freeper report on his GOTV phonebanking effort

[ps1074]

I am still laughing after reading this on RS... Here is part of the post:

I just finished calling my phone list for GOTV efforts from GOP.com. I specifically chose calling voters in swing states. Since I'm in San Francisco Bay Area California, urging people to vote R is mostly a waste of time (you do get to accidentally spit on people if you talk long enough)... they gave me Montana as my swing state.

.....

I'll say I've never done anything like this so I'd like to share my experience. It seems to me if this is typical... we could be totally screwed in 06'. Either that or the GOP GOTV machine needs some fine tuning. IMHO

Here were my final results. 30 calls total.

10 Phone is disconnected
8 Messages left (a few were with people. most on machines)
3 No contact made
2 Wrong Numbers (one woman hadn't been there for 2 years)
2 Wrong Party (one was an ex-moderate, another was a democrat but the husband was a staunch republican)
2 Business phone (no idea if the right person)
1 Voted in another state already
1 Voted already
1 Had moved to Texas (I was calling Montana... they moved. we laughed)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

http://www.redstate.com/blogs/troll/2006/nov/04/it_was_painful_and_yet_gratifying_gotv_story

[Nimrod2005]

1. I have to agree, they are screwed....nt

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. To be honest, that sums up my typical experience w/phone banking

I do find it funny that this guy has never done something like that before. I think the much vaunted GOP volunteer GOTV efforts are largely mythical. They rely on robo calls, paid petitioners, and churches.

I also think phone banking is largely a waste of time. Not a popular view but that's my observation. :hide:

[Epiphany4z]

9. I did some

ealier here in ohio...a couple of things that I think where important....often we didn't get a live person on the other line...in leaving a message we were able to let them know they could vote 3 ways this year...absentee, early or at the polls and to remind them to bring there ID.

the other thing I think it may have helped with ..was reaching some who where still so upset with 2004 that they where discoraged...I had some really wonderful conversations ..and who knows ..maybe one or 2 of them went out and voted. I also talked to a few republicans...who sounded a bit shaky about voting dem...I look at this way...every drop helps fill the bucket.

[fuzzyball]

16. His experience pretty much mirrors my own....

In the few instances when I had the right party on phone line,
many told me it was "none of my business whom they would vote for".

It was very frustrating to say the least.

[SouthernBelle82]

17. Bingo

I was watching recently the film "So Goes the Nation" on Ohio 2004 and I do think it's a big myth too. At one point they showed (the movie is a documentary on Ohio 2004 and GOTV from both party's) they showed the republicans at their phone banking station and people calling and they hardly had anybody out on the street. If they have this great big amazing GOTV effort why aren't they working on that now? Now they seem very scrambly and it's hard for me to believe that only two years later things would change so much. :shrug:

[aquart]

3. Not that dissimilar to MoveOn. Org. lists.

Calling is slogging work and most of the calls don't connect to a person.

I guess he thought each call would be to someone waiting by the phone for his persuasive rhetoric.

[Me.]

6. Right

Over 200 attempts has given me 45 contacts (actual people talked to). It's a slog and why it takes a lot of people if it is to be successful. The numbers we are seeing from MoveOn are the numbers of actual people reached, which is phenomenal.

*shadow government*

[JNelson6563]

12. Somewhat better here

In MI our state party has a data base that gets updated from time to time. The more effective a local party is at getting data and entering it all, the better the data base. It's an exellent tool and one of the many reasons I whole-heartedly support Dean's 50 state effort.

Julie

[sandnsea]

19. Depends when you call

Saturday morning is the absolute best, I got a lot of connects yesterday. And around 7 in the evening, seems to me. But yeah, it's mind-numbing work.

I'm kind of thinking about signing up for THEIR list, particularly if I can ask for a state, I lived in Montana for 15 years. Whaddya think??

[tridim]

4. Great work Rove

Better start working out dude, you're going to need it in prison.

[skids]

5. But but I thought they were microtragetted finely honed lists?

I guess "gop.com" doesn't have the much vaunted list that even tells you who owns a snowmobile. :rofl:

[Epiphany4z]

7. I think I may have better luck on dem side

we have called indys and even some republican areas...I got more than a handful telling me they voted repug last time but not this time. Or that they would be voting for at least a couple of the Dems. Meanwhile Dems are often telling me they are voting a strait ticket.

[Straight Shooter]

8. "you do get to accidentally spit on people ..."

Looks like bush and cheney are this freeper's role models. Except bush and cheney do it on purpose.

[Auntie Bush]

10. Frankly, I think that saying GOTV is the

reason the Thugs won is a crock! They use it to explain why they won in 2004 and will again in 2006...when the real reason they won is because of voter fraud. They need something to explain the sudden switch in the polls. They are all a bunch of crooks! Now they will use Saddam the same way. I'm going to be sick to my stomach if people change their vote because Saddam is found guilty. How does that make us safer or make bush or Rethugs any better or forgiven for all their sins?

[aquart]

13. Saddam? Is anyone interested in Saddam?

I think not.

[ima_sinnic]

11. I keep hoping a reep will call me

... so far all I've gotten is a recorded message from Bob Graham.
This guy would have something a little more exciting to add to his list if he would just CALL ME! :evilgrin:

[Rosemary2205]

14. Political telemarketers suck.

No they don't HAVE to check the do not list -- but they should. Phone banking doesn't work because people DO NOT WANT CALLS. They don't care if you are selling vinyl siding or Harold Ford. These calls are a nuisance to 99% of recipients.

[Bouncy Ball]

15. How is he spitting on people if he's on the phone?

[truthisfreedom]

18. a LOT of landlines have been disconnected since cell phones increased

in popularity. many of my friends no longer pay for land lines or have purchased Vonage service... lots of phone numbers disappeared or were changed over the last few years.