Skewing the Numbers, Delegate Matt Lohr Style

Delegate Matt Lohr recently sent the following to the people on his campaign email list.

I wonder what results these questions would generate if asked of the public at large instead of just his supporters?

Dear Friends, I would like to thank those who took the time to participate in my annual legislative survey. We had a great response from folks all across the 26th district. Often times voters don't believe that their voice really matters and that legislators simply vote their own opinions. Not so. I really rely heavily on what my constituents are saying and value your input greatly. Often times you, the voters, enrich the debate by providing every day experiences and I thank you for that. It really helps to have your input on these important issues and I appreciate you taking the time to participate. Below are the results from the 2010 survey. Again, thanks for taking part and please let me know if I can ever be of service. 1. Do you support additional ways to establish new public charter schools in Virginia? Yes: 67.1% No: 32.9% 2. Should state government mandate a certain percentage of local public education funding be used for classroom instruction compared to non-instructional services ? Yes: 57.5% No: 42.5% 3. Do you support awarding Virginia's many good teachers with "merit" or "bonus" pay when the students they teach consistently score above the state average on standardized tests rather or award pay based on how long a teacher has taught? Yes: 76.3% No: 23.8% 4. Do you support giving local elementary and secondary school divisions greater flexibility in determining student-to-teacher ratios in the classroom so long as they maintain quality instructional standards? Yes: 88.2% No: 11.8% 5. Do you support the $700 Billion economic bailout package passed by Congress? Yes: 11.4% No: 88.6% 6. Do you support allowing non-violent felons to be released 90 days earlier than their original sentence if they have documented good behavior? Yes: 59.6% No: 40.4% 7. Do you support efforts in the federal government to provide government paid health care to every uninsured Virginian? Yes: 13.6% No: 86.4% 8. Do you support requiring abortion clinics to comply with the same health and safety standards as other health care facilities? Yes: 96.6% No: 3.4% 9. Medicaid is quickly closing in on education as the largest expenditure in the state budget and government spending on this program for the needy is expected to continue rising. To address this serious, long-term challenge, some states are reforming Medicaid by providing funding to recipients through Health Savings Accounts. Individuals with HSAs pay for routine medical expenses from their account, while their government-provided insurance policy pays for catastrophic medical costs. Since recipients retain the funds in their HSA not spent on medical bills, they have an incentive to seek out competitively-priced routine health care. Would you support creating HSAs for Medicaid recipients in Virginia? Yes: 75.6% No: 24.4% 10. Do you support the privitazation of Virginia's system of Alcoholic Beverage Control and dedicating the proceeds to transportation? Yes: 78.3% No: 21.7% 11. Should Virginia's Right-to-Work law be made a part of the State Constitution? Yes: 58.8% No: 41.2% 12. Do you support the exploration of natural gas off the coastal water areas of Virginia? Yes: 89.8% No: 10.2% 13. The federal government is debating legislation to cap the amount of carbon emissions produced by businesses and allowing them to buy offsets in order to exceed that cap. Do you support this proposal? Yes: 23.5% No: 76.5% 14. Virginia has protected over 400,000 acres of open space during the last decade. Do you support efforts by the state to protect another 400,000 acres over the next four years? Yes: 66.3% No: 33.7% 15. Do you support state taxpayer funding going to Planned Parenthood? Yes: 28.7% No: 71.3%

Thank you for taking my survey! Sincerely, Matt Lohr