How the political calls work

[NWScouter]

Just a little hint for those of you dont want to be called by campaigns. If they know how youre are going to vote they will stop.

If the democrats know if you are voting republican they will stop calling and if the republicans know you are voting democratic they will stop calling. If you are undecided you are red meat and they both will call.

 

In the primary season they will call people who are have indentified with their party to find out if you are voting for their party candidate in the primary, if you are a state that allows independents to vote in party primary you will get called by both parties. This will go on till you state one way or the other about their candidate.

Then comes the Get Out the Vote (GOTV) stage, they will call those voters who support their candidate and make sure they have voted.

 

Between the primary and the general there will be another identification and GOTV drive. The parties have databases built up over years based on your responses that grade you from strong Democrat, leans Democrats, Independent/unknown, leans Republican, strong Republican. So in this phase they identify the voters who are again for their candidate. Then GOTV their supporters. In my state all but two counties are vote by mail, and the two still with polling places have absentee voters of well over 50%. So when the ballots are mailed out is when the calls start coming asking if you have voted. Now my party explained who was getting calls from them. As my state is pretty blue, they were going to call only people who were voting for both our candidates for president and governor and were new or sporadic voters. A sporadic voter is one based on the information from the elections departments that have voted 1 or 2 times out of the last four (primaries and general elections). So base on this criteria, I met the first (right candidates) but Im four out of four s they know most likely I will mail in my ballot. The other criterion that they use is if you have mailed in your ballot. The election departments publish list of voters whose ballots are processed almost daily (public records) not of course how they voted, so the campaigns will not waste a call to them, it does take a few days for the ballot to get to the office and then processed. So I would have been off the list sometime the week of October 19th.

 

[kbandit]

Wish I had a dollar for each phone call my house has received. We have 3 voters living here.

The answering machine has gotten quite a workout.

Kbandit

[Lisabob]

Heh heh. The area I live in is heavily Republican and our local member of Congress hardly faces a tough fight for re-election. Despite that fact, the guy has opted to do a whole lot of those annoying robo calls. The other day I got 4! In the space of about 2 hours! And what makes it worse is that there's no way in the world I'd ever, ever, ever vote for the guy - but you can't exactly convince a tape recorded message of that fact.

 

So. I found his home phone # and started calling his house and leaving him long messages about why I won't vote for him for every one of his robo calls that I get. Always polite, of course. Juvenile, sure, but I admit I got some satisfaction from it and he surely knows now that he doesn't have my vote. (And you know, I haven't gotten any more calls from his campaign since I did that. Probably just coincidence but it still was kind of fun.)

[Eamonn]

Not wanting to hijack the thread.

But...

Sometime back I was asked to be the Chair for the local Republican Committee.

Putting aside the fact that I have for a very long time been what might be called "Left Wing" (Have voted for the Labour Party in every UK election.) I'm not a citizen of the USA.

Seems someone didn't do their homework?

I did meet with Lynn Swann. He is a very nice fellow. But just as I don't understand American Football, I don't understand the Republican (Right Wing) doctrine.

Ea.

[SR540Beaver]

E,

 

There is an assumption by some that if you are involved in Scouting, you are a card carrying Republican and not one of those unbathed, tree-hugging, long-haired, marxist, socialist, terrorist loving, military -haiting, America-hating, baby killing, atheist Democrats.

[Rooster7]

Eamonn,

 

But just as I don't understand American Football, I don't understand the Republican (Right Wing) doctrine.

 

That's very understandable. American football is a very complicated sport, which involves a team of incredibly talented and dedicated individuals working in unison for a common and noble goal. For those same reasons, I can understand why liberals dont understand the Republican doctrine. So dont blame yourself. ;-)

 

 

 

 

[BadenP]

"American football is a very complicated sport."

 

Come on Rooster get real nothing is complicated about football, unless all you have is a sixth grade education. For those under educated types, and many Republicans both football and life are very complicated. They tend to view reality and the sport as huge obstacles when in fact all it takes is logically thinking out viable solutions. The last eight years has shown just how inneffective and dangerous the Republican mindset has become driving our economy into the dust.

[Rooster7]

BadenP,

 

First, lighten up...try to develop a sense of humor.

 

Second, I think American football is a little more complicated then you suggest. If not, you should consider it as a career. I hear NFL coaches are making millions of dollars these days with their 6th grade educations.

