Entergy Nuclear doing "the most blatant and egregious push poll you can imagine"

More sleazy tactics by the nuclear industry...

http://www.minor-heresies.com/?p=78

Nuclear Push Poll
October 10th, 2007 by Heretic

I was just on the receiving end of the most blatant and egregious push poll you can imagine. For those of you not familiar with the term, a push poll is essentially an advertisement disguised as an opinion poll. For example, in a congressional race an unscrupulous candidate might commission an attack poll with questions such as “If you knew that congressman John Spineless voted for a bill to lower penalties for child molesters, would you be more or less likely to vote for him?”

The phone rang just after the dinner hour and a woman identified herself as working for the Charlton Research Group.

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After wishing her a good evening I did a web search on the Charlton Group. They have an impressive client list, including oil companies, chemical companies, agribusiness, tobacco interests, and timber companies. They also have done work for organizations with names such as “Alliance for Reasonable Regulations,” and “Association of California Tort Reform.” In other words, corporate astroturf efforts to gut environmental laws and trample ordinary people. There were a few friendly names in there such as the American Lung Association, but it was mostly corporate PR.

Part of the Charlton Research portfolio is “Issue Management” and “Crisis Management.” I suppose that with a cooling tower collapse in the news and relicensing in play Entergy decided that some crisis management was needed. In practice the “poll” was a clumsy effort. I got fed up with the nonsense less than half way through. I imagine that most Vermonters would lose patience as well.

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http://www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_7167543

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But Jim Matteau, the executive director of the Windham Regional Council and a member of an advisory committee that was established to review the questions in the DPS survey, said Entergy's claim that the timing of the surveys is just coincidence "is complete bull."

"For (Entergy) to be doing a survey at the same time as the state is not only trying to shift public opinion in their favor, but also to confuse the whole thing," he said. "Entergy should be ashamed of the survey it has under way."

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The Charlton survey is designed to sway people's opinions, said one man who received a call earlier this week.

"Eighty percent were outright lies," said Bill McKim, of Dummerston. The other 20 percent, he said, "were misrepresentations."

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http://www.ibrattleboro.com/article.php/20071011142319615
http://greenmountaindaily.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1720

ENVY Push Poll
Thursday, October 11 2007 @ 02:23 PM EDT
Contributed by: ed

Reports are circulating of a new propaganda poll by Entergy Nuclear.

They may be concerned after the St Johnsbury energy meeting showed that even up north, most people want ENVY shut down by 2012 when its license expires.

One person wrote
"A couple of days ago I was called by a public opinion pollster. After a few innocuous questions, the pollster must have asked at least 30 questions designed to elicit my support for nuclear power in general and the renewal of Entergy's license in particular.

The questions all stated false, partial or misleading "facts", then asked whether this informations would make me more likely or less likely to support Entergy's license. Of course, if the so called facts were true, I would be lobbying the legislature for a nuclear power plant in every section of the state, for a 100 year license, at least, and certainly give it to Entergy."

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071012/NEWS02/710120370/1003/NEWS02

Residents say Entergy poll biased

October 12, 2007

By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER — A telephone survey apparently done this week on behalf of the Vermont Yankee plant's parent company, Entergy Nuclear, has irked some Vermonters who got the calls. They complained that the questions were slanted and designed more to influence their opinions than gauge them.

"If this wasn't a push poll I will eat my hat," said Marjorie Power, a Montpelier resident who happens to have once been a hearing officer for the Public Service Board that regulates utilities.


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The questions were "really bizarre" he said.

"It was clearly not a legitimate get-your-honest-opinion poll," he said. "I could not tell for sure where it came from or what the intent was."

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