Push Poll Shows Support for New Investigation of Building 7

Since I was asked to nicely by a family member (hat tip) I'll comment on the latest Truther idiocy.

First the Truther Version:

As the 10 Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches quickly, a new Siena poll shows that half of New Yorkers today are in support of a new probe into the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7.

Now the reality. Let's start out by examining the poll questions that dealt with WTC-7.

Q4, Are you aware that in addition to the Twin Towers, another skyscraper in the World Trade Center complex collapsed on 9-/11?

On that one, about 2/3rds of the respondents said yes. Notably, the least likely to say yes were aged 18-34 (54%) women (61%) and those who had "less than college" education (61%).

Q5 (If aware of the collapse of another skyscraper) When did you first become aware of the collapse of this third skyscraper?

This is pretty embarrassing for the Remember Building 7 dolts. A full 82% of those who knew about the third skyscraper falling found out about it on 9-11 or shortly afterwards. Only 4% said they found out about it in the last few years. Heckuva job with those educational advertisements, guys!

Q6 (If aware of the collapse of another skyscraper) From the following list of the ways that people may have come to find out about the collapse of the third skyscraper, which was the first way that you became aware of its collapse?

I guess the most surprising thing about the results here is that the second most common way of hearing about it was from another person (18%). Over half (55%) heard about it from various forms of mainstream media (TV, radio, newspapers). You know, that mainstream media that never covered the collapse of Building 7?

Only about 20% of the respondents could name the third buildng that collapsed correctly. Men (30%) did quite a bit better than women (14%), younger people did better than seniors, and those with a college degree (30%) did better than those without the sheepskin (16%).

Q9. (If aware of collapse of another skyscraper) Of the following, what in your opinion was the primary cause of the collapse of Building 7 at the World Trade Center on 9/11?

Only 24% said controlled demolition. Now we can pretty much assume that anybody who wasn't aware of the collapse of Building 7 is not a Truther, which indicates that something like 16% (2/3rds times 24%) of the respondents to the poll are Truthers. And the crosstabs reveal some interesting facts about the controlled demolition crowd. They are more likely to be men (27%) than women (21%), more likely to be Democrats (24%) than Republicans (12%), yet more likely to be conservative (27% than liberal (22%). I'm not sure what to make of those last two results, but the overall poll only surveyed 634 people, so the margin of error on the crosstabs is quite a bit higher than on the overall results.

Q10. In 2008, the federal government issued a report that found that fires caused this skyscraper, World Trade Center Building 7, to collapse. Critics, including a group of more than 1,400 architects and engineers, have argued against the findings of the report stating that prior to 9/11, no steel-framed skyscraper had
ever collapsed as a result of fire. These critics suggest that only the use of explosives can account for Building 7's collapse. Are you more inclined to believe the findings of the federal government that fire caused Building 7's collapse or the critics that believe explosives were responsible?

Here's where the push-polling comes in. After being pushed with the 1400 architects and engineers nonsense, suddenly the number of people believing in controlled demolition goes up to 36%. Women (39%) suddenly believe it more than men (33%), but still those with college degrees (28%) are less likely to be impressed with Gage's clown posse than those without (43%).

Q11. Many have signed a petition calling for a NEW investigation into Building 7's collapse. Others consider the case closed and do not think a new investigation is warranted. Would you be in favor of or opposed to a local government agency like the New York City Council or Manhattan District Attorney opening a new investigation into the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7?

A total of 48%, having been pushed by the 1400 idiots, now support a new investigation of Building 7. Men (51%) support it more than women (45%), the young (62%) more than the old (36%), those with less than a college degree (55%) more than those with diplomas (39%), the unemployed (50%) more than the employed (48%).

Somebody over at Flogger suggested looking at the crosstabs to see how outreach should be targeted to those most receptive to the "Truth". Looking at that last result, I'd say that the most receptive group has been young, less-educated, men without jobs. Shocking, I know.

On the 48% figure being pushed, how many people would have agreed with a new investigation if they'd been told that nobody died in the collapse of Building 7? How many would have agreed if they'd been given a comparison of Richard Gage's resume and that of Shyam Sunder?

Update: See also Triterope's analysis at JREF.