Tuesday’s column: Rep. Morgan Griffith’s rigged survey
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.
Note from Dan: I’m dedicating this column to Frank, the regular poster here who inspired it with a comment on this thread Monday.
Hopefully none of you readers would ever consider voting me into Congress. That’s because I’m no legislator. I’m largely a wiseacre and provocateur.
Part of my job is to raise questions that are on readers’ minds. Sometimes they’re serious. Other times they’re tricky. Occasionally they’re loaded ones.
It’s with that in mind that I took a gander at a recent seven-question survey sent out by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. It was relayed to me by one of his 9th Congressional District constituents, Jon Halberstadt of Christiansburg.
“To help me make the right choice for you and your family in 2013, I need to know where you stand,” Griffith writes in the document.
In reading the questions, you realize that statement is full of baloney. Almost all of the questions are rigged seemingly to elicit answers Griffith wants to hear.
This is what Griffith told me, through a spokeswoman:
“I reviewed the entire mailer, including the questions. The questionnaire has two purposes: 1) to get constituents involved who don’t normally communicate with my office to voice their opinions, and 2) to stimulate discussion.”
In what follows we’ll address the questions one by one, and do some reframing.
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
January 8, 2013 - 6:00 AM
I got a good laugh from the survey when it showed up in my mailbox. Hopefully my tax dollars didn’t pay for this. Griffith already has his mind made up on these issues and his views perfectly mirror the national GOP positions. He was elected by a wide margin and (barring a scandal) will be the the congressman from the 9th until he decides to do something else.
Dan, this might be your worst column ever. The nit picky, cry baby stuff is ridiculous. The questions are not over the top like you make them out, but your “evaluation” of this with today’s column will generate a lot of “Who cares”, or “stop whining” comments.
This reminds me of the little old ladies at church who complain about the temperature being too cold, or that the sound is too loud.
In other words… When you get old and set in your ways, you start complaining about minuscule things that no one else bats an eye at.
Thank you Griffith for sending out a survey to find out info from your constituents. Never got that from Rick Boucher
“Dan, this might be your worst column ever. The nit picky, cry baby stuff is ridiculous. The questions are not over the top like you make them out, but your “evaluation” of this with today’s column will generate a lot of “Who cares” . . .
PP, thanks for reading the column, and caring enough to respond!
wibert, your tax dollars almost certainly paid for the survey.
As I think most of you know my wife is a public school teacher here in Indiana. Recently she received a questionaire from our local state representative. Among the questions on the questionaire was the query shown below.
“Currently, the teachers’ union can automatically deduct fees and dues from teachers’ paychecks. In many cases, these dues are used to support candidates or political organizations that a teacher may disagree with. Would you support a law that requires the union to receive authorization from a teacher before it can deduct fees and dues from their paycheck.”
That, I’m sure, seems like a perfectly harmless question, right? Except for the fact that it has been law in Indiana for a number of years. Indiana law already requires prior written authorization from any educator who voluntarily chooses to automatically deduct from his/her paycheck association dues. (see IC 20-29-5-6) In addition, those deductions must be consistent with other laws that govern all other entities and employers/employees relative to wages. (see IC 22-2-6; IC 22-2-7; IC 20-28-9-18) This practice is not out of the ordinary, but is both a routine and rather perfunctory option granted to employees all across the state: Think health insurance premiums, think retirement contributions, think United Way and a myriad of other not-for-profit/charitable contributions, think professional association dues and fees, think garnishments, on and on.
It seems to me that our legislatures, Congress, etc., don’t need to be creating false issues to divert attention away from the issues that really need attention. It appears that my wife & the teachers in our legislative district were not the only ones to get this survey. It was distributed statewide by the Republican super majority in the Indiana legislature. So much for actually trying to get real feedback from your constituents.
This reminds me of the little old ladies at church who complain about the temperature being too cold, or that the sound is too loud.
Comment by pistol pete — January 8, 2013 @ 8:10 am
Really? LMAO! I am assuming you are saying its too cold? Why are you batting your eye at this article pp?
