Busted!

The nasty, anti-Mormon push polls in Iowa have had a funny way of reaching people who happen to be on Mitt Romney's payroll (... and whom subsequently misrepresented that small fact to the press, among other details).

MORE: Mark Blumenthal at Pollster adds a little perspective:

Today, Dayton and Mair are asking why so many of the respondents that have come forward to report receiving the calls are either Romney supporters or paid Romney staff. The obvious explanation is that the Romney campaign directed supporters that were called to reporters. And in the latest development, TPM's Greg Sargent now reports that the Romney campaign confirms it did just that -- "referred reporters to two recipients of the calls without disclosing that the two were also on the Romney campaign payroll."

The two conservative bloggers are alleging that these ties to the Romney campaign imply something more sinister: Either a poll specifically targeted at Romney supporters in order to create a story, or perhaps an effort to get Romney staffers and supporters to lie to reporters about a non-existent survey.

What follows is a very insightful discussion on the ins and outs of polling. Well worth reading, but the conclusion is clear enough:

So bloggers will speculate and dig further, as we always do, but I am not convinced from the facts before us allow the conclusion that pollster behind this survey intended to contact only Romney supporters.