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With sterling call, Nate Silver defines new wave in polling
Reuters ^ | November 7, 2012 | David K. Randall

Posted on 11/08/2012 4:57:01 AM PST by SoFloFreeper

So much for gut feeling.

After correctly predicting the results in 49 of the 50 states that have been called in the U.S. election (Florida remains too close to call), Nate Silver, the statistician behind the popular FiveThirtyEight blog, woke on Wednesday to find himself the poster child of what is sure to be a new data-driven approach to politics.

While Obama was declared the winner of the election, Silver won the polling race. Television anchors from Rachel Maddow on the left-leaning MSNBC, to Bret Baier on the right-leaning Fox News, praised his accuracy. A comedian on Twitter called him "The Emperor of Math." Silver's publicist said he had been so inundated with requests she had been unable to reach him.

(Excerpt) Read more at mobile.reuters.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012
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To: TigerClaws

Good points. The GOP might be over, if they can’t adapt and change. I have my doubts that they can, without a 3rd party for Conservative arising.


21 posted on 11/08/2012 5:33:47 AM PST by Carriage Hill (America - a great idea while it lasted... it's over.)
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To: DAC21

Fair enough. Even more reason to believe Silver’s data. Prior to the election Axelgrease was 100% confident of the Marxist’s impending win. Guess his internal data were spot on.


22 posted on 11/08/2012 5:35:24 AM PST by BlueStateRightist
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To: sirchtruth
Morris was right. If conservatives would have voted as we thought then it would have been a slam dunk for Mitt.

You are embarrassing yourself.

Morris doesn't even claim that. He says his mistake was second guessing pollsters models for minority turnout. Basically, he says he underestimated how many blacks, Hispanics, single women, etc, would show up at the polls.

Also, the "majority" never predicted Obama to win. The majority on some conservative sites and Fox News maybe, but in the greater media universe the vast majority correctly picked Obama to win a narrow election. This includes seasoned election analysts like Cook, Sabato, Rothernberg, etc, - all thought Obama would win. Only the conservative echo chamber that was foolishly claiming all the polls were skewed thought otherwise.

23 posted on 11/08/2012 5:37:13 AM PST by Longbow1969
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To: DAC21
Rush implied that Silver is no genius, he thought he is getting Rat internals fed to him.

Then whoever is putting together the Rat internals is a genius.

24 posted on 11/08/2012 5:39:58 AM PST by dead (It ain't over until the phone lady sings.)
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To: G Larry

With such an enormous, unfettered, precise, and coordinated vote fraud machine, why is the House still Republican by a large margin?


25 posted on 11/08/2012 5:41:11 AM PST by Strategerist
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To: TigerClaws
Many would vote for fiscal conservative / socially liberal but that party doesn’t exist.

Great point and the elephant in the room here on FR. Many are saying we need a "real" conservative to win, someone who is unapologetic about their opposition to gay rights and abortion. But, unfortunately, I truly believe we are way past that place. If we continue to believe that the evangelical vote is our "base" and that we must have it to win, we will never win another election. I am personally pro-life and support traditional marriage, but I am also coming to terms with the fact that insistence on including them into our political platform is a losing proposition. If our country goes under financially, none of that will really be important anymore, will it? If we can't find work and feed our families do you really think anyone will care? What we need is a platform that appeals to all the factions that go nearly 100% to the Dems - they outnumber us, and if we fail to appeal to them, fiscal conservatism will wither and die. We MUST figure out a way to effectively get the message out that good fiscal policy is their road to success and happiness.

26 posted on 11/08/2012 5:41:11 AM PST by PLK
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To: sirchtruth

“Conservatives sat out this election. That’s the only reason Obama won. The reverse happened from what actually was predicted by a majority.”

Totally agree. Key conservative blocs sat out on principle and helped hand the Socialists a victory. Without a doubt, many couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a Mormon. We even saw many Freepers of this ilk proclaiming their inability to support Romney; sometimes referred to as “cutting off the nose to spite the face.”


27 posted on 11/08/2012 5:44:04 AM PST by BlueStateRightist
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To: SoFloFreeper

Nate Silver schooled the clueless anecdotal echoers at FR like it was nobody’s business. I have never seen someone who was so derided by the masses here turn the tables on us so convincingly and so completely. It was an utter failure of FR contributors in ignoring polls and creating fantastic conspiracy theories to debunk them. Silver single-handedly eviscerated the establishment opinion on FR.


28 posted on 11/08/2012 5:44:29 AM PST by nwrep
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To: G Larry
Yes, and the Dem Internals reflected the impact of their organized vote fraud. They knew where they were going to pump up the volume, predicted same, and poof!, it happened just as planned!

Makes a lot of sense when you recall the 2010 census data went to the WH instead of the Commerce Dept as it has forever. What do you think the WH wanted that for? Every swing state voter was identified. JMO

29 posted on 11/08/2012 5:46:36 AM PST by Hattie
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To: Strategerist

It is only safe to plan to impact the Presidential vote, far in advance of the election. Too much time and thought required to fake the entire ballot.


