CNN gets its Presidential polls from Clinton uber-supporter who owns polling company

[zulchzulu]

So who is Hillary Clinton with in this picture? That's Vinod Gupta and his family. He owns InfoUSA, which is an email spamming (email marketing) company that outsources jobs over a thousand IT jobs to India. He also has given Bill Clinton millions of dollars as a consultant and built a library in his honor.

What Gupta also owns is the polling company that provides polls for CNN, Opinion Research. A little more about Mr. Gupta:

"I played golf with Bill last week. And Hillary is coming home next week," says businessman Vinod Gupta, famously the only Indian to have slept in the White House's Lincoln Bedroom. Bill is, of course, William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States and Hilary is his wife and a hopeful for the next presidential election.

"She'll be the next President," says Gupta airily.

About InfoUSA's outsourcing:
"InfoUSA farms out work to local sub-contractors...in places like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Noida."

(See link 3 at end of this post)

Granted, Team Clinton will say such knowledge about Gupta's ties to the Clintons is "racist". That's an "out-of-ammo" argument in my view.

There is more information about just how much money Gupta has bathed the Clintons with:

(Vinod Gupta) has given huge donations to the Democratic Party and allowed the Clintons to jet around to Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico on his corporate plane -- $900,000 worth of travel. And President Clinton has secured a 3.3 million consulting deal with Gupta's technology firm, InfoUSA.

(See link 2 at end of this post)

If you want to know a little about Gupta's shady character and how he is being investigated, consider this article (oddly reported in the NYT Travel section) that describes how Gupta made a lot of money at his shareholders' expense when acquiring the CNN polling company, Opinion Research:

"Mr. Gupta is, shall we say, a piece of work. He often prevents large shareholders from asking questions on conference calls. He has received compensation that was not earned under the terms of the company's executive compensation program, according to a lawsuit that Cardinal Value Equity Partners, infoUSA's largest outside holder, filed against the company. And, the suit alleges, his board has given him free rein to dispense stock options to whomever he likes."

"About three weeks ago, on Aug. 4, infoUSA announced that it was buying Opinion Research, a consulting services company, for $12 a share, an almost 100 percent premium to Opinion Research's market price the day before the announcement.

Lo and behold, who owned Opinion Research shares the day the deal was announced? The Vinod Gupta Revocable Trust, according to a regulatory filing, owned 33,000 shares. The trust, controlled by Mr. Gupta, sold 22,000 of its shares after the merger announcement sent Opinion Research's stock rocketing."

(See link 5 at end of this post)

Hey look! CNN has a recent poll on the race!



Hmmm...so Senator Clinton is leading... wow... how did that happen?

:crazy:


Links:

1. Vinod Gupta says Hillary Clinton will be next president
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050820/asp/weekend/story_5120538.asp

2. WP: Gupta investigation
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/25/AR2007052502332_pf.html

3. InfoUSA press release about acquiring Opinon Research (CNN polling service)
http://ir.infousa.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=96263&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=949838&highlight=

4. InfoUSA
http://www.infousa.com/

5. Gupta's shady deals
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E2DD103EF934A1575BC0A9609C8B63&sec=travel&pagewanted=all

6. CNN acquires Opinion Research (polling company owned by Gupta)
http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/research-studies/39665.html

[Colobo]

1. So now we know...

[elizm]

2. How interesting...

Thank you for this post!

[SaveElmer]

3. Does he own.,..

CBS, Newseek, Rasmussen, Opinion Dynamics, Pew, Gallup, and Monmouth too?

Have any evidence whatsoever that these polls have been manipulated...?

More lame criticism from Obama supporters who just can't get around the fact their guy isn't as popular...

[ccpup]

5. my thoughts exactly

listen, the more people from Obama's camp try and beat up on Hillary, the more I like her. If Obama is that wonderful, why would they be worried about anyone else? If his supporters are anything like him, I would find it difficult to support Obama. I'd vote for him if he were the candidate, of course, but I'd hold my nose and pray everything would be alright.

Besides, I'm still holding out for Gore.

[zulchzulu]

11. If someone who gave millions to Obama owned a polling company...

...you wouldn't see any level of impropriety with it?

This has nothing to do with Obama.

