people look at issue polls, conclude the public already agrees with them, and then commit to a strategy of mobilization rather than persuasion or coalition building since, if everyone already agrees, why bother?

With respect, is this a real problem beyond online spaces? People actually running campaigns absolutely do not do this because they want to win

so, it's not issue polling, per se that's bad. it's how folks respond to it. because i think it's pretty valuable to realize that latent support is out there. i've felt that way forever, just from GSS/ANES issue items.

Also encourages the idea that they if they pass enough 'moderate' or 'conservative' policies they can get some degree of support by doing that, even though it never moves the needle.

People like ice cream and pizza and shrimp. They will, therefore, love this pizza topped with shrimp-flavoured ice cream. I do not need to think about this any further.

Not to mention the illusion that there's a secret super-socialist majority that's being suppressed (Instead of people who regularly say they like a policy in the abstract but never want the particulars — or are bound up in culture war allegiances.)

I've been saying for awhile now that voter education is the most important issue that exists. People simply don't know whether their electeds' actions align with their views on the topics that affect them.I've been saying for awhile now that voter education is the most important issue that exists. People simply don't know whether their electeds' actions align with their views on the topics that affect them.

Yeah sure, we already have a voting bloc, but maybe we should try to appeal to more nyt opinion column readers

When you want Harris to lose it’s a lot easier to take a principled stand on one issue in isolation.

People also do not always know the policy positions of the politicians they vote for. I remember in the introduction to What's the matter with Kansas a strange datapoint that the majority of Bush supporters thought he supported national healthcare. So even more confusing.

And a lot of the issue polling amounts to “Would you like a Ferrari?” (Ask about the intended good result without any of the costs or tradeoffs.) Lots more people will say “yes” than if you ask “Would you like to buy, insure, maintain, and own a Ferrari?”