GOP Voter Suppression Operation seems to be underway

[Thorgrim]

This is a single, national, co-ordinated campaign by the NRCC and Conquest Communications Group. It covers 15 known districts across the country. Many of the calls begin with the phrase "Hi. I'm calling with information about [Dem candidate]", call back many times, and call at night / very early a.m. Many people receiving the calls are complaining to the (innocent) Dem candidate

Daily Kos: Hard data on voter-suppression robo-calls (CONTRIBUTE!!) (6 updates)

Daily Kos: Fighting RoboCalls. Expert advice. Multiple updates.

I give these stories credence based on anecdotal evidence, my cousin called me from Illinois and said she got 10+ phone calls from a recorded message about the Dem candidate, and basically what that did was anything anyone calls her about politics, be a friendly Democratic live-phonebanker trying to check on likely democrats, she hangs up...i am sure many others, about to be courted by the Dem GOTV are hanging up all their phone calls on the first sentence because the GOP are jamming their phone lines

Yeah I know, the source, but it's not like a MSM is going to write about this until 2 weeks after the election to see "if it was really widespread or not"

[Ardentfrost]

Interesting tactic. I wouldn't have thought about it, but I could see how it could work. Political weather in my state kinda sucks (nothing exciting) plus I don't have a land phone, but do you think dems are responding by doing the same thing?

Also, there's no way to know who spearheaded this tactic. It certainly wasn't mentioned at the RNC, we'd have heard about that But localized party members could easily do this without the knowledge or promotion of the candidates themselves.

In other words, you can't BLAME anyone really, unless you can specifically prove that candidates are telling cohorts to do this. I could pick up a phone and a phonebook right now and start doing it with no affiliation.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

In other words, you can't BLAME anyone really, unless you can specifically prove that candidates are telling cohorts to do this. I could pick up a phone and a phonebook right now and start doing it with no affiliation.

True.

I also can't BLAME the teenager and his friends living down the street for a bunch of cars being broken into in the middle of the night in my neighborhood, but we all know who it was.

[7960]

HAHAHAHA!!!!

I get one of these pre-recorded calls at least once/day for this. Last week I answered the phone and heard "Hi, I'm calling with information about <male candidate's name>......" I was sort of pissed and said "yeah, he touches little boys!!" and I heard "excuse me?" I hung up quickly.

Apparently that one wasn't pre-recorded!!




Back on topic......exactly how does a phone call "suppress" voters?

[Stylerod]

Looks like Democrats are already trying to come up with excuses in case they don't do as well as they think they should tomorrow

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by 7960

HAHAHAHA!!!!

I get one of these pre-recorded calls at least once/day for this. Last week I answered the phone and heard "Hi, I'm calling with information about <male candidate's name>......" I was sort of pissed and said "yeah, he touches little boys!!" and I heard "excuse me?" I hung up quickly.

Apparently that one wasn't pre-recorded!!




Back on topic......exactly how does a phone call "suppress" voters?

If you take people leaning democratic, and jam their phone lines with
A) Seemingly phone calls designed to help the Dem candidate, the voter will eventually get so frustrated with the campaign the candidate is conducting (which in fact he/she really isn't involved, its a GOP thing) that the person doesn't vote
B) Phone calls hostile to the Dem candidate jam up their lines and prevent Democrats for calling about needing a ride to the polls, a live phone conversation to keep in touch with people who they had checked off as democratic voters and wanted to keep them on the list one time in the final two weeks, they can't do legitimate GOTV because their voters phone lines are being jammed
C) Indepedents or moderate Democrats on the fence about voting are turned off from voting after getting harrassed endlessly by phone calls coming from the GOP

All three are supressing voter turnout, its no different from old GOP suppression tricks like handing out fliers saying if you slightly mess up presenting your voter ID card you'll be arrested, and then when they show up, black voters see white police officers and cop cars surronding the polling place

[7960]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

If you take people leaning democratic, and jam their phone lines with
A) Seemingly phone calls designed to help the Dem candidate, the voter will eventually get so frustrated with the campaign the candidate is conducting (which in fact he/she really isn't involved, its a GOP thing) that the person doesn't vote

if you come slash my tires it does affect me going and voting for the guy I want in office.

if you call my phone it does NOT affect me going and voting for the guy I want in office.

this is bullshit.

B) Phone calls hostile to the Dem candidate jam up their lines and prevent Democrats for calling about needing a ride to the polls, a live phone conversation to keep in touch with people who they had checked off as democratic voters and wanted to keep them on the list one time in the final two weeks, they can't do legitimate GOTV because their voters phone lines are being jammed

saying they're receiving phone calls "all hours of the day and night" does NOT mean their phones are actually ringing every minute of the day.

404 "jammed phone lines" not found

C) Indepedents or moderate Democrats on the fence about voting are turned off from voting after getting harrassed endlessly by phone calls coming from the GOP

See above.....if someone's going to vote he's going to. If he's not, he's not. A phone call will not affect that.

All three are supressing voter turnout, its no different from old GOP suppression tricks like handing out fliers saying if you slightly mess up presenting your voter ID card you'll be arrested, and then when they show up, black voters see white police officers and cop cars surronding the polling place

Don't get me started about the police thing. It's bullshit that cops can't be near polling places. What's next? Not allowing cops to be near supermarkets because "criminals need to eat, too! And cops being near supermarkets is suppressing the felon grocery shopper!!"

