In today’s Fair Game column, Shay Totten reports on two House districts now represented by Democrats where Republican operatives have been making mysterious calls. In the districts represented by Megan Smith (Killington, Mendon) and Robert South (St. Johnsbury), voters reported getting what were clearly push-poll calls. GMD reported the calls in Megan Smith's district last week, and now we know from Seven Days that it's happening in at least one other district. In both cases the questions on the so-called surveys were targeted to isues that would likely be sensitive to voters in those districts.

So what's the big deal? The big deal is that the Republicans admit that they're push-polling.

“The goals are pretty straightforward,” Vermont GOP chair Rob Roper says of the current poll. “We want voters to know how their representatives are voting on key issues, and we want to know if the voters agree or disagree with the way their rep voted.”

Usually, dirty tricksters try to keep it a secret, but here we have the chairman of the Vermont Republican Party openly admitting to push-polling.

Still, you might ask, what's the big deal? Well, in case you’re wondering, push polling is considered an unethical technique whereby a political organization makes phone calls, in the guise of conducting a poll, in order to disseminate negative information about an opponent. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as a poll. Push polls may rely on innuendo or knowledge gleaned from opposition research on an opponent. They are generally viewed as a form of negative campaigning.

The American Association of Public Opinion Research condemns push-polling:

A so-called “push poll” is an insidious form of negative campaigning, disguised as a political poll. “Push polls” are not surveys at all, but rather unethical political telemarketing — telephone calls disguised as research that aim to persuade large numbers of voters and affect election outcomes, rather than measure opinions. This misuse of the survey method exploits the trust people have in research organizations and violates the AAPOR Code of Professional Ethics and Practices.

 In other words, it's more than a year before the election and the Republicans are already admitting to campaign dirty tricks!

 Seem strange to you? Me too.