, Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America.

A spokesperson for the Republican nominee told The Daily Beast the books were purchased “as part of gifting at the convention, which we have to do.” Sure enough, delegates in attendance at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July were given canvas tote bags, stamped with the Trump slogan, and filled with copies of Crippled America, as well as Kleenex and Make America Great Again! cups, hats, and T-shirts. Delegates were also given plastic fetus figurines.

Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/24/donald-trump-used-campaign-donations-to-buy-55-000-of-his-own-book.html

Julian Assange accuses Edward Snowden of sucking up to Hillary

Julian Assange has gone nuts and he has now turned against Edward Snowden, against whom he hurled the following accusation:

Julian Assange really, really doesn’t like Hillary Clinton. His bile for the Democratic presidential nominee is so uncontainable that it even spewed onto fellow antisecrecy icon Edward Snowden, whom the WikiLeaks founder has accused of sucking up to Clinton in hopes of gaining a future presidential pardon. At a time when many on the left are wrestling with whether to vote for Clinton despite her well-known shortcomings or risk that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will somehow win the presidency in November, Assange evinces no doubts: Hillary must go down. Meanwhile, Assange himself is under fire from gays in Saudi Arabia, dissidents in Turkey, and nonconformists elsewhere who complain that WikiLeaks’ unredacted release of their names and personal information has exposed them to persecution from the very authorities that Assange claims to oppose.

S.C. Democrats tout new poll showing Clinton, Trump in dead heat

Source: The Post and Courier

A new poll shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tied in the presidential contest in the Palmetto State.

The poll, paid for by the South Carolina Democratic Party and conducted by the Feldman Group, found Clinton and Trump neck-and-neck at 39 percent in a state that hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

“Clinton could win South Carolina this year if her campaign chooses to contest the state,” the Feldman Group told S.C. Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison in a memo accompanying the poll results, which drew from interviews with a sample size of “600 likely voters” between August 18-21.


The news is exciting for Democrats in South Carolina, still riding high from a Public Policy Polling survey from earlier this month finding Trump just two points ahead of Clinton. Their eagerness to make a splash with these new numbers was on display Tuesday night: They gave liberal journalist Rachel Maddow an exclusive on the data, which she reported live on her widely-watched show on MSNBC. Harrison appeared on a split screen for an interview

Read more: http://www.postandcourier.com/20160823/160829712/sc-democrats-tout-new-poll-showing-clinton-trump-in-dead-heat#content