Frank Luntz is part of the problem

A great article from last year:

Frank Luntz and Focus Groups are Destroying the GOP Message

Meanwhile, it is becoming obvious that Luntz has become a prisoner of his own results over the years, and as such, has become obsessed with what misinformation voters already believe. He seems to have lost interest in the value of persuading voters to believe the truth. To Luntz, and to Karl Rove, and in fact most to Republican consultants, a poll or a focus group is not the starting point for voter education, it is the end point for candidate capitulation. This explains the constant surrender in the arena of ideas by candidates and spokes persons who are ostensibly on "our side."

As advertising legend Bill Bernbach said:

We are so busy measuring public opinion that we forget we can mold it. We are so busy listening to statistics we forget we can create them