Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R-MD-1) — my congressman — wants to know what I think.

He wants to know so badly that he’s invited me to respond to two opinion surveys. Which my tax dollars help pay for.

Via text message last month, Harris asked me to weigh in on the “issues that matter most” to me. Linked to the text was an online survey with 12 questions (what I’ll call the long form). (Unfortunately, this survey doesn't look active any more.) I wasn’t asked which issues matter most to me. Instead, Harris’s office seems to assume I agree with the MAGA Republican agenda, and the survey questions reflect that bias.

Via mail last week, I was invited to tell him what I think by answering a shorter questionnaire with seven questions (the short form). On this survey, I was asked to choose which issue concerns me most from a list of right-wing GOP talking points. I could answer by return mail or online.

Contrary to what you might expect, the short form is not a condensed version of the long form. Only one question is shared by the two surveys. Two other questions are similar, but the answer choices differ.

I contacted one of Harris’s field offices to ask about this not-quite-duplicative effort of dueling surveys. The staff person who answered the phone did not have much information to share with me about survey design or participant selection but said that he would record that I called asking that the results be shared with Harris’s constituents.

The long form was not presented to all Harris’s constituents (I did my own casual survey to determine this); the short form was mailed to a much larger audience — even to people who have moved away.

The questions reveal no nuanced understanding of complex issues, and the answer choices are simplistic sound bites.

Here are a few examples:

Long Form Question: Americans continue to face record high inflation. Do you believe we need to control government spending, particularly wasteful spending, to bring down inflation?

Yes

No

Not sure

The problem with this question is that record high inflation is not continuing. The inflation rate for the last six months was 2%. The inflation rate for 2022 was 6.2%, so the inflation rate has come down dramatically. Predicted average rates for 2024-27 are in the 1.8% range. Republicans such as Harris have a political interest, however, in perpetuating the myth that Americans still face out-of-control inflation.

Economists agree that cutting government spending is one element of fiscal policy for controlling inflation, but only one; another major element is increasing taxes, which this question doesn’t touch. Harris fails to acknowledge that inflation is a complex issue and that things are better than he’ll acknowledge.

Harris’s phrase, “wasteful spending,” is a dog whistle that includes spending on social programs — such as food assistance, welfare and unemployment payments, assistance for childcare — used by people who consume what is considered (by some) to be more than their fair share of government resources.

This question really reads: You are paying more for goods and it’s not your fault. Should the government reduce spending on social programs that you don’t use so that inflation can be curbed?

There is no short form version of this question.

Long Form Question: Should Congress limit late term abortions or leave it up to states to decide?

Limit late term abortions

Leave it to states to decide

Not sure

There are several problems with this question. First, what is a “late term abortion”? This is not a medical term, but a political construct. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, this term has “no clinical or medical significance.”

A full-term pregnancy is 39-40 weeks and ”late term” refers to 41-42 weeks. Because abortions do not occur during these two weeks, there is no such thing as a late-term abortion, although this imprecise language makes it seem as if many abortions are performed in the third trimester.

Later abortions typically take place at the end of the second trimester, but only about 1.3% of abortions take place at 21 weeks or beyond (second trimester is weeks 13-28). As a medical doctor, Harris should take more care with his language, as some people tend to trust his word and think he knows what he’s talking about.

The other problem with this question is the choices given. Not wanting to choose either of the first two options does not mean one is not sure.

There is no short form version of this question.

Long Form Question: Should Maryland do more to crack down on crime?

Yes

No

Not sure

Crime is another issue often exaggerated by Republicans, especially during a Democratic administration. The crime rate in Maryland in fact decreased in 2023, due in large part to a 21% reduction in homicides in Baltimore City. This question does not acknowledge the recent decrease in crime, nor does it assume that there are effective programs in place to reduce crime.

But “Yes” is an easy answer to this question, no matter your political persuasion. “Cracking down” on crime can include the implementation of data-based community programs and community policing initiatives — hardly right-wing solutions. But it can also mean easing gun safety laws so that more people can arm themselves, expanding qualified immunity of local police so that officers are not “hampered” in their policing efforts, and mandating harsher punishments for persons convicted.

The short form does have a version of this question.

Short Form Question: With rising crime, should we support the police and enforce criminal sentences or weaken law enforcement?

Fund Police & Enforce Penalties

Weaken

Unsure

Perhaps this is the second, revised version of the crime question, the first version having been determined to be too wishy-washy and not liable to produce the desired result. This version reduces the issue to a simplistic and restrictive choice. And, as pointed out above, crime is not rising.

I could critique more questions, but you can see for yourself. I’ve copied all the questions to the end of this article.

I am looking forward to seeing the results of these opinion surveys.

Here’s a final note about the “right direction/wrong track” question. Over the last 50 years, since the question was first asked in 1971, there have only been three times when Americans have answered that the country was going in the right direction. These were in 1984-86, under Reagan; in 1998-2000, under Clinton; and in 2001, right after 9/11 when Bush was in office.

At all other times, “polls have consistently found that a solid majority of Americans have not been happy with the direction of our nation.” As Philip Bump wrote in the Washington Post, “The first thing to know is that Americans are almost always more likely to say the country is headed in the wrong direction than on the right track.”

Interestingly, a Gallup poll in 2022 found that people were five times more satisfied with their own life than with the direction of the country.

Let’s keep that in mind when Harris reports his results.

The survey questions are below. How many problematic questions can you find?

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The Short Form Survey