Is GOP paying callers?

[thereismore]

I was listening to C-Span on my XM radio this AM when I heard this nutjob call in saying "When this Katrina nonsense is over", implying dems are politicizing it, I switched the channel to AAR, Jerry Springer. In a few minutes, the same voice calls in saying "When this Katrina nonsense is over, mayor Negin will be gone, Blanco will be gone, and we will be looking at how `this man' has reshaped the Middle East." I had a deja-vu, but it wasn't a deja-vu, it was the same crazy caller. Is somebody paying these people to call TV and radio shows to plant their propaganda?

[Pharaoh]

1. Yes I've been thinking the same thing

for some time now,

it certainly is their modus operandi

[Liberty Belle]

2. kick!

[PatrioticLeftie]

3. Wouldn't put it past them

But somehow I think it's the willingly ignorant calling.

[Bob3]

9. yes but using the exact same phrase?

That would tend to arouse suspicions of an astro turf calling program. You can't put it past them. There is alas, little you can put past them. It would be sure as hell worth checking out.

[PatrioticLeftie]

14. I don't listen to much radio

I believe they would and have done on many (if not several) occasions, but I think a slim majority are Bushbots.

[seeminer21]

4. Probably

I think there are operatives on all sides, though. I suspect most letters to the editor in newspapers are phony as well.

[benburch]

5. YES...

I have observed this for years. However, I believe it is actually the RW "Think Tanks" that put the callers out there. They carry the GOPs water so it won't look bad if they get called out on it.

[guidod]

70. The GOPee'ers are like a giant

machine. They all have the same talking points and are in lock-step with each other. My wifes family is all republican and it's like watchng a bunch of clones. None of them are separate individuals. I'm surprised they don't dress alike. I've been with her for 42 years and I've never seen one of them disagree with another.

[AntiCoup2K4]

6. Shit, there's one guy calling Mike Malloy at least twice a week....

..the stupid ass uses the same script everytime. And since he always starts with a personal insult, Mike usually cuts him off after about 10 seconds.

You better believe these morons are on a script.

But then take a look at the DLC interns here. Right wingers all use the same tactics, no matter what they call themselves.

[bvar22]

25. *

:party:
:patriot:


The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

In EVERY case, "Barriers to Trade" and "Restrictions on Corporations" were created to protect something valuable!


"NAFTA, CAFTA, SHAFTA----Stephanie Tubbs-Jones

[stevedeshazer]

7. I believe so

There are some serial callers out there. You hear the same ones on Bennett's show, Limbaugh and Hannity, too.

[sam sarrha]

8. those Morans work for free... and proud of it

[1gobluedem]

10. A lot of special interest groups hire professional callers

I was listening to the Diane Ream show once when a caller chided her for falling for one of these professional callers. Apparently, it's a fairly common practice especially among right wingers.

[mazzarro]

36. There Is A Strong Likelihood People Are Paid To Do This

Too much persistence and consistency of right-wing message point to more than coincidence that strong believers in the right-wing propaganda make these calls. These idiots must have been in the pay of some organization to completely forgo their senses and reasoning. Afterall, the administration has been paying all sorts of media people and organizations to propagandize on their behalf on all manner of issues. How much leap will it be for them to funnel money to some apparatus to pay individuals to call talk-shows?

[barbaraann]

11. An indicator--

Whenever there is a live event with real people, for example the rally in D.C. to counter the anti-war rally a couple of months ago, there are very, very few rightwingers. When I see local rallies, there are always very few rightwingers as well. But when they can call in or post anonymously and without showing their faces, they seem to be numerous.

Republicans have to pay for support, IMHO.

[Old and In the Way]

75. I agree....there is no critical mass of people motivated to support

this administration via public demonstration. Hell, I never saw the size of the crowds that rallied for Bush in 2004...always close-ups of Bush, never the crowd. What if the whole "Republican Party" is a myth? That the actual supporters are a fraction as to what's reported? With a Republican compliant mass media, how would we really know?

[barbaraann]

77. Wow. What a thought.

A Potemkin Political Party! I could believe it.

[sam sarrha]

12. it actually sounds like Rove is writing the Script

[napi21]

13. I don't know about "paying" them, but I have read, many times,

that the Pubs have a group of people they provide the "daily talking points" to, and they are committed to calling WJ, and other talk shows, just to further the Pub cause.

I have no proof, but I believe it's true.

[Nickster]

21. Check this out, I think this is what you're talking about.

All they have to do is print out the list and they have talking points right next to it. It's all on the RNC site.

http://www.gop.com/GetActive/CallTalkRadio.aspx

[newblewtoo]

30. WOW !!! Do the Dem's have anything similar?? n/t

[iconoclastNYC]

32. And where is the DNC equivilant?

Does it even exist?

There is technological arms race between the two parties and the DNC is about 5 years behind IMHO.

[rinsd]

39. The DNC has something similar for LTTEs...

http://www.democrats.org/page/speakout/letterstoeditors

[formercia]

40. Perhaps we should use the same list and tell them what we said.

They might not like it but it might make it fair and balanced.

It's nice having the 800 numbers. Is this a RNC perk?

[underpants]

45. *No one remembers the BLAST FAX?????

They used to blast fax out talking points in the early 90's. Basically the days water cooler talking points and talk radio info. Someone sued over it coming in on their business fax and so it was ruled that they had to stop-remember the cruise offers that used to come in all day? . Now they just have massive email lists and phone/email trees (each person calls three people-that way you don't GET 18 calls just one) which they used for the campaigns too.

