Taped political crank calls

Mike Schwartz · November-4th-2006, 03:37 PM

Isn't it a bitch?!

Politicians have *protected* us from soliciters pestering us from bothersome calls from companies selling misc. stuff, however they sure as hell took care of themselves and call home and cell phones at will.

This shit is annoying as hell, and all they get nothing from me but a hangup once I recognize the nature of the call.

What is the point of this?
At the least, I would think, an enthusiastic live volunteer may get his/her 'foot in the door' and get to pitch the virtues of the candidate or cause on ocassion, but these pre-recorded messages seem to me to be useless as tits on a bull.

They probably have studies that show otherwise, which is why they do it.

From all of these that have come streaming in, I was amused by the one that started out " Hi, this is Bill Clinton.........."

Gordon B · November-4th-2006, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Schwartz

Isn't it a bitch?!

Politicians have *protected* us from soliciters pestering us from bothersome calls from companies seeling stuff, however they sure as hell took care of themselves and call home and cell phones at will.

This shit is annoying as hell, and all they get nothing from me but a hangup once I recognize the nature of the call.

What is the point of this?
At the least, I would think, an enthusiastic live volunteer may get his/her 'foot in the door' and get to pitch the virtues of the candidate or cause on ocassion, but these pre-recorded messages seem to me to be useless as tits on a bull.

They probably have studies that show otherwise, which is why they do it.

From all of these that have come streaming in, I was amused by the one that started out " Hi, this is Bill Clinton.........."

Amazing how Bill Clinton calls 1000's of people simultaneously. I've been getting calls from Mrs. Ehlich.

kedoane · November-4th-2006, 06:01 PM

Been getting plenty of them prerecorded phone calls too.

I have received quite a few emails from MoveOn.org about me volunteering my time this weekend to work a phone bank, but I can't do it because I am busy with home and work. I feel like reminding the MoveOn folks that there are people who work Saturday and Sunday.

Gary Sisco · November-5th-2006, 07:50 AM

I have a general rule that pols, charities and businesses might want to note because I'm not the only one. Bothering me on the phone like that will guarantee you lose my support or business.

It's one of the rudest practices ever and assumes that we are idiots enough to forget to vote or to vote for someone based on an automated phone call.

Mike Schwartz · November-5th-2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

I have a general rule that pols, charities and businesses might want to note because I'm not the only one. Bothering me on the phone like that will guarantee you lose my support or business.

It's one of the rudest practices ever and assumes that we are idiots enough to forget to vote or to vote for someone based on an automated phone call.

The problem is Gary, that everyone today uses it...........we're talking everyone.

I did arrive home from work last night with a personal message from my buddy Clint Eastwood, though

Jimmy Cantiello · November-5th-2006, 08:40 AM

Shiiiiiit, I got a call from Paulie Newman...........

Monte Smith · November-5th-2006, 09:50 AM

My dad is rather deaf and these calls confuse the hell out of him. One came over the answering machine last night before dinner and he asked, "Who the hell is that?" I said, "It's Laura Bush." He said, "Oh. John McCain called this afternoon."

Kinda makes you feel like an important little family in a targeted, prerecorded way.

Gary Sisco · November-5th-2006, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Schwartz

The problem is Gary, that everyone today uses it...........we're talking everyone.

I did arrive home from work last night with a personal message from my buddy Clint Eastwood, though

Not everyone, at least where I live.

And in any case, I support nearly no one to begin with. I voted for Bernie Sanders because there's no better way to schtupp the repugnant leadership of the Senate. ;-)

Bernie doesn't need to resort to this kind of bullshit because he already has the continuous support of many more people than it takes to win an election -- as his prank-calling, billionaire opponent (who's spending seven million of his own dollars unsuccessfully trying to buy a Senate seat) is about to find out on Tuesday.

Mike Schwartz · November-5th-2006, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

Not everyone, at least where I live.

And in any case, I support nearly no one to begin with. I voted for Bernie Sanders because there's no better way to schtupp the repugnant leadership of the Senate. ;-)

Bernie doesn't need to resort to this kind of bullshit because he already has the continuous support of many more people than it takes to win an election -- as his prank-calling, billionaire opponent (who's spending seven million of his own dollars unsuccessfully trying to buy a Senate seat) is about to find out on Tuesday.

I'm glad to hear it...

In California. to show how annoying this really is we get BOTH sides of various propositions, San Jose mayor, district attourney,judgeships, congress, all the lieutenent govenor stuff,you name it, even state insurance commissioner; from every point of view.

Gary Sisco · November-5th-2006, 11:19 AM

I'd go mental.

