FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 12, 2024
Media Contact:
Abbey Riddles
JHG/Townsend for Unity08
ariddles@jhg.com
1.858.431.5062
Washington, D.C. – September 12, 2024 – A new-style survey offered online to the Unity08 membership, now surpassing 100,000 voters nationwide, may suggest "just how out of touch much of our political leadership is with the people," said co-founder Doug Bailey.
Although gun control, abortion rights, and gay marriage have received tremendous attention from the press, the presidential debates, and talk radio, survey respondents rated these high-profile issues as dead last, from a group of 18, in terms of being "crucial to the safety and well-being of the country."
Issues that did receive a "crucial" rating by at least half of the survey respondents included terrorism, health care, education, the integrity and accountability of public officials, illegal immigration, and energy supplies. Noting the upside-down priorities of many political leaders in this country from both parties, Unity08 CEO Robert Bingham commented, "They just don't seem to get it. The system is broken and they are the ones who broke it. People are not going to give them the chance to keep doing it."
When asked what qualities they seek in leaders, participants responded that they "did not want leaders who pander, rather those with the integrity and character to make tough decisions." Co-founder Jerry Rafshoon added, "The people answering this survey want to end the bickering and game-playing. They know the issues are tough and difficult, but figure that is what you have leaders for. They aren't getting leadership from either party and they know it."
The data is all the more impressive, said Bailey, because "these are average Americans, including friends and family members of our troops in Iraq. Washington simply does not have much of a clue as to how upset the people are. At Unity08, we predict they will vote in record numbers, they will demand change, and they are willing to think a little outside the box to get it."
Incidentally, another poll result shows that Unity08 members pay close attention to politics on TV. They prefer Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart to Bill O'Reilly, Chris Matthews or Lou Dobbs.
About Unity08
Unity08 is a movement to re-ignite America's torch by combining our most enduring values with our newest technologies to change our politics forever. Through a June 2024 online convention, open to every registered voter in America, Unity08 will empower the people to pick a Unity Ticket and then elect them to the White House in November. All Americans can view the survey results, and join the movement, by coming to www.Unity08.com.
The survey presentation can be found here.
Unity08 Linescale Survey of Membership August 2024, for release 9/12/07 A sample of 2931 Members of Unity08, surveyed by Linescale in August 2024. (The survey was conducted via email to those signed up at Unity08.com. Linescale is a system that leverages internet, market research expertise and computer processing power. It gives respondents an opportunity to point to the exact place on an online scale they feel reflects their opinion. It is widely used by major marketers to measure product reactions.) Margin of error is plus or minus 2%.
The sample of 2931 respondents was upscale (average income $74,000), slightly older than anticipated (average age of 51), well-educated (61% were college graduates), and disproportionately male (73%). Asked with whom they were most aligned politically, they responded as follows:
| Republican | 18% |
| Leaning Republican | 10% |
| Independent | 27% |
| Leaning Democratic | 13% |
| Democratic | 19% |
| Other party or no party | 13% |
Question: "Which of the following issues do you regard as crucial to the safety and well-being of the country? Please check only the issues you feel are crucial."
| Terrorism | 67% | Solvency of Social Security | 44% |
| Health care | 63 | Balancing of the federal budget | 40 |
| Education | 60 | Growth of the economy | 37 |
| Integrity/accountability of public officials | 55 | Poverty in America | 34 |
| Illegal immigration | 54 | Crime | 29 |
| Energy supplies | 54 | Family values | 22 |
| Involvement in Iraq | 52 | Gun ownership | 13 |
| Global climate change | 46 | Abortion rights | 10 |
| America's role in international affairs | 45 | Gay marriage | 6 |
Question: "Which of these are reasons you used for selecting your current choice of presidential nominee?"
| No nonsense, straight talk | 60% | Willing to work on a bipartisan basis | 31% |
| Leadership abilities | 58 | Open to new ideas | 30 |
| Character | 55 | Position on terrorism | 24 |
| Sense of good judgment | 52 | Charisma, personality | 23 |
| Personal integrity | 49 | Position on healthcare | 19 |
| Approach to problem solving | 44 | Position on energy ind. | 16 |
| Experience | 41 | Position on global climate | 15 |
| Positions on issues overall | 41 | Position on other crucial issues | 14 |
| Willing to work with others to get things done | 37 | Position on education | 13 |
| Yes | No | |
| Do you display the flag at your home, in your office or on your car? | 51% | 49% |
| Do you smoke cigarettes on a regular basis? | 14 | 86 |
| Do you have a close friend or family member who has served in the current military effort in Iraq? | 41 | 59 |
| Do you have a close friend or family member who is gay? | 55 | 45 |
| Do you attend bible study or prayer group meetings? | 19 | 81 |
| Do you happen to have any guns, rifles or pistols in your home? | 41 | 59 |
| Are you the owner of a small business? | 26 | 74 |
| Do you trade stocks or bonds in the stock market? | 50 | 50 |
| Over the past 12 months, has there been a time when you or someone in your household has been without a job and looking for work? | 37 | 63 |
| Over the past 12 months, has there been a time when you have been unable to afford necessary health care for yourself or a family member? | 26 | 74 |
| Is your internet connection high-speed DSL, FIOS or cable as opposed to dial-up? | 90 | 10 |
Which of these political commentators do you watch, and do you like them?
| Watch and like | Watch and don't like | Don't watch | |
| Stephen Colbert | 48% | 4% | 48% |
| Bill O'Reilly | 33 | 17 | 50 |
| Lou Dobbs | 35 | 11 | 55 |
| Jim Lehrer | 35 | 4 | 60 |
| Bill Maher | 32 | 9 | 59 |
| Chris Matthews | 30 | 16 | 54 |
| Jon Stewart | 52 | 5 | 43 |
About Weiss Linescale
Weiss Linescale is an innovative marketing services company that leverages the internet to bring together the precision and depth of large scale quantitative research with the subtlety and richness of qualitative research techniques. The results are timely and cost-effective and provide decision makers with the data, speed and ease of use required to develop and refine the offerings with the highest likelihood of success in the marketplace. Deployed in industries as wide-ranging as packaged goods to business and financial services to politics, the LinescaleTM solution has been proven effective in concept and product development, advertising testing and tracking, website creation, membership program development, customer satisfaction initiatives and in political issue and platform development. The Linescale solution is a turn-key, internet-based technique that delivers a true conversational marketing interface with results that illuminate the key drivers of customer behavior and allow for cross-comparability and rank ordering of features, benefits and collateral. The solution is powered by patent pending scaling and rank ordering algorithms that produce reliable and precise discrimination among even the most commoditized offerings. For more information visit: www.linescale.com.
Media inquiries: Brad Braddock 843 416 2134.
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Unity08
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Telephone: 202.333 2599 • Facsimile: 443.535.9852