“This reminds me of the little old ladies at church who complain about the temperature being too cold, or that the sound is too loud.
In other words… When you get old and set in your ways, you start complaining about minuscule things that no one else bats an eye at.” — pistol pete
Would ‘minuscule things’ include such things as a li’l ol’ column written by a li’l ol’ ‘set-in-his-ways’ columnist in a li’l ol’ local newspaper?
Your sentence about the little old ladies at church says more about you than it does about them. At my church, we keep several sweaters and wraps handy for the little old ladies who complain abou thet temperature being too cold. They seem to appreciate it.
Griffith’s questions were formed like this: “have you ever been caught picking your nose? yes/no” Either answer still implies that you do, indeed, pick your nose.
Way to go Dan! As I read the mailer a couple of days ago at first I was happy he’d want his constituents opinions and then quickly dismayed by the phrasing and vagueness of the questions.
A special thanks goes out to all those voters who saddled us with Griffith back in ’10, all because you thought Rick Boucher didn’t listen. I know, I know, it was a tea party thing, and you now realize your stupidity, but are afraid to admit it. Especially those in places like Pulaski and further southwest where griffith only drives through on his way to kiss the boots of his coal company masters.
The really great news? Griffith will be with us for the next two decades or more, because all the people whom he legislatively shafts will continue voting against their best interests in order to put him back in office, since he is an R on the ballot. All while he ignores the needs of the district but furthers the needs of his corporate backers. You got what you voted for…
Do you support or oppose laws against beating your wife if that results in higher electricity rates?
These questionnaires (town hall meetings, teleconferences) are intended to give the appearance of caring about constituents while the candidates couldn’t care less about inputs. The House of Representatives is in session “8″ EIGHT days this month. I guess Congressmen need to go home and get a haircut. That’s roughly $15,000 salary for 8 days of work this month. We do have a spending problem!
“All while he ignores the needs of the district but furthers the needs of his corporate backers.”
Particularly sad is his deceptive use of the EPA and coal to crank up anger. Griffith is no doubt well aware that the state’s support of and tax breaks to coal cost taxpayers more than they receive, so we are all paying a hidden tax or fee. He’s also aware that coal-related employment Will NEVER return to past levels and that has very little to do with the EPA or Obama. But it’s hard to gin up donations and votes telling the truth — mechanization and strip mining have eliminated a huge percentage of jobs.
Actually Pistol Pete, you are in the right church just the wrong pew. What Griffith’s “questionnaire” represents is the little old busybody hypocrites at church who do not have the courage of their own convictions and therefore insult and convict everyone else in the church to suit their own idea of “fairness” and “service”.
Question for Mr. Griffith… Can I crap in your front yard and tell the judge I was organic gardening?
DaveGresham…probably depends on what you had for lunch that day.
Good Point Rick! And they complain about teachers!
like your story,but he left out some questions on the survey like should i resign from office since i had outsiders pay for me to get back in. would you support me if i took a pay cut to the mimium wage since i do minium work, ask my fellow congressman and congresswomen to follow suit. that will bring some money in to decrease the debt. I have more but it would take the whole day and i don’t waste my time on someone that is worthless like morgan griffith
Good grief pistol pete!
2.Dan, this might be your worst column ever. The nit picky, cry baby stuff is ridiculous. The questions are not over the top like you make them out, but your “evaluation” of this with today’s column will generate a lot of “Who cares”, or “stop whining” comments”
If you as a school teacher can’t recognize that those questions are over the top and loaded to only solicit the answers that Griffith wants to hear, then I’d sincerely hate to have one of my children or grandchildren
subjected to any class that you might teach. If you think those are fair questions, I would hate to see the questions that you would design for testing and evaluating your students.