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

Looks like Democrats are already trying to come up with excuses in case they don't do as well as they think they should tomorrow

Winning the House by 15 and throwing out Rick Santorum, gaining a majority of governorships...plus a net gain of even 1 senate seat = The Democrats won across the board

We already won, the question is are you going to spin that we have to win 40, no 80, no 200 seats! in order to have it be a "real victory"

If I would have told you in Jan 2005 that the the #3 Republican in the Senate was going to lose, AND Democrats were going to make gains in the Senate, AND Democrats were going to capture a majority of governorships AND (most importantly) they were going to capture the house after 12 years of being the minority party

You would have said I was crazy and stupidly optomistic, after all, Bush had just recieved over 50% of the vote, the GOP had won seats across the board, and they looked very secure, and remember in 98 the six-year itch didn't work, and with Reagan he lost zero house seats in his six-year itch

Now, on the verge of an overwhelming victory everyone laughed at us for thinking about, we have to listen to GOP spin about how its "not really winning the house its...barely winning the house, the GOP almost won"

Well almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by 7960

if you come slash my tires it does affect me going and voting for the guy I want in office.

if you call my phone it does NOT affect me going and voting for the guy I want in office.

this is bullshit.
saying they're receiving phone calls "all hours of the day and night" does NOT mean their phones are actually ringing every minute of the day.

404 "jammed phone lines" not found
See above.....if someone's going to vote he's going to. If he's not, he's not. A phone call will not affect that.
Don't get me started about the police thing. It's bullshit that cops can't be near polling places. What's next? Not allowing cops to be near supermarkets because "criminals need to eat, too! And cops being near supermarkets is suppressing the felon grocery shopper!!"

There's a difference between a cop being at a grocery store, and recieving fliers that the cops are out at the polling places looking to arrest blacks, and you're a black person and you see the place covered with police officers

And where does this "reasonable person" stuff come from, American's aren't stupid but about half still believe we found vast stockpiles of WMD in Iraq and Saddam was behind 9/11

If you are going to sit here and go "NO ONE IS GOING TO BE TURNED OFF NO MATTER HOW MUCH PHONE HARRASMENT THEY GET" is pretty illogical, remember in 2000 how many people sat home in an effort that would let Clinton's VP win because Bush had a DUI how many decades ago...massive amount of voters do stupid things

If the GOP annoys 100,000 people, and 1% of them are so annoyed that they decided not to vote, that 1,000 can decide an election, its voter suppression

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

Looks like Democrats are already trying to come up with excuses in case they don't do as well as they think they should tomorrow

That has to be it. Dirty shit never happens during an election other than Democrats voting for dead people.

[7960]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

There's a difference between a cop being at a grocery store, and recieving fliers that the cops are out at the polling places looking to arrest blacks, and you're a black person and you see the place covered with police officers

I'm missing the difference...cops arrest people who've broken the law. Whether it happens at a polling area or a supermarket is irrelevant. We need to establish laws preventing cops from coming within 1000' of supermarkets.

If you are going to sit here and go "NO ONE IS GOING TO BE TURNED OFF NO MATTER HOW MUCH PHONE HARRASMENT THEY GET" is pretty illogical, remember in 2000 how many people sat home in an effort that would let Clinton's VP win because Bush had a DUI how many decades ago...massive amount of voters do stupid things

Huh?

If the GOP annoys 100,000 people, and 1% of them are so annoyed that they decided not to vote, that 1,000 can decide an election, its voter suppression

Voter suppression is preventing someone from voting. I'm not seeing anything even close to that.

[7960]

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

That has to be it. Dirty shit never happens during an election other than Democrats voting for dead people.

you mean dead people voting for democrats


Dead voters continue to cast ballots in New York (?coincidentally? 4 of 5 are dems)
Dead voters continue to cast ballots in New York (?coincidentally? 4 of 5 are dems)

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by 7960

you mean dead people voting for democrats

actually in the Missouri race Democrats voted for a dead guy

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by 7960

you mean dead people voting for democrats


Dead voters continue to cast ballots in New York (?coincidentally? 4 of 5 are dems)
Dead voters continue to cast ballots in New York (?coincidentally? 4 of 5 are dems)

That shit happens all the time and there's already investigations going on in Kansas City, Chicago and St Louis because a bunch of dead folks registered democrat the last few months.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by 7960

I'm missing the difference...cops arrest people who've broken the law. Whether it happens at a polling area or a supermarket is irrelevant. We need to establish laws preventing cops from coming within 1000' of supermarkets.
Huh?
Voter suppression is preventing someone from voting. I'm not seeing anything even close to that.

Cops ONLY arrest people who have broken the law?

If people need a ride to the polls, but have to hang up their phone everytime a political phone call comes, they can't get to the polls when someone is trying to offer them a ride and they are prevented from voting.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by 7960

you mean dead people voting for democrats

Err, yeah I got that backwards.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

That shit happens all the time and there's already investigations going on in Kansas City, Chicago and St Louis because a bunch of dead folks registered democrat the last few months.

Ohhh look the GOP already setting up reasons for thier loss.

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

Ohhh look the GOP already setting up reasons for thier loss.

I think you're just joking