It has to do with the usual sleazy tactics of the Clintons. Do I want to see those crap again? No. A re-run of the same old sh*t is not my idea of "change for the future"... It's no wonder that Rupert Murdoch has held fundraisers for Senator Clinton. If you can't connect dots the size of Little Rock, then there's nothing that can be done.

[ccpup]

12. quick tip:

try decaf

[zulchzulu]

25. Wow. Your sophmoric response is even better than that other mook...

Nothing to see here....move along...

[paulk]

38. only if you could prove that the polls were slanted

in favor of Obama.

Which you haven't done in regards to the connection with Clinton.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

45. Exactly nt

[draft_mario_cuomo]

44. Are the polling results skewed? That is the real question

Post #5 debunks that...

The ties make thing suspicious but the record shows that Opinion Research, whose reputation is reliant on accurate polling, is producing polls that are consistent with those produced by every other polling firm. HRC is the front-runner right now. That is a fact. Why can't some accept this reality?

[rinsd]

71. If the polling company didn't have skewed results what would be the problem?

"It has to do with the usual sleazy tactics of the Clintons."

What is the sleazy tactic if the poll is not being monkeyed with?

"It's no wonder that Rupert Murdoch has held fundraisers for Senator Clinton."

He held one fundraiser for her during her Senate run.

Saying Rupert Murdoch is a Hillary supporter is like saying Colin Powell is a Obama policy adviser.

[zulchzulu]

9. So you have no problem with Gupta owning Opinion Research...

There isn't one shred of impropriety with the CNN polls and links to Gupta?

Wow.

That's some low standards.

[SaveElmer]

14. You are implying that CNN's polls are inaccurate because a Hillary supporter...

Owns the polling company CNN uses...

Do you have any proof of that since CNN's polls are exactly in line with every other poll that has been released...

Otherwise, this is more of the same guilt by association stuff that you Obama supporters were decrying so loudly when it was pointed out Obama "coincidentally" helped out his indicted developer buddy get contracts for low income housing...then ignored the problems experienced by tenants of that housing later on...

[zulchzulu]

23. Move along...nothing to see here...nope...keep it movin'...nothing to see here...

Does Gupta even exist? Is CNN really a media channel? Does Bill Clinton get millions from Gupta?

Who knows...

:crazy:

[SaveElmer]

30. Exactly what you Obamanians said about Tony Rezko...

What a coincidence...

[zulchzulu]

33. There are 20 Rezkos in the Clinton crime family

I could provide a list in another post.

But hey, thanks for the topic drift... look over here! Nothing to see there!

[William769]

48. Go ahead supply the list.

[Ethelk2044]

24. They should have picked another polling company Period

[SaveElmer]

29. Then your criticism should be directed at CNN...nt

[maximusveritas]

13. I don't think it's lame, except for the last sentence

There does appear to be a conflict of interest here. It almost reminds me of the Diebold-Bush connection. That said, the CNN polling results do not appear to be out-of-step with other major polls. If anything, they give Clinton less of a lead. So it doesn't look like Gupta is influencing the polling in any way at this moment.

[William769]

16. Why confuse them with facts?

You know it short circuits their brain waves.

[zulchzulu]

20. A vintage response...nicely played...you're well trained!

Those sophomoric insults are just priceless!

[William769]

21. When dealing with sophomoric posts

What do you expect?

[zulchzulu]

26. Lemme guess...

You aren't a high school grad?

[William769]

28. Try again.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

43. Exactly, good post nt

[Totally Committed]

4. Probably with Carville's help.

Just saying.

TC

[splat]

6. Your tone and inferences are like Fox News -- not credible

You've selected odd, isolated facts, juxtaposed them and invented a plot

This could have been written by Fox News.

It's troll stuff.

I hope the discussion gets smarter than this.

(on edit, fixed a typo)

[zulchzulu]

8. Can you debunk anything posted?

Bring it...

Does Vinod Gupta not own Opinion Research, which provides polls to CNN?

What do have...point it out.

Saying it's "like Fox News" or "like a Freeper" is obviously an "out-of-ammo" argument. Period.

[Ethelk2044]

74. Good Point

[ccpup]

15. threads started by Obama supporters

lambasting Hillary rarely offer anything substantial and almost never become "smarter." Which, of course, makes me wonder about Obama, but that's another thread.

[zulchzulu]

17. Clinton supporters should be proud that Gupta owns Opinion Research

Yeah...real proud.

