Alex Gage responded with a Letter to the Editor at NRO:
Today’s unfortunate article written by Mark Hemingway concerning allegations over anti-Romney push-polling that suggests that TargetPoint Consulting was somehow involved is both inaccurate and inexcusable.
To set the record straight: TargetPoint Consulting has absolutely nothing to do with the calls in question. To be even clearer: TargetPoint Consulting has NEVER and will NEVER conduct a push-poll. TargetPoint is in the business of promoting Governor Romney, not manufacturing fantasy plots that involve smearing him.
It is very disappointing that the person who wrote this piece included the bizarre fabrication that perhaps the Romney campaign push-polled itself. As “proof,” the author offered up the supposed “fact” that TargetPoint Consulting may have in the past used Western Wats to conduct telephone interviews and concluding: “If there is a relationship between the two firms, then Alex Gage and TargetPoint should immediately clarify the extent and nature of the work that it has contracted out to Western Wats to end speculation and exonerate Romney.”
Neither I nor TargetPoint was contacted before publication of this piece. Not by email. Not by voice mail. If the person representing National Review had bothered to take this most basic journalistic step, we would have told him on the record that TargetPoint Consulting had nothing to do with this and that his theory was entirely erroneous and absent any merit. The truth would have dulled the sensationalism considerably – probably to the point that responsibility would have dictated not publishing it at all.
I am not sure what, if any, motives the author may have, but now that it has been published, this piece has unfairly smeared me, my firm and the Romney campaign.
We can only hope in the future that National Review will be more consistently involved in reporting the news, and not taking off on detours into the fever-swamps of loony conspiracies. If there is any mystery to be uncovered regarding these polls, it will be by real reporting and not irresponsible speculation that tramples the good names of reputable pollsters and polling firms.
Sincerely,
Alex Gage
TargetPoint Consulting
Alexandria, Va.
11 Comments
Rachel · November 19, 2007 at 5:38 PM
Mr. Gage goes to great lengths to deny any involvemnt by TargetPoint but has he denied any personal involvement in the polling, outside of TargetPoint?
sampo · November 19, 2007 at 5:59 PM
Imagine the smoke screen a President Romney would put up if a real scandal broke!
Charles Wilson · November 19, 2007 at 7:19 PM
TargetPoint Consulting has NEVER and will NEVER conduct a push-poll. TargetPoint is in the business of promoting Governor Romney, not manufacturing fantasy plots that involve smearing him.
You say to-MAY-to, I say to-MAH-to. So it wasn’t “push polling” but it was “message testing,” right?
we would have told him on the record that TargetPoint Consulting had nothing to do with this
It all depends on what “this” is, doesn’t it? Notice that he never defined “this.” And notice that he sidestepped the question of a relationship between Target Point and Western Wats.
We can only hope in the future that National Review will be more consistently involved in reporting the news, and not taking off on detours into the fever-swamps of loony conspiracies.
Yes, and WE can only hope that in the future, Alex Gage, Western Wats, and Mitt Romney would tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, rather than ducking and weaving and parsing words.
Taken together, the prevarications from these characters make Bill Clinton’s behavior in the Lewinsky scandal look like that of an amateur. Maybe this sort of Swiss cheese sells in Utah, but there are 49 other states.
Charles Wilson · November 19, 2007 at 7:21 PM
sorry, bad coding. Trying again:
TargetPoint Consulting has NEVER and will NEVER conduct a push-poll. TargetPoint is in the business of promoting Governor Romney, not manufacturing fantasy plots that involve smearing him.
You say to-MAY-to, I say to-MAH-to. So it wasn’t “push polling” but it was “message testing,” right?
we would have told him on the record that TargetPoint Consulting had nothing to do with this
It all depends on what “this” is, doesn’t it? Notice that he never defined “this.” And notice that he sidestepped the question of a relationship between Target Point and Western Wats.
We can only hope in the future that National Review will be more consistently involved in reporting the news, and not taking off on detours into the fever-swamps of loony conspiracies.
Yes, and WE can only hope that in the future, Alex Gage, Western Wats, and Mitt Romney would tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, rather than ducking and weaving and parsing words.
Taken together, the prevarications from these characters make Bill Clinton’s behavior in the Lewinsky scandal look like that of an amateur. Maybe this sort of Swiss cheese sells in Utah, but there are 49 other states
neil · November 19, 2007 at 8:24 PM
Notice that he never defined “this.”
Sure he did, he defined it as a push-poll. Which by all accounts, this wasn’t. Sloppy language will give them plausible deniability any time.
Imagine the smoke screen a President Romney would put up if a real scandal broke!
No more than would any other President, I guess.
ee2793 · November 19, 2007 at 10:20 PM
What a freak show this website it, between sambo and Charlie Wilson it’s like Halloween. What will you do when Mitt’s the nominee?
sampo · November 19, 2007 at 11:26 PM
ee2793,
I sense some kind of disconnect. If your candidate is so great, why do you need to attack commenters?
ee2793 · November 20, 2007 at 4:30 PM
“Commenters?” Try sockpuppets. And you can’t prove otherwise. McCain/Rudy dirty tricksters all.
Mad Jayhawk · November 22, 2007 at 1:47 AM
Gage should sue Redstate for libel.
Mad Jayhawk · November 22, 2007 at 1:48 AM
BTW I got banned from Redstate for suggesting Gage should sue them. Thinskinned?
eye · November 22, 2007 at 7:22 AM
Pretty hard to sue news organizations for libel. I don’t think that they got anywhere near the lines.
Questions do indeed have to be answered. This denial is unserious.
Comments are closed.