Monday, November 06, 2006

Thank you. Call again.

Ah, the elegant simplicity of evil genius.

Sometimes, all it takes is a clever ploy, a fiendish scheme. Just set the plan into motion, kick back, and enjoy the sinister results.



From Salon, emphasis mine:


We've never been persuaded by a single call, but we've been annoyed by many, many, many of them.

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.


Now, if only the GOP could somehow tamper with voting machines...