Considering that Gupta has obvious ties to Opinion Research, which supplies polls to CNN, is not "anything substantial" takes a special lens on reality.

:crazy:

[William769]

27. Thats a whole other volume.

[MethuenProgressive]

36. It'd be nice if the Obamaniacs would post about their guy once in a while

But it looks like they've been told to spend their dimes knocking the other Dems.
Too bad, reflects poorly on their candidate.

[zulchzulu]

65. Like this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3362816&mesg_id=3362816

I do a weekly report on the Madison Farmers Market Obama table and what happened. Plenty of people have signed up for more information or to volunteer...and out of the thousands that have been by, none are for Senator Clinton.

None. Zip. Zero.

Why? Maybe you have an answer...

[rinsd]

73. Aww no one paid attention to the zulchzuzlu show, so you decided to go with sweeps week material

And I love your insinuations then when presented with evidence that disputes those insinuations, you claim you never made them in the first place.

[William769]

18. Don't count on it.

[Diane R]

7. I do find the polls perplexing. I don't know anyone who wants Hillary.

[Mnpaul]

10. I don't see it either

Where are these people and how come they don't know about Mark Penn http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070604/berman

[ChiciB1]

19. None Of My Crowd Is Supporting Hillary And Yet She's All I HEAR About!!

She's the one who has been chosen and it makes me BURN!! But I'm NOT surprised by your post, MSM has anointed her already!

They can take a hike into tomorrow and NOT come back!! After these past SIX LONG YEARS, you'd think they'd at least try to be more fair minded. But it's the MONEY, HONEY!!!

[The River]

39. Same Here

I'm in a very Dem voting area in a Red state and no one
my age (her age)can stand her.
DU is very progressive by most standards so when
I see so many anti Hillary threads on a very Democratic site,
I can only imagine how many anti Hillary voters there are in the
less politically involved population.

The Hillary Bots are as blind as Bush Bots.
One Hillary Bot on another thread is so defensive of her
he actually claims to be able to "actually smell the fear" of people
who won't vote for her.....over the internet.
I guess Hillary's got the "Mutants with Superpowers" vote!

[Gelliebeans]

50. Right on ChiciB1

Not one Democrat that I know is supporting her. The few repubs left that I know will do so primarily based on whether she becomes the nominee so they can go out and vote against her in the general.

[Arugula Latte]

59. Same here. When her name comes up, people groan ...

Obama and Edwards get much more enthusiasm.

[ChiciB1]

75. Felt A Need To Reply & I Know It's A Late One... Been Away From

my PC all afternoon! Just wanted to thank the 3 of you for your replies because it proves even more to me that I "may" not be out in LEFT FIELD here. I live in one of the TWO states that were involved in "letting" Smuck Head become the President of "we the people!" The one that took place in 2000!

I don't want to get snarky or mean, but there MUST BE SOME way that this country will stop being led around by the nose! I'm just so completely SICK of it, and I know how hard I tried to get what TRUTH I knew out BEFORE the 2000 election! The TRUTH about Smuck Head and his Henchmen! Yes, Hillary is a Democrat and it's different, but what ISN'T different is how we are being "sold" all over again!

Watching Melissa Etheridge yesterday at Live Earth where she asked "What Happened To America" hit home for me! Tell me, are we going to be led down yet another path??

I do want to apologize to the Hillary supporters, I KNOW you feel in your heart she's the best candidate, it's your RIGHT to choose, but I'm just not comfortable with having just TWO families run this country for decades!

There are some personal things going on in my life right now and I may be overly sensitive to some things, but I want my kids and grand-kids to look back and see something changed after this fiasco we have been living for so long! My personal problems aren't earth-shaking but it's made me look long and hard about some things. My mother-in-law has severe Alzheimer's and has lived with us for over 8 years. She will be 95 on Aug. 7th. My intuition tells me from how she's reacting that she will NOT see that birthday. She's lived a long long life and we have no regrets and her passing will be a release for her I'm sure. We are prepared but it makes one reflect about life in general. So I just want my kids and theirs to see the America I once knew, one that included "we the people" and how we worked together.

And my personal choice may not be what others want, but at least it's a CHOICE I made and not one that was sold to me. And no, I'm not looking for sympathy in any way either because we will soon be experiencing a death in the family. For those who might know what Alzheimer's is like you can understand. I know my mother-in-law would never have chosen to live the way she has for these past years. Alzheimer's is a disease that robs a person of themselves, and unfortunately THEY just don't know it. I wish it on NO ONE!