 

Lastly, I know that many liberals dont care or understandThey dont care or understand that weve been fighting a war for the last seven yearsThey dont care or understand that fighting a war is a huge sacrifice in both terms of blood and moneyThey dont care or understand that bashing their own President during times like these is not helpfulThey just want their guy in office. I get it.

 

So tomorrow night, after the results are known go out and have a drink. But whether that drink be celebratory or conciliatory, please give it a rest. Lest you spend the next four years gloating or whining its not going to change the outcome. I thought you guys would have learned that after the 2000 election.

 

Insert big smiley face here. Okay, youre rightI wasnt really trying to be funny this time.(This message has been edited by Rooster7)

[BadenP]

ROOSTER

 

First of all I think you really should go see the movie W, it is actually a well done movie and provides some great insight into the man you so admire. Secondly, most college and pro football coachs are well educated. The war we have been fighting the last seven years was a self indulgent farce based on false intel that has backfired on the man and will leave him branded in history as one of the worst presidents of our country. You tell the families of over 4,000 dead soldiers that Bush was right and that their families sacrifice was necessary to keep our country safe. Rooster as a supposed man of God I suppose you are aware of the scripture "Vengence is mine sayeth the Lord.", Iraq was a ill planned offensive that has allowed our true enemies to gain new allies and territory in the jihad against our country.

 

It is time for our country to have a leader that thinks things out logically, considering all alternatives before acting instead of one who acts rashly and emotionally like we have experienced over the last eight years. McCain lost this election not because he was not an honorable man but because he listened to bad advisors who tried to make him something he was not and forcing him to select a running mate that caused him to lose credibility with the American public. I will enjoy that victory drink tommorrow night Rooster. Cheers!

[Rooster7]

First of all I think you really should go see the movie W, it is actually a well done movie and provides some great insight into the man you so admire.

 

Ive seen enough to know that the movie cannot be taken seriously.

 

The war we have been fighting the last seven years was a self indulgent farce based on false intel that has backfired on the man and will leave him branded in history as one of the worst presidents of our country.

 

Im not going to go round and round with you about what facts were truly facts and how they were or were not presented to the public. Long story short we are on opposite sides of the issue and thats probably not ever going to change.

 

You tell the families of over 4,000 dead soldiers that Bush was right and that their families sacrifice was necessary to keep our country safe.

 

Was every American conflict wrong? If you believe that, then I will not be able to provide a satisfactory response to you. If you believe WWII and other wars were worth fighting, then while my heart goes out to those families, this statistic is not overwhelming. In fact, compare to other conflicts, it is a low number.

 

Rooster as a supposed man of God I suppose you are aware of the scripture "Vengence is mine sayeth the Lord.", Iraq was a ill planned offensive that has allowed our true enemies to gain new allies and territory in the jihad against our country.

 

I dont see it that way. I see it as a necessary war which was inevitable (given Islamic militant hatred for infidels), their obsessed focus on defeating Israel and America (i.e. The Great Satan), and how they envision the world under Islamic rule.

 

It is time for our country to have a leader that thinks things out logically, considering all alternatives before acting instead of one who acts rashly and emotionally like we have experienced over the last eight years.

 

I dont think thats how it was but obviously, you do.

 

McCain lost this election

 

It ain't over yet, my friend ;-)

 

not because he was not an honorable man but because he listened to bad advisors who tried to make him something he was not and forcing him to select a running mate that caused him to lose credibility with the American public. I will enjoy that victory drink tomorrow night Rooster. Cheers!

 

I hope you do enjoy the drink, but not the reason behind it. I see Obama as a man with much magnetism but with no real substance.

 

[Trevorum]

We dropped our landline two years ago and haven't gotten a single spam call since.

[packsaddle]

There's another kind of call that asks questions about political views and then, if the person being called is in support of certain views, they are asked if they are registered to vote...and if they are not registered an offer to register is given?

Those who are not in support of certain views are merely thanked. Click.

[Eamonn]

In a few hours the calls will all stop.

Everyone can spend the next 4 years (Minus 21 months!) Learning how to play cricket.

 

I do think whoever wins will be a one term President.

But I said that about Ronald Reagan.

We of course will hear for the rest of the week from the media why people voted the way they did and where whoever went wrong, did so.

Eamonn