Push Poll?

Is a Republican-aligned, corporate-funded astroturf group push-polling Mainers for Sen. Collins' benefit?

It would appear so:

A survey released today by the non-profit Employee Freedom Action Committee (EFAC) revealed that Representative Thomas Allen trailed United States Senator Susan Collins in head-to-head general election match-up. Rep. Allen's prospects are not improved by his support of the misleadingly named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) or "card-check" legislation...

His support for card-check made 32% of voters less likely to support him and only 11% more likely to support his candidacy.

So, what exactly is the Employee Freedom Action Committee?

According to Oregon-based Willamette Week, "the group is headquartered in the office of D.C. lobbyist Richard Berman, who has a history of setting up AstroTurf groups for the tobacco and booze industries, as well as anti-union employers."

An internet search for NMB Research, which conducted the poll on EFAC's behalf, returns very few pertinent hits. But Google does turn up this $13,000 payment to NMB from the National Republican Congressional Committee. Go figure.

More on push-polling here.

UPDATE: More on Richard Berman here.