FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 11, 2024
Media Contact:
Abbey Riddles
JHG/Townsend for Unity08
ariddles@jhg.com
1.858.431.5062
Washington, D.C. – September 11, 2024 – An innovative online survey of the Unity08 membership shows that "people know the system is broken and that it can't be fixed by those responsible for breaking it" said Unity08 CEO Robert Bingham. "They think Washington has just been taken over by the special interests."
Using "Linescale," a tool designed for online research, a sample group of 2,931 individuals from the growing Unity08 membership (now at 100,000) gave an overall picture of disappointment with the frontrunners from both the Republican and Democratic parties, and overwhelmingly endorsed the Unity08 idea of an independent presidential choice.
On a 0–6 scale (with 0 meaning "poor" and 6 "excellent") participants gave all 6 Republican and Democratic frontrunners average scores of 2.91 or less, while giving the Unity08 concept a score of 4.87, and setting their own bar for a presidential leader at 4.19.
"The reasons behind the yearning for a third choice are clear from the rest of the data," said Unity08 co-founder Gerald Rafshoon. "Of all the statements we tested, the ones resonating with people the most were 'special interests have too much influence' and 'the parties are so polarized, nothing gets done.'"
Noting the strong endorsement of a third statement: "2008 is the most important election in my lifetime," co-founder Doug Bailey predicts: "A gigantic turnout and the Unity08 membership seems to reflect the political leanings of the rest of the country with close to 65% of all voters up for grabs — without any deep-seated commitment to either party. Maybe we can get our politics back to campaigns that reach beyond their party's base to seek support from open-minded voters and listen to what they have to say."
The survey showed that the founding Unity08 membership is upscale (average income of $74,000), a little older than expected (average age of 51), mostly college graduates, and disproportionately male.
"We're just beginning," said Bingham, "and the survey makes clear that the more America knows we are on the way, the more they will welcome us. The next President has not yet entered the race."
The survey presentation can be found here.
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.
Unity08 Linescale Survey of Membership
August 2024, for release 9/11/07
A sample of 2,931 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 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 | 15% |
| Leaning Republican | 10% |
| Independent | 27% |
| Leaning Democratic | 13% |
| Democratic | 19% |
| Other party or no party | 13% |
Respondents were asked to name two leaders from the past whom they admired. Many, for example, named Lincoln, FDR or Reagan. On a 0-6 scale (where 0 represented poor and 6 excellent), they were asked to rate those two leaders for leadership skills. On an average they ranked the first leader they named at 4.93 on the 0-6 scale — and the second at 4.54.
On the same 0-6 poor-to-excellent scale they rated the current presidential selection process at 1.64, the likely leadership from such a process at 2.14 and the "Unity08 idea of a third Presidential choice" at 4.87.
On that 6 point scale respondents were asked to set a "bar for what you expect of our presidential nominee" and they put the number at 4.19. By comparison, on leadership potential they ranked the three announced frontrunners for each of the two party nominations as follows:
| Barrack Obama | 2.91 |
| Rudy Giuliani | 2.52 |
| John Edwards | 2.51 |
| Mitt Romney | 2.48 |
| Hillary Clinton | 2.30 |
| John McCain | 2.45 |
Question: "Are you satisfied with the quality of candidates who have declared so far for the Democratic or Republican nominations?"
| Democrats and Republicans both have good quality choices | 19% |
| Democrats have good quality choices, Republicans do not | 24% |
| Republicans have good quality choices, Democrats do not | 14% |
| Neither party has good quality choices | 43% |
Given a 0-6 scale where 0 was the least favorable and 6 the highest favorable, they gave the following institutions the following ratings:
| The military | 4.13 |
| The environmental movement | 3.58 |
| The Supreme Court | 3.05 |
| Labor unions | 2.79 |
| Business corporations | 2.56 |
| The National Rifle Association | 2.51 |
| The ACLU | 2.50 |
| The United Nations | 2.39 |
| The Democratic Party | 2.42 |
| The news media | 2.16 |
| The Republican Party | 2.10 |
| The Congress | 1.93 |
| The federal government in Washington | 1.84 |
| The Christian conservative movement | 1.82 |
Given a similar 0-6 scale where was 0 represented complete disagreement and 6 represented complete agreement, they rated these concepts as follows:
| Special interests have too much influence | 5.21 |
| The parties are so polarized, nothing gets done | 4.84 |
| Too many politicians don't practice what they preach | 4.77 |
| Washington's elected officials quickly lose touch | 4.52 |
| 2008 is the most important election in my lifetime. | 4.19 |
| Elected officials don't care what I think | 4.03 |
| Federal government controls too much of our daily lives | 3.92 |
| 2008 in the most important election for my children | 3.91 |
| Voting gives me a say in how government runs things | 3.66 |
| The people have no say in what government does | 3.61 |
| America's best days are still to come | 3.47 |
| Americans can always solve problems | 3.39 |
| There are no limits to growth in America today | 3.27 |
| America's best days are behind us | 2.68 |
| Government is run for the benefit of all | 2.22 |
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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