Thing that pisses me off is that almost all of them show up on the caller ID thing as "unknown caller." Which could and often does at my place mean a friend whose number isn't listed. It can also be certain cell phones.

The point being that I can ignore the call but in doing so may well miss one I wanted to take.

The absolute worst ones are the repeaters that keep calling back if you hang up.

Does anyone really believe that political support can be generated by irritating the shit out of people?

Another: Has anyone ever voted for someone because of a sign on somebody's lawn? Duh?

I'll tell you who's the most relentless with the phoning, though, and that's the NRA. I've told them three times in writing that I've quit, but I get mailings every day and phone calls all the time, regardless. Seems like about all organizations do today is panhandle so they can continue panhandling. Fucking beggars, already.

Gordon B · November-6th-2006, 09:16 AM

How to handle a telemarketer (link from Mankiw's blog).
http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/

Gary Sisco · November-6th-2006, 09:33 AM

That's pure genius. Hilarious.

Brian Olewnick · November-6th-2006, 10:55 AM

I'm off from work today. Around 9:30 this morning, the phone rings. I answer it, there's the telltale half-second pause, and then I hear a hearty, cheery voice saying, "Hello! This is Joe Piscopo!"

I couldn't hang up quickily enough.

Chris D · November-6th-2006, 11:01 AM

I've heard from Brad Whitford, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. I must be somebody!

Mike Schwartz · November-6th-2006, 11:55 AM

2 calls to my cell phone yesterday. Got to quickly hang up on "America's Mayor"

The cell thing is the ultimate insult. The #'s are blocked and appear as*private*

Squaredancecalling Steve · November-6th-2006, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon B

How to handle a telemarketer (link from Mankiw's blog).
http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/

Love it!!!

rollhead · November-6th-2006, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon B

How to handle a telemarketer (link from Mankiw's blog).
http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/

Gordon -- did you get permission form Mankiw to laugh at this?

Chris D · November-6th-2006, 01:08 PM

From Salon:

The GOP seems to understand what's happened here. As Josh Marshall has been reporting at Talking Points Memo, the National Republican Campaign Committee appears to be using robo-calls to push voters away from Democrats in races all around the country. The tactic? Record a call that mentions the Democratic candidate right at the beginning, then load the negative stuff about the candidate into the end. If the recipient of the call listens to the full message, he or she hears a dose of negativity about the Democratic candidate. If the recipient hangs up before the message runs its course, the computer dials the same number repeatedly, leaving voters with the impression that the Democrats, not the Republicans, are the ones bombarding them with repeat calls.

Marshall has rounded up reports of such calls in congressional races in Illinois, Pennyslvania, New York and elsewhere. When Illinois' Barrington Courier-Review asked an NRCC spokesman about the repeat calls, the spokesman said there must be a problem with the contractor the Republicans hired to do the calls or with the computer that is making them. In New Hampshire, a state law makes it illegal to place political robo-calls to state residents who have signed up for the national Do Not Call registry. The NRCC -- taking the GOP's usual federalism-is-great-except-when-it-isn't stance -- says it's going to keep making robo-calls in the state regardless of what state law says. "We are a federal organization campaigning about a federal race," an NRCC spokesman tells the Boston Globe. "We feel that New Hampshire law does not apply to what we are doing."

Scott Dolan · November-6th-2006, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Olewnick

I'm off from work today. Around 9:30 this morning, the phone rings. I answer it, there's the telltale half-second pause, and then I hear a hearty, cheery voice saying, "Hello! This is Joe Piscopo!"

I couldn't hang up quickily enough.

I thought he died from steroid abuse?

Gary, I'm sure all those pols out there have taken note and are furiously drawing up a whole new battle plan to win you over.

rollhead · November-6th-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

Another: Has anyone ever voted for someone because of a sign on somebody's lawn? Duh?

It's called name recognition. Duh?

rollhead · November-6th-2006, 02:03 PM

I just got this e-mail:

Dear Charles,

Karl Rove has been bragging for weeks about his "72-hour program" to swing the elections, which predict a Democratic takeover of Congress.

Now we know what it is: a dirty trick campaign using robocalls.

The calls are made to Democrats and swing voters at all times of day or night to make them angry. And they pretend to be from the Democrat ("Hello, I'm calling with information about Lois Murphy"). If you hang up, they call back 7-8 times, and each time you hear the Democrat's name, to get you angry at him or her. If you stay on, you get to hear a scathing attack on the Democrat.

