I'll accept an online poll only if the results mirror traditional polling.
I agree. From the Gaffney Ledger newspaper facebook site...
Cody Sossamon(Editor)
Something fishy was going on with our poll as more than 400 votes were cast for Ron Paul in a very short period. We have reset the vote count and will monitor the voting.
Agreed.
I'm as pro-technology as you can get. I remember the days when CompuServe first put a half-dozen newspapers online for people using **VERY** low speed dialup connections from TRS-80 or other personal computers.
However, we need to remember that regular use of the internet correlates with younger people, urban residents, and higher education levels — not necessarily the sort of demographics favorable to old-school conservatives. For every conservative we know who loves Free Republic, we can probably think of many others who use their computers for email at most, or may not even have a computer in their home.
The demographic groups most likely to object to Romney are those most likely not to be selected in this poll.
On the other hand, if Romney does win South Carolina, we have a massive problem on our hands. Carolina conservatives need to do everything in their power to fight against him, preferably by unifying behind a single candidate who is a real conservative.
Mitt Romney is seeking to win in South Carolina for the same reason that the Kennedys fought to win West Virginia. If a Massachussetts Mormon moderate can win in the heart of the right-wing Bible Belt, Romney will be able to make a credible claim that his opponents are wrong about the way real conservatives feel.
He simply must be stopped in South Carolina.