Tuesday Trivia...

Straw Poll.......

I've heard this phrase so many times in regards to politics, but I have no idea what it means or where it comes from. I always mean to research it, but then something more interesting (like watching paint dry), comes up.

However, I feel that I owe it to myself, and more importantly, to Big Ran & our "Takeover" readers to shed some light on this mystery. I also owe it to our blog readers to get back to some of our regularly scheduled posts, such as "Tuesday Trivia"....so, here we go!

See below for Wikipedia's definition and explanation (because we all know Wikipee is ALWAYS the most reliable source!)


A straw poll or straw vote is a vote with nonbinding results. Straw polls provide dialogue among movements within large groups, reflecting trends like organization and motivation.^[1][2] In meetings subject to rules of order, impromptu straw polls often are taken to see if there is enough support for an idea to devote more meeting time to it, and (when not a secret ballot) for the attendees to see who is on which side of a question. 

However, Robert's Rules of Order prohibits straw polls, calling them "meaningless and dilatory" because they subvert the deliberative charge of deliberative bodies.^[3] Among political bodies, straw polls often are scheduled for events at which many people interested in the polling question can be expected to vote. Sometimes polls conducted without ordinary voting controls in place (i.e., on an honor system, such as in online polls) are also called "straw polls".

The idiom may allude to a straw (thin plant stalk) held up to see in what direction the wind blows, in this case, the wind of group opinion.^[4][5][6] Other possible origins include allusion to the insignificance of straw as in "straw man".^[7]



So basically, it is nothing more than a creatively named survey....which is huge waste of time in reality. Clearly these are useless as an August 'straw poll' for the 2012 Republican Primary showed Michele Bachman winning.  Hmmmm...now, I'm not a fan of Obama, but I can say that if that looney tune winning were a real possibility , I'd be out campaigning for him right now!

Ok, so now that that great mystery has been solved, I'm going to get back to some slightly more interesting things....like staring around my gray cube walls.

-KC Jones