The news reports Hillary steadily gaining and Trump dying in a fire. I just drove 400 miles and saw only three Hillary yard signs amid perhaps a couple hundred Trump signs. (I lost count of Trump signs, a loss to science.) Two opposite indicators.
Which is true; the polls/media or the signs I counted? Lets face it, nobody knows. If you think you know that’s not the same as actually knowing.
My best guess is that both are unreliable. Everyone knows polls reported by the press are commissioned by the press to say what the press wants. Everyone knows someone who would put up a Trump sign but doesn’t want to get vandalized or shit on at the workplace. Possibly poorer Hillary voters can’t muster a yard and richer ones quietly cut a check and keep the lawn clear? I’m starting to wonder if political yard signs are a quaint anachronism; like newspapers with news, kids with lemonade stands, and social comity.
We’ll all know on November 8th… or depending on the level of grift and cheat maybe a few weeks later. (Call the possible delay a “Gore extension factor”.)
However I have more (inconclusive but interesting) observations. I got comments from several locations. If it’s your comment please forgive me for oversimplifying:
- California (San Francisco): Very very few Hillary signs. No trump signs.
- Tennessee (Gatlinburg): Trump signs outnumber Hillary signs by a large ratio.
- Connecticut (Suburban): Trump signs outnumber Hillary signs by a large ratio.
- New York (Upstate i.e. rural): Trump signs outnumber Hillary signs by a large ratio.
- Pennsylvania (northeast): Trump signs outnumber Hillary signs by a large ratio.
- California (Tuolume County, northern): Trump signs outnumber Hillary signs by a large ratio.
And my favorite observation so far (because I love humorous outcomes):
- Washington D.C.: No signs. About 2 dozen Hillary bumper stickers, no Trump. Old Obama/Biden stickers outnumber current Hillary/Kaine stickers! (That’s hilarious!)
Online and in person I’ve heard several people refer to the risk of vandalism. As in “folks are afraid to put a Trump bumper sticker on their car for fear of vandalization”. This is not from one source but several. I’ve never heard anyone anywhere afraid of a dastardly evil Republican keying their car but the concern that a true believer from the left might cause damage is widespread (and in my opinion supported by the evidence). In this vein I have one observation:
- In a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere near where I live, a bunch of Trump signs popped up shortly after Labor Day. Many were the big “sheet of plywood” size. No Hillary signs (large or small) appeared. A few days later one of the Trump signs (only one of many) was vandalized. Some dipshit spray painted a big “NO” across it. I infer two things from this:
- There are some voters willing to vandalize a sign but not just stick one in their yard (assuming they have a yard).
- People who play that game in rural America are either brave or stupid! I don’t live in the balless suburbs. Ever notice that rural folks just don’t do riots? That’s because a riot needs a herd thinking alike and a cowed populace or weak law enforcement to let the spark grow. Rural folks aren’t angels but they don’t put up with shit either. Out here folks will park a skidder, three trucks, a bassboat, and a Skidoo in their yard without locking anything… because they’re fully prepared to kick your ass if you try to offski with the boat. Vandalism here is more risky than tagging a WalMart in Detroit. What kind of nutcase would risk an ass full of buckshot to dink around with a stranger’s election sigh? Good grief!
In other observations Maggie’s Farm offers a story about their encounter with a pollster:
“No,” I said. That’s all I said.
“Great, I’ll put you down as undecided.”
…
I had answered the question put to me truthfully. I had not yet made up my mind to vote for so and so. If he was on fire, I wouldn’t piss on him, and if he died, my wife would attend his funeral in a red dress, but no, we had not yet made up our minds to vote for him.
There’s everything you need to know about polls.
It also occurs to me that I used to have similar experiences but I put an end to that. My compound home is irrelevant Federally but the county is so sparse that every vote really counts in certain State/Local elections. In the past I’ve had several people per shitstorm election cycle come to my house. Not pollsters but campaigners and occasionally the actual candidates. (Quaint no?)
I harassed them all mercilessly. Including a guy who is (I think) now my sheriff. He kinda’ rubbed me the wrong way so I told him to fuck off and never come back. I wonder if he remembers me? I haven’t seen a physical campaigner for a few years now. There must be a list somewhere that says “stay away from these houses”.