Karl Rove's whole career has been devoted to dirty tricks. In 2002, his dirty trick was to force Congress to vote shortly before Election Day for the Iraq War based on two months of White House lies about WMD's and Al Qaeda ties. That dirty trick has cost the lives of 2,834 brave young Americans (16 so far in November), $2 trillion in debt to our children and grandchildren, and unleashed massive bloodshed in Iraq.

It's too late for legal action or even newspaper stories. If you receive one of these calls, write down the time and candidate and call every radio and TV show you can and urge everyone listening to vote against the disgusting Republican dirty tricksters. And forward this email to everyone you know so they aren't fooled by Karl Rove's dirty trick.

Let's make this Karl Rove's LAST campaign by voting ALL Republicans out of office.

More details:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com
http://dailykos.com

kedoane · November-6th-2006, 09:24 PM

This really irks me since I do work in the broadcast industry. EAS is to be used for emergencies, not for political advertising. This is from today's sfgate.com political blog.

This is a test of the Emergency Alert System: Vote for Dick Mountjoy!

In an apparent violation of FCC rules, conservative talk radio station KFBK 1530 AM in Sacramento transmitted a paid political advertisement to an unknown number of other stations in the area, using the Federal Emergency Alert System (EAS), thus automatically forcing the ad onto the stations' airwaves. This is according to a press release issued today by KDVS-FM, a non-commercial community station in Davis that received and inadvertently aired the transmission.

The advertisement is for Richard "Dick" Mountjoy, the Republican running against incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Immediately following the Mountjoy ad is a commercial for HMS Capital Loans.

Click below to hear the complete recording of the fake EAS broadcast, aired Nov. 6 at 10:02 a.m.:

Listen/Download Audio | 2:26 min : 3.51 MB

From the KDVS press release:

* Disaster warning system used to transmit advertisements

EAS (generally characterized by its signature tones and test disclaimer) is designed and exclusively used for rapid communication alerting areas to emergency situations (such as natural disasters). The content of these messages is strictly controlled by federal law for obvious reasons.

* Sacramento conservative talk radio station KFBK transmitted the initial message

KFBK 1530 AM in Sacramento is the Local Primary (LP) station designated to initiate the broadcast of EAS messages in several Northern California counties, including Yolo. This morning, KFBK initiated the required monthly test of EAS but failed to cease broadcasting via EAS upon the standard message of EAS conclusion ("This concludes this test of the Emergency Alert System"). Instead, they forced rebroadcast of the aforementioned advertisements, including the paid political advertisement.

* KFBK blames training error for the transmission

Upon contact by KDVS management, KFBK Operations Manager Alan Eisansom claimed station responsibility for the message broadcast assigning blame to some kind of nonspecific training snafu.

Posted By: Justin Beck (Email) | Nov 06 at 03:20 PM

Listed Under: Ads, Mid-term elections | Permalink | Comments (1) : Post Comment

Mike Schwartz · November-6th-2006, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kedoane

This really irks me since I do work in the broadcast industry. EAS is to be used for emergencies, not for political advertising. This is from today's sfgate.com political blog.

This is a test of the Emergency Alert System: Vote for Dick Mountjoy!

In an apparent violation of FCC rules, conservative talk radio station KFBK 1530 AM in Sacramento transmitted a paid political advertisement to an unknown number of other stations in the area, using the Federal Emergency Alert System (EAS), thus automatically forcing the ad onto the stations' airwaves. This is according to a press release issued today by KDVS-FM, a non-commercial community station in Davis that received and inadvertently aired the transmission.

The advertisement is for Richard "Dick" Mountjoy, the Republican running against incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Immediately following the Mountjoy ad is a commercial for HMS Capital Loans.

Click below to hear the complete recording of the fake EAS broadcast, aired Nov. 6 at 10:02 a.m.:

Listen/Download Audio | 2:26 min : 3.51 MB

From the KDVS press release:

* Disaster warning system used to transmit advertisements

EAS (generally characterized by its signature tones and test disclaimer) is designed and exclusively used for rapid communication alerting areas to emergency situations (such as natural disasters). The content of these messages is strictly controlled by federal law for obvious reasons.

* Sacramento conservative talk radio station KFBK transmitted the initial message

KFBK 1530 AM in Sacramento is the Local Primary (LP) station designated to initiate the broadcast of EAS messages in several Northern California counties, including Yolo. This morning, KFBK initiated the required monthly test of EAS but failed to cease broadcasting via EAS upon the standard message of EAS conclusion ("This concludes this test of the Emergency Alert System"). Instead, they forced rebroadcast of the aforementioned advertisements, including the paid political advertisement.