30 posted on 11/08/2012 5:49:33 AM PST by G Larry (Which of Obama's policies do you think I'd support if he were white?)
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To: PLK
If we continue to believe that the evangelical vote is our "base" and that we must have it to win, we will never win another election. I am personally pro-life and support traditional marriage, but I am also coming to terms with the fact that insistence on including them into our political platform is a losing proposition.

A lot of people are wrestling with this very thing.

The new generation is far more libertine and there is just no stopping that now. I still think our loss can be mostly attributed to rapidly changing demographics (Hispanics primarily) that want free stuff, but there is no doubt that the GOP is increasingly out of step with the new generation on social issues. I am in a suburban area and I am taken aback fairly often at how 20 somethings I run into regularly at the office and elsewhere won't even consider the GOP because of their social issue stands. I mean, these people have a stereotype of a Republican party that is backwards and they won't even consider aligning with it.

I don't know the answer here. I think you will probably start seeing Republicans opposing social order laws to attract the libertine younger crowd. Probably still going to be nominally pro-life, but I suspect Republicans will more and more back ending drug laws, gambling laws, prostitution laws, etc. Social order laws look increasingly doomed since there won't be anyone to support them among the major party's.

31 posted on 11/08/2012 5:53:35 AM PST by Longbow1969
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To: BlueStateRightist
Key conservative blocs sat out on principle and helped hand the Socialists a victory

I don't see the remotest scrap of evidence that this is true.

It's not a very effective means of argumentation to simply invent non-existent data that you wish to be true to support an argument.

Doing so is just repeating the "Unskewed Polls" fiasco all over again.

32 posted on 11/08/2012 5:53:52 AM PST by Strategerist
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To: Longbow1969
Morris doesn't even claim that. He says his mistake was second guessing pollsters models for minority turnout. Basically, he says he underestimated how many blacks, Hispanics, single women, etc, would show up at the polls.

Yep, that's true because with what we thought, Mitt had momentum and Obama voters did not. But the FACT still remains enough conservatives did not vote because they said they would not back Romney when he was first nominated.

Only the conservative echo chamber that was foolishly claiming all the polls were skewed thought otherwise.

You are correct only because nobody realized conservatives wouldn't vote for a LOSER rino to beat Obama! ...And I meant the "majority" of republican's. Should have clarified this.

33 posted on 11/08/2012 5:54:21 AM PST by sirchtruth (Freedom is not free.)
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To: Longbow1969
I am in a suburban area and I am taken aback fairly often at how 20 somethings I run into regularly at the office and elsewhere won't even consider the GOP because of their social issue stands. I mean, these people have a stereotype of a Republican party that is backwards and they won't even consider aligning with it.

I was told on a thread once that socially liberal, fiscally conservative people didn't exist. Astounding blindness.

There are plenty of people on FR (perhaps even a majority" that live in a fantasy world that believes if Sarah Palin ran in 2016 with her top platform planks being making abortion illegal in all circumstances, banning gay marriage and re-banning homosexuality in the military, and getting prayer back in schools, that she would win because this mythical true conservative base would magically show up at the polls.

That's worse than Baghdad-Bob-ism.

34 posted on 11/08/2012 5:57:22 AM PST by Strategerist
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To: Strategerist
I don't see the remotest scrap of evidence that this is true.

Dole - rino - Loser
McCain - rino - Loser
Romney - rino - Loser

What does this tell you dumbass?

Conservatives sat out!

35 posted on 11/08/2012 5:59:09 AM PST by sirchtruth (Freedom is not free.)
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To: sirchtruth
But the FACT still remains enough conservatives did not vote because they said they would not back Romney when he was first nominated.

This "FACT" is from where? A couple hundred FR posters?

There were about 6%, or more than 200,000, MORE votes for Romney in Texas than there were for McCain. So where is the evidence that anyone stayed home?

36 posted on 11/08/2012 5:59:58 AM PST by Strategerist
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To: Strategerist
What does this tell you dumbass?

Sorry, I mistyped that!! It was not meant for YOU personally. It was meant for the republican party insanity of foisting rino's upon us!

37 posted on 11/08/2012 6:03:10 AM PST by sirchtruth (Freedom is not free.)
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To: SoFloFreeper

I am always correct and look incredibly brilliant when the outcome is something I am privy to in advance.

This is why he looks like a guru. He really isn’t. He is just the guy they use to soothe worried lefties.


38 posted on 11/08/2012 6:04:05 AM PST by dforest
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To: AmericaUnited
Almost certainly he got the Zero internal polls vote-manufacturing plans again.
39 posted on 11/08/2012 6:06:57 AM PST by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: preacher

NH instituted a voter ID law. RR lost.


40 posted on 11/08/2012 6:06:57 AM PST by woodbutcher1963
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