Big Union Robocall Hammers McCain For "Getting Rid Of The Rules For The Fatcats On Wall Street"

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

(Talking Points Memo)

Click here for the story and audio.

By Greg Sargent.

Looks like Obama's big labor backers are entering the robocall game, too, as a way of keeping up the economic assault on John McCain in the swing states.

Working America, an arm of the AFL-CIO, is out with a new robo in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan that slams McCain as a "disaster for the middle class" who has gone out of his way to "get rid of the rules for the fatcats on Wall Street."

Here's audio:

Script:

Hi, this is Sue with an important message from Working America about the current economic crisis. You should have just received a piece of mail from us, explaining how Republican Sen. John McCain's economic policies have been a disaster for the middle class. John McCain has gotten us into this economic crisis. He supported sending our jobs overseas, and he supported getting rid of the rules for the fatcats on Wall Street. In the meantime, he has done nothing to help struggling families on Main Street. Now he wants to continue the same falied policies. Working families can't afford four more years of this. Please join me in voting against John McCain on Nov. 4. Thank you for your time.

An AFL-CIO official confirmed the call is genuine. (Via the National Political Do Not Call Registry)

Late Update: Working America executive director Karen Nussbaum says there are roughly half a million calls going out primarily to households in those four states. She says the calls are only going to Working America members, who signed up with the group to "get information about economic issues."

That these recipients of the calls are Working America members, of course, doesn't change the fact that these are potentially undecided swing voters who are getting automated calls, just as the recipients of McCain's calls are. But Nussbaum rejects the idea that these are in any way comparable to McCain's robocalls, which she blasted as "attack robocalls" filled with "innuendo."