* KFBK blames training error for the transmission

Upon contact by KDVS management, KFBK Operations Manager Alan Eisansom claimed station responsibility for the message broadcast assigning blame to some kind of nonspecific training snafu.

Posted By: Justin Beck (Email) | Nov 06 at 03:20 PM

Listed Under: Ads, Mid-term elections | Permalink | Comments (1) : Post Comment

That is some seriously fucked up shit!

Monte Smith · November-6th-2006, 09:48 PM

Today I got a robocall from a delegate to the VA General Assembly urging me to vote Democrat for Representative. OK, I don't like these calls, but fair's fair. I don't listen to the message, I hang up--like a normal person. A couple moments later when I pick up the phone to make a call, THE DUDE'S STILL TALKING!!

crawjo · November-7th-2006, 12:02 AM

Over the weekend I think I received at least 10-15 of these calls, from people running for county sheriff to state assembly to governor. (Note to Elliot Spitzer: You're going to win tomorrow. Trust me. You can stop calling now.)

Mike Schwartz · November-7th-2006, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollhead

I just got this e-mail:

Dear Charles,

Karl Rove has been bragging for weeks about his "72-hour program" to swing the elections, which predict a Democratic takeover of Congress.

Now we know what it is: a dirty trick campaign using robocalls.

The calls are made to Democrats and swing voters at all times of day or night to make them angry. And they pretend to be from the Democrat ("Hello, I'm calling with information about Lois Murphy"). If you hang up, they call back 7-8 times, and each time you hear the Democrat's name, to get you angry at him or her. If you stay on, you get to hear a scathing attack on the Democrat.

Karl Rove's whole career has been devoted to dirty tricks. In 2002, his dirty trick was to force Congress to vote shortly before Election Day for the Iraq War based on two months of White House lies about WMD's and Al Qaeda ties. That dirty trick has cost the lives of 2,834 brave young Americans (16 so far in November), $2 trillion in debt to our children and grandchildren, and unleashed massive bloodshed in Iraq.

It's too late for legal action or even newspaper stories. If you receive one of these calls, write down the time and candidate and call every radio and TV show you can and urge everyone listening to vote against the disgusting Republican dirty tricksters. And forward this email to everyone you know so they aren't fooled by Karl Rove's dirty trick.

Let's make this Karl Rove's LAST campaign by voting ALL Republicans out of office.

More details:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com
http://dailykos.com

I just saw a report about this on cable TV news,,,

Gary Sisco · November-7th-2006, 07:50 AM

The gang in charge today don't give a flying fuck about laws, never mind federalism, which gambit they use only when it seems to be in their favor.

Bronwyn got a live call last night from a campaign worker for Richard Tarrant, a VT billionaire trying to buy the open Senate seat Bernie Sanders will win today. He's spent seven million of his own dollars so far. Went like this:

"Hello?" Bronwyn asks.

"Hello. I'm calling to ask that you show your support for Richard Tarrant for US Senate on Tuesday."

"Why on Earth would you be doing that?"

"Well, at the moment because I'm getting paid."

"Tell him to cut me a check, too, and maybe I'd vote for him."

"B-bu."

"Bye, now."

Mike Schwartz · November-7th-2006, 11:29 AM

I just got home from voting.
What was cool, and what we lose focus of as a country, IMO, is how important casting a vote can be.

I'm not getting all 'pie in the sky' here, and went many years not voting for the opposite reasons I do vote today. I was one of the relatively early birds.....no lines. A slight delay in getting the electronics up and running; by the time I was done there were a dozen or so folks in the wings (a lot by my experience at the same location). All this to say that one of the poll workers, Svetlana on her name tag was the sweetest young woman who absolutely, without any reservation, LOVED participating in the process, and probably understood how important the process is beyond what I can appreciate.

I have a ill, elderly father, with a terminal condition and limited time remaining, who resides some 6,000 miles from where I live.

At 6:10AM my phone rang with one of those robo_politico calls we've been discussing. I'm only human....calls at weird late or early hours these days create a certain tension or anticipation of the possibilty of an urgent message.

I'm so glad it's election day, so that this shit stops for now...

Gary Sisco · November-7th-2006, 02:36 PM

I bet you are. I can see how those calls could stress you out in the circumstance.

I'm going to use the crime-scene ploy like in Gordon's post from now on. That's brilliant. Well worth stealing.

kedoane · November-7th-2006, 05:33 PM

So far, just one robo - political call this afternoon.

My mom and I voted this morning. There wasn't a line when we got there and by the time that we were finished voting, there were people waiting to vote.