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The Robos Are Here: The Worst Political Robocall (and Weirdest) of The Year
Thursday, January 1, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
CONTACT:
SHAUN DAKIN. 703 201
1146
Washington, DC: January 1st,
2009. John McCain and Robert Morrow
(Anti-Hillary Robocalls) win the first annual
Robos!, The People's Choice for the Worst and
Weirdest Political Robocalls of the
Year.
The National Political Do Not
Contact Registry - StopPoliticalCalls.org -
announced today the winners of the first annual
Robos!, The Worst and Weirdest Political
Robocalls of the Year. After almost
10,000 votes were cast online, the verdict is
in for the year's worst and weirdest
robocalls.
With a slate of eight
robocalls for the Worst Robocall category and
five for the weirdest there were clear winners
in the People's Choice
Robos!
- The Worst Robocall: John McCain - Domestic Terrorist, Bill Ayers.
- The Weirdest Robocall: Robert Morrow - Anti Hillary Robo calls in SC - Hillary Treats People Like They are Invisible.
The Worst Robocall - John McCain - Domestic Terrorist, Bill Ayers.
At 30% of the overall vote, this was the clear winner. This was the call that really got the McCain campaign on the map, at least regarding robocalls. News outlets picked up on the negative tone of the robocall and played it over and over again, particularly the cable outlets. Colin Powell specifically called out John McCain over robocalls and it was probably this one he was referring to when he endorsed Obama on Meet the Press. McCain had to defend the use of robocalls in interview after interview. Saturday Night Live created a character on Weekend Update called Robocall.
Paid for:
McCain / Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee
Transcript:
"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500."
Audio at--> http://stoppoliticalcalls.org/ht/d/DoSurvey/i/249625
The Runner's Up: (Click for more information about these calls including audio) -Audio at--> http://stoppoliticalcalls.org/ht/d/DoSurvey/i/249625
- Dole for US. Senate - Godless
- John McCain - Cling to our Guns because bitter
- Rev. Wright Robo call - NewModelsUSA.org
- Obama - Joe The Plumber
- Unknown - Purportedly from Republican Senate candidate and current state Rep. Mick Mulvaney
- John McCain - Castro Prefers Obama (Spanish)
- Obama - McCain is a disaster for the Middle Class
The Weirdest Robocall: Robert Morrow - Anti Hillary Robo calls in SC - Hillary Treats People Like They are Invisible.
At 33% of the overall vote this was a surprise, as this robocall did not receive the same national attention some of the other calls did in this category. Most robocalls are conducted by campaigns, PACS, Unions, or political parties. Few people know that just about anyone can send robocalls to just about anyone else, as long as they are considered one of the three exempt entities that are allowed to make robocalls in the USA. These are political calls, charity calls, and market research calls. Robert Morrow claims that he made these calls alone and with no coordination with any outside group.
Paid for:
Robert Morrow. Citizen. Conducted during the primaries in South Carolina.
Transcript:
“Hello. FBI agent Gary Aldrich says that Hillary on Inauguration Day, 1993 was in an uncontrolled and unbridled fury, yelling and screaming profanities, because she was not allowed to have Vice President Al Gore’s office in the White House. Hillary treats people like they are invisible; can you trust her?
Hillary knew about and helped cover up Bill’s rape of Juanita Broaddrick. Hillary treats women like they are invisible; can you trust her?
Hillary hired Jack Palladino to run a terror campaign on Kathleen Willey to keep her quiet about what Bill had done to her. They nail gunned her car tires and stole or killed her pet cat named Bullseye. Hillary thinks cats are expendable; can you trust her?
After Bill pulled down his britches and EXPOSED himself to Paula Jones, Hillary’s friend James Carville said “Drag a hundred dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find.” Hillary treats women like they are invisible, can you trust her?
Hillary told TIME Magazine in June, 1996, that she was thinking about adopting a child, despite the fact Bill was having an affair with Monica and Hillary knew he had a whole harem in the White House. Hillary was having her own affairs with Vince Foster, probably Webb Hubbell and even others. Hillary makes up fairy tales about adopting an orphan child, can you trust her?
This message is from Robert Morrow on behalf of everyone who has been violated and abused by Hillary and Bill – treated like they were invisible. Hillary sure does say a lot of things, doesn’t she - but can you trust her?”
Audio at--> http://stoppoliticalcalls.org/ht/d/DoSurvey/i/249625
The Runner's Up: (Click for more information about these calls including audio) Audio at--> http://stoppoliticalcalls.org/ht/d/DoSurvey/i/249625
- Minnesota Family Council talking to kids about sex without their parents' permission
- Zane Starkwolf for Congress – Sexy Robocall
- Unknown - Suspected - Republican Senate candidate Rep. Mick Mulvaney
- Scarlett Johansson for Obama
About The National Political Do Not Contact Registry (StopPoliticalCalls.org)
StopPoliticalCalls.org is the only non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States that advocates for the privacy of voters. Specifically we advocate for:
- The addition of Political Calls to the Federal and State Do Not Call Registries. Today, political calls are exempt from most do not call regulations. With the exception of Indiana, there are few states that regulate political robocalls.
- Politicians to stop calling, particularly robo calling, voters who are on the National Do Not Call Registry run by the FTC. The registry has over 160 million phone numbers to date and most citizens sign up to stop all phone calls, not simply commercial telemarketing.
- Politicians to take a "Do Not Robocall" pledge and to agree to either A) stop robocalls completely or B) stop robocalls to those voters who sign up at StopPoliticalCalls.org and provide their phone numbers with that intent.
- The passage of the Robocall Privacy Act (Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) sponsor) in which the worst abuses of robocalls would be regulated at the federal level.
- The enforcement of existing laws at the state and federal level around robocalls. For example, CA has a robocall ban in the state, but it is not enforced by the enforcing authority. On the other hand, Indiana has a similar law that has been enforced to data by Steve Carter, the IN AG.
