Repubs Calling Skype VOIP users!

[StraightDope]

I haven't had a landline for a number of years. With cellphones just as cheap, or cheaper, who needs one? Thus, I'm spared the endless barrage of telemarketing, pollsters, and political entreaties. Or, at least I thought I was until about 5 minutes ago.

I use Skype, because it's cheap, reliable, and convenient when I need to talk to a friend who lives far away. I have friends who live in Japan, South Korea, Czech Republic, etc. I couldn't afford to keep in touch in any other way, aside from e-mail, but what fun is that? Anyway, I leave Skype running in the background most of the time. I had just gotten back from the store, and when I walked in, I heard a phone ringing. I thought, "How odd! I have no phone..." and then I realized that it was Skype. I answered, and a user with the name "Anonymous-853" connected, and said, "Hello, sir! Are you registered to vote?"

I replied in the affirmative, to which he said, "Have you voted yet?"

"No."

"Well then, I just thought that you should be aware of where the Democrats stand on a number of important issues." Thinking that this was a fellow Dem, I decided to see how well he could explain Democratic positions, and offer some pointers so that his GOTV efforts might be more productive... Boy, was I wrong!

"OK, tell me what the Democratic party is all about."

"Democrats want the terrorists to win in Iraq, they want to legalize gay marriage, bestiality and child-molestation, they want to continue the slaughter of the unborn through abortion, they want to make firearm ownership by anyone other than the police and military illegal, and worst of all, a Democrat congressman was caught sending sexually explicit messages to underaged male House pages."

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I decided to play along. "Wait a second... I thought that that Congressman was a Republican.

"No sir, he was a Democrat."

"Well, I'll be! I'm glad you're getting the truth out. Are you from here in WV? Are you making a lot of these Skype calls?"

"Well sir, I'm in Virginia, just outside of Washington, and yes, we volunteers will be making lots of these calls tonight and early tomorrow."

"Well then, how did you get my contact information? I don't donate to any political parties or other causes..."

"We're calling everyone who is listed as an American on Skype."

"That's interesting. By the way, do you have any contact information? I'd like to check out some of your claims and get back to you."

"Unfortunately, we're going to be too busy to handle citizen inquiries, so I can't give you a call-back number."

"That's OK, I didn't think you could. By the way, I'm a Democrat, and I happen to know that you're grossly distorting Democratic positions, and I also know that Mark Foley was a Republican."

He hung up. No surprise there.

So, DU, has anybody else gotten a random call through VOIP, Skype or otherwise? Also, does anybody know about the legality of political campaigning through the internet, particularly when said campaigning involves wholsale making shit up about your opponents, and outright lies as to a member of Congress' political affiliation?

[spuddonna]

1. Wow... just wow!

How the hell did they get your number??!!

I have not heard of any cell/VOIP getting hammered this way. And this:"We're calling everyone who is listed as an American on Skype." wtf?!

Off to take a look at Skype...

[Gman]

2. All part of the GOP 72 hour push

not only are they working on their own GOTV, they work on STV or suppress the vote.

[gully]

8. It seems this is the KEY part. They do it every election. They did it to

McCain as well. F-ers.

[LTR]

3. Just sick, Just. Plain. Sick.

Trying to pass Foley off as a Dem?

:wtf:

Now that's scraping the bottom of the barrel! They're done! Stick a fork in 'em!

BTW: Does Skype have a caller ID feature, so you have the number that called? If so, run it through a reverse lookup.

[mike_c]

6. VONAGE has caller ID but the robocalls I got were ID'd...

...as "Unknown Sender." Evidently they block their numbers from caller ID.

[StraightDope]

10. They found me via my uername, not #...

Skype is like AOL Instant messenger, but with voice. You have a user name, the other person has a user name, etc. thus no caller ID like a traditional phone. I tried calling Mr. Anonymous back, no one answered.

To be fair, *I* was the one who mentioned Foley by name. Mr. Assface only referred to an unnamed Democratic Congresscritter. Of course, I'm splitting hairs, but I want to be clear on the details.

[LTR]

11. Still playing the Studds angle, huh?

Okay, we get to use Nixon, Agnew, McCarthy and Harding!

Fair enough.

[mike_c]

4. I got two this weekend on VONAGE-- the only unsolicited calls...

...I've gotten in the three years that VOIP has been my only phone service.

[StraightDope]

12. Indeed...

I didn't think that they'd limit themselves to Skype. I wonder how they got your number?

[magellan]

5. Lies are all the Repugs have, they can't run on the truth and win

But I wish we'd tighten up our campaign laws to stop this kind of treachery. Dishonest ads, flyers and phone/VOIP calls definitely affect the vote and should be outlawed. An independent group needs to be given power to oversee this like in other countries, seeing as we obviously can't rely on politicians and their campaign staffs to monitor themselves. And there should be an outright ban on such communications the week preceding elections.

[Gregorian]

7. Repubs rely on ignorance.

I just heard a cspan caller-

"Democrats are weak on crime. The world knows that BUSH is a STRONG leader..."

Then I puked. These are the idiots who are going to buy into this scam.

I am enraged by this bullshit. From other posts here, I believe this is an criminal activity.


I'd have done a *69 to get the phone number. We'll get them.

[StraightDope]

13. Ignorance is Strength.

War is Peace. We have always been at war with Oceania.

Eric Blair, you saw the future, I swear it. This prole can believe no less.

[Erechtheides]

9. ugh

:kick:

[C_U_L8R]

14. Our VOIP was dog slow today

Damn republicans gumming up the net with their spam

[StraightDope]

15. I'm guessing that the GOP GOTV blitz...

Is responsible for the degradation in service.

[smalll]

16. It's only fair -

if average, real people with real, average phones can be subjected to that kind of crap from the Repubs, why the hell should techno-elite types (with your "skype" and your "voip" and what have you) be immune?

Hey, you can tell all your "friends who live in Japan, South Korea, Czech Republic, etc." (and etc. and etc, I'm sure) that you got a taste today of how the other half lives.

Can I get you a straw for your latte with gold-leaf topping? So you can, you know like, suck it up?

[Canadian Socialist]

17. I think you forgot something...

:sarcasm:
Just as a side note, I use Skype because it's free within Canada and the U.S. to landlines, as well as free skype-to-skype around the world (at least until the end of the year, iirc). And I'm certainly not an "elite"...

[StraightDope]

18. Cheerfully Removed...

Posted incorrectly in response.

[Canadian Socialist]

20. You weren't talking to me, were you? eom

[StraightDope]

21. No, sorry.

I was talking to smalll, with the three "L"s.

:rofl:

[magellan]

19. Great nickname

What does it refer to, your brain size or the part you overcompensate for with your big mouth?

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[malaise]

23. Great handle

You'll be feeling the same way tomorrow this time.

[BlueEyedSon]

24. The republicans want the terrorists to win here in the US.

The R's are doing everything in their power to eliminate personal constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, destroy the stability of the US economy and keep Osama B L alive and free.