[Ethelk2044]

22. I just emailed them regarding this - Thanks

[MethuenProgressive]

31. *If* his poll results were diff from all the others, you might have a leg to stand on

But since they're not... I'd say you're just suffering from Clinton Derangement Syndrome.

[zulchzulu]

32. "Clinton Derangement Syndrome"

I think that was the 1990's.

NAFTA, Telecommunications Act, getting caught with your pants down, getting Newt Gingrich and the Fellas in with the 1994 election...I could go on...

Clinton Derangement. indeed.

[MethuenProgressive]

34. About those old links in the OP

Links:

1. Aug 05

2. May 07

3. Jan 07

4. InfoUSA
This evil company is a member of the BBB... oooooooo scary!!

5. Aug 06

6. Jan 07
----------------
Thanks for the really up-to-date "news"!
:boring:

[zulchzulu]

56. So "old links" make the information invalid? Is the US Constitution invalid? It's old...

Swing.... and the batter fell on their butt.... miss.

[MethuenProgressive]

35. So you have nothing to say about these polls matching all the others?

You can have your own opinions, but you can't have your own facts.
And since his polls match up with all the others means you're just blowing smoke.

[The Backlash Cometh]

37. You hate to see this coming from their side, but you really hate it when

it's coming from our side.

[zulchzulu]

64. Define "our side"...

Sorry, but it's not that binary. I don't live in a black and white world with no shadows...

If someone wants to make "desecration" of the American flag a federal crime like Senator Clinton tried to do, that's not on "my side". It's not on the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights' side either...

[rinsd]

67. Except Obama supports bills against flag burning.

http://obama.senate.gov/press/060627-obama_statement_29/index.php

"The Framers made it difficult to amend the Constitution because our founding document should not be changed just because of political concerns or temporary problems. And even the strongest supporters of this amendment are hard-pressed to find more than a few instances of flag burning each year. Those problems were left to be solved through legislation, and I support legislation introduced by Senator Durbin that makes it illegal to burn the flag without changing the Constitution. The Constitution has only been amended 27 times. These amendments include guarantees of our most basic freedoms, the freedom of religion, the right to a trial by jury, the protection against cruel punishment."

That's a damn shame. Look like you'll have to find a new fake outrage.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

82. Damn. Another meme bites the dust nt

[Clintonista2]

40. Another Hillary-hating thread... how original.

You forgot to mention that EVERY poll puts Hillary in the lead... Newsweek, CBS, USA Today, American Research Group, NBC News/WSJ, LA Times, ABC News, Washington Post, etc.


Why not put a hold on the smears for a bit, and try to contribute something constructive?

[The River]

41. And Just Because MSM Polls Dictate

who our nominee is going to be
means we should keep quiet?

No Thanks

[Clintonista2]

42. Somebody missed the point

Hillary haters use every baseless smear in the book, frankly it's getting kind of annoying to have to shoot every single one down every minute of the day.

The OP implied that the only reason Hillary leads in the polls, is because she has some sort of deal/relationship with somebody who owns a polling company. I was simply pointing out that EVERY poll has her in the lead.

Like I said earlier, try putting away the smears for a bit, and try to contribute something constructive, and it might help settle the stress of watching Hillary lead in EVERY poll :hi:

[ClassWarfare2008]

46. WHO are they polling? WHO supports Hillary?

The only support I see for Hillary anywhere in this country is in the corporate whore media and a handful of people on this board trying to shove her down our throats. I would love to know where they are getting their numbers.

Reality is that most Americans probably aren't supporting ANYONE at the moment. It's July 2007. Who wants to be obsessed with the 2008 election for the next 16 months??

And for the record, I have no candidate in this race. Yet.....

[ElizabethDC]

53. I know a lot of people who support Hillary

who are neither corporate media whores and who have never heard of DU. I think people who say they don't know any Hillary supporters just need to get out more, because I find Hillary supporters among every age group, ethnicity, location, and other demographics.

[zulchzulu]

55. So facts exposing Clinton links to shady characters is "Hillary-hating"?

Swing...and a miss...

:crazy:

[rinsd]

70. From someone who flipped out over Rezko stories, that is precious.

[zulchzulu]

79. "flipped out"?

