I can't and won't refute what you've said about using furniture polish as I only have personal experience to act upon but to add £0.02 to the mix...
The bass in question is sealed and lacquered (if it is a W finish and has a colour it must be) as such no polish can clog the wood grain etc. As to the fact that polish residue will attract dirt... blimey have you seen what the official W wax is like! It always leaves a residue which tends to get stickier with playing (friction/heat) and as such is an absolute dirt magnet. Which leaves the dilemma of polish leaving a residue that makes refinishing problematic. I personally know 3 or 4 people who 'professionally' (i.e. their living or main part of, is made from it) finish/refinish instruments and they all use white spirits to wipe down instruments between sanding and applications, so residues are wiped off as a matter of course and I'd have thought that the polishes and paints (never mind the wood dust) clogs the glass/sandpaper any way... added to which a thin film or residue left by polish would hardly clog the first sanding process which can be (depending on the thickness of lacquer/paint) quite coarse.
Aside from that I wonder how many instruments that might get polished with 'Pledge' will actually end up being refinished... it must be a very small percentage.
As I say, not wishing to 'argue' but it seems quite a strong reaction to using a product which to most people will never have any negative impact.