He is my congressman but I certainly didn’t vote for him. I disagreed with Rick Boucher on several issues but he was responsive. If you called his office or sent a letter you got a response. Not the case with Griffith – I have called his office on more than one occasion – left my name, address and phone number and have never gotten a response. I DID fill out the survey but then decided not to spend my hard-earned teacher salary on the postage. There is no way he cares or will listen to my views anyway – they don’t match his preconceived ideas.
No Rick! We have a showing up for work and getting anything done problem in Congress among other major issues.
16.DaveGresham…probably depends on what you had for lunch that day.
Comment by Kristen — January 8, 2013 @ 11:07 am
Burritos Kristen, with lots of hot sauce. And according to the Griffith school of logic, I’ll be telling the judge the reason I sat on Morgan’s face was aroma therapy.
While Rep. Griffith’s politics are not in line with those of myself or my wife, I have been impressed with the fact that we have gotten written responses to our inquiries and letters sent to him regarding various legislative initiatives. I agree that the questionaire was a bit on the vague side, but I also don’t think that it could be reasonably designed to allow for even a modest number of potential variations to simple Support/Oppose answers. There were several questions where complexity is required, but that could not probably be utilized in such a mailer.
Do what we are doing, instead: send a written letter to Mr. Griffith detailing the ideas that you think need to be explored for each of the issues/questions in the mailer. Provide full, written responses with your positions. We mailed back the questionaire, but will also be mailing more detailed responses as a supplement. I don’t agree with him on much, but this is the second or third such mailer we’ve gotten from him thus far, which is 2 or 3 more than we got from Boucher…and I appreciate that…even though I have not voted for him in either election.
OJ, not to dispute, but funny that I used to get semi-monthly flyers from Rick Boucher for years on end. The only months I have ever gotten flyers from Griffith were Sep/Oct/the first week of November in even numbered years. I dunno, could there be some connection to election cycles?
Anyone ever take the time to check out Griffith’s supposed ‘time in the district’ outside of the RoVa/NRV? High profile events? You betcha! Everyday concern about those who vote overwhelmingly for him? ‘Sorry, gotta run to the coal company offices, catch ya later!’
My husband got this survey and was also disgusted with the way the questions were worded. I am just as disgusted by Griffith’s so-called columns in the local paper that are filled with party rhetoric and disrespect, not creative solutions or the opportunity for cooperation with those with differing opinions. These columns are in stark contrast with the others in the same paper by a WV Rep (D) and our local VA delegate (R) – clearly gentlemen. I would never use that word for Griffith. I don’t care if your political opinions differ from mine as long as you can be respectful in conveying them. Griffith most certainly is not.
cr, that’s a good question. I’ve lived in the 9th District since moving here in 2000, though every year until building our house in late 2007, I moved (being in college through 2004)…so that may have something to do with it. But, after getting our house constructed, I don’t recall anything coming from Boucher except the standard election mailers…so I’m not sure why we didn’t get anything.
But your mention about time spent in the district outside of the eastern extent was one of my concerns about Griffith, even as a resident of the eastern end of the 9th. I wondered how much actual focus and attention he would pay to the coalfields area and in general, points west of I-77. Seeing as how he has a solid support base there, I guess he really doesn’t need to do much to maintain their support.
Actually, question # 4 is as baited as some of the others. By tossing in the now iconic adjacency pair “illegal (+) immigrants”, in Griffith’s “survey”, a position is assumed by both parties, and the Honorable Rep. has led the respondent to likely make the response expected/desired. The question ignores the complexities of our own immigration bureaucracy (most anyone who has navigated it has a story), the nuance involved by the millions of different narratives of those lumped into the characterization by the offensive phrase, and simply the changes to people movements when former economic borders are suddenly and legally removed. Add to that the particular historical, geographical, political, & cultural factors between the US and its largest immediate neighbor, which is also the sending country of the bulk of the “undocumented” (a term that does more justice to the plight of so many who continue to live in the shadows, fearfully, as they wait for Congress & WH with representatives of the largest sending countries to resolve a workable category for them.), and which happens to be the largest Spanish-speaking country by 2 fold. # 4 is just as bad as others.