The Rezko story has been debunked and flattened as a non-story. It is nothing compared to myriad trails of shame the Clintons have as baggage to bring into the mix for easy attacks by the mainstream media if my view of the worst case scenario occurs. But it won't actually... people hate bad re-runs...

[rinsd]

87. As opposed to the Gupta manipulating polls in Clinton's favor" BS non story you just posted?

[Alamom]

47. Gupta has supported Al Gore, John Kerry & Barack Obama

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=NV&last=Gupta&first=Vinod


He has given $200,000 + to the DNC, the Dem. Senatorial Committee, Dem. Congressional Committee & supported many democrats at the state level for about 10 years according to Newsmeat.


He supported Al Gore & (very generously) John Kerry for president.

He supported Barack Obama in his 04 Senate Race.


http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CO&last=Gupta&first=Vinod

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=NE&last=Gupta&first=Vinod


update to add all links

[William769]

49. Those pesky little facts, always seem to get in the way.

[zulchzulu]

54. Nice topic deflection attempt. But that's not what is at issue here

I'm sure he was a good soccer player in high school too.

The point is in the post. CNN gets their polls from Gupta's polling company, for which has given millions to the Clintons.

[Alamom]

60. Odd that he isn't polling her higher than other polling agencies if

there is something shady going on. 5 of these have her polling higher and her nearest rival, lower. The rest are the same or close.

http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/

.....HRC...BO
ABC 42% - 27%
ARG 39% - 19%
CBS 39% - 28%
Cook 32% - 22%
Gall 53% - 42%
API 33% - 21%
NBC 39% - 25%
Pew 34% - 24%
Quin 35% - 21%
Time 33% - 26%
Zogby32% - 22%

[Geek_Girl]

51. Isn't Gupta that doctor consultant on CNN?

:shrug:

[Gelliebeans]

52. That is Sanjay Gupta

if I recall correctly.

[Geek_Girl]

57. Is he a member of this Gupta family?

Just curious.

[ElizabethDC]

58. I doubt it. Gupta is a pretty common Indian name.

And since there are over a billion Indians . . .

[draft_mario_cuomo]

83. Right. Gupta is to India what Johnson or Williams are to America or Britain

Patel would probably equate to Smith.

[TeamJordan23]

61. Really good research. Thanks. nt

[illinoisprogressive]

62. CNN is in the tank for Clinton and Andrea Mitchell of NBC is a big donor to Hillary

And Murdoch is giving her fundraisers. Looks like the Clintons do own the media and that is why it does a daily cheerleading for her.

[rinsd]

63. Awwww Obama not getting a poll bouce has Obamaniacs all cranky!

[zulchzulu]

66. Yeah, and Obama only kicked ass with money from millions of supporters...

Yeah, it's just too bad...

:crazy:

[rinsd]

68. But he didn't get his poll bounce....so the polls must be suspect

And therefore attacked.

What else would be the point of this thread?

[William769]

69. Whats the old saying? money can't buy you happiness.

Guess what eles it isn't buying Obama? :rofl:

[draft_mario_cuomo]

85. It is sad. Some hoped that they could purchase votes a few days ago

The latest polls have shattered that dream. :nuke:

[zulchzulu]

78. Moral selectivity really gets my goat

If you that there is no sense of impropriety in this issue, I really wonder what levels of moral impropriety are also "tolerable" as well... seriously...

[rinsd]

80. Fake outrage gets my goat.

So when do you do a thread excrotiating your candidate for his support of a federal bill against flag burning?

Oh yeah.....that would be never.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

84. Where is the evidence for both of these claims? nt

[TeamJordan23]

72. CNN losing more crediblity. It is sad what the news networks have become. nm

[AZBlue]

76. The only thing really proven here is that Vinod Gupta likes to golf.

[LaPera]

77. That's why Carville was so pissed at Dean...the DLC wanted to oust Dean & have control of the DNC

as well along with the polling and all the Dem, repug & corporate bucks rolling in and she would of had the nomination in the bag...But thankfully the fine democrat Howard Dean is, stood and is stand strong & firm.

Cheers to Howard dean & the DNC! (And fuck the DLC)!

[wyldwolf]

81. but where does Gallup, USAToday, Rasmussen, Pew, etc., etc. get theirs?

[draft_mario_cuomo]

86. An bets on whether the Gupta/CNN/HRC conspiracy theorists will answer WW's question?