[AntiCoup2K4]

47. But that's just a list of the right wing talk shows

Clearly these Busheep are calling Air America on script as well. Wonder why the GOP doesn't have numbers for Jerry Springer, Randi Rhodes, and Mike Malloy on their list? ;)

[baldguy]

64. Every talk show host should look at this every day.

Its nothing but one-sided propaganda, and should be exposed as such for all to see.

[Nickster]

72. I know Randi Rhodes does, she's where I heard about this from. n/t

[stepnw1f]

15. GOP Paying Hacks to Call Up C-SPAN

and radio shows. They are all fluff.

[bluerum]

16. Of course they are. They are paying the show hosts and the

media owners too.

They own the media.

[Dongfang Hong]

17. They don't need to pay them.

I'm sure plenty of people are more than willing to volunteer,

[Twillig]

18. Some radio call in show callers are batshit crazy to get themselves heard.

God help me, but I listen to a lot of Sports talk radio, it's the
same thing there. People wait hours to get their stupid point in, and then
several hours later will do it again with a different host.


I do think it's part of the crazy mistaken mentality of the fans of some team,
or a political party that the callers consider themselves to be doing their
bit for "the team"

'Necks People put vulgar Ford v. Chevy stickers on their trucks/cars in this country after all.

Anyway, I don't think they're paid, why pay 'em when they will do it for free and at their own cost?

[rinsd]

66. Great analogy to Sports Talk radio....

...I see it much the same way.

[Blue Belle]

19. I wouldn't be suprised....

They paid "journalists" such as Armstrong Williams to shill for them... why wouldn't they pay callers to reiterate the right wing talking points to left wing talk show hosts?

On that note... does anyone else thing its interesting how the Armstrong Williams story just conveniently goes away?

[Arkansas Granny]

23. There are a lot of stories that seem to just "go away". I don't

know if they are really gone or if there is such a long list of these stories connected with underhanded dealings by the Bush administration that only the most notable get long term coverage. It seems like every week there is some other issue that everyone pounces on and some of the older issues fall by the wayside. It's really hard for me to keep track of everything from Iraq, torture, spying, leaks, propaganda, etc. There is so much corruption in this administration to sort out that it's easy to just be overwhelmed with the scope of it.

[Ron Mexico]

20. Of course, and this is old news.

People stand by to make calls on GOP command, go to protests on command and so on. The way to ferret them out is to listen for keywords and phrases repeated VERBATIM by Shrub, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc.

Don't think for a moment that our side doesn't do the same. If I were in charge of the DNC, I'd have someone standing by to pepper shows with calls sounding exactly like those Savage or Hannity - you know, loud, ranting, one-dimensional assholes. You can't get better publicity for our side than to have them be heard.

[Neil Lisst]

22. Paid? Maybe. Organized and coached? Definitely.

It's the Talking Points network, and the pukes use them.

[Crazy Dave]

24. The real tragedy won't ever be over for some victim's lifetimes...

As far as the politicians go, it's not on the front pages anymore so it's not a good publicity stunt or photo opp.

Not until 2006.

[leftofthedial]

26. it's repuke staff

they have an organized, well-funded undercover marketing program calling talk shows, phone-in shows, astroturfing LTTEs and the like.

because almost all are staff, our tax dollars fund most of this effort.

[Crazy Dave]

28. How about the....

"I used to be a liberal till they started opposing the war and started calling the president names."

I hear those about three times a week.

[moondust]

27. I think they are organized.

They probably wouldn't have to pay a lot of their nutbags to do it. I have suspected for a while now that somebody like the RNC has a program organized whereby the team at RNC hears the TV/radio question and then uses Instant Messenger or e-mail to flood their trained callers around the country with talking points to call in.

Yes, it's about planting propaganda.

Who knows, maybe Brian Lamb and other hosts are feeding them the questions in advance??

[bvar22]

29. I would be surprised if they don't.

The Repubs (and the DLC) have all the resources of Corporate America to "Catapult their Propaganda". They (CorpoAmerica PR Firms) have been paying operatives to simulate (and stimulate) "grassroots" support for their products since the Saint Ronnie years. They pay operatives to haunt Discos and coffee shops to "drink their product" and Play their new games in public places. They even have enitre scripted "man on the street" interviews, and script "phoney" news events that make it on to the 6PM local news. EVERYONE is paid.

The DLC "propaganda catapulters" who haunt this board work way too hard to be doing it for free.
They also don't seem to have other jobs.

[iconoclastNYC]

31. I don't think they leave anything to chance

The factions that control the GOP are the most efficient Fascists in history, I don't think they leave any to chance.

[adigal]

33. IF they are, they need to get their $$ back

because the callers sound like they are completely separated from reality.

[zbdent]

34. It's amazing what you can get

for a loofah . . .

[TheFarseer]

35. I think it's just ditto heads that have the talking points down

They mostly all say the same thing. Once in a while, you'll get someone that says something like, "I was over in Iraq" or "I ran a small business" or "I'm in the health care industry" "and I know George Bush is exactly right about this" Maybe those people are professionals. 90% of the time when a democrat calls a talk show, they sound like they hadn't even thought about what they were going to say and pretty much the rest of the time, they get cut off by the host, bullied or censored so as not to introduce any kind of dissenting thought into the conversation. Personally, I'd never call one of these shows because I don't want to get edited to sound like a moron.

[NoAmericanTaliban]

37. I'm %100 behind Bush...

is something I heard over & over from callers on CSPAN. Definetly lock-step talking points. Not sure they were paid, but it wouldn't surprise me. Don't hear that as much now a days. Maybe people are wising up.

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

38. Was it Ed?

Jerry has a regular on his show named Ed. I don't know their history or relationship, but this guy must be Jerry's resident nutcase. He calls in, they exchange nice pleasantries, then Ed becomes unglued and flies off the handle. Ed is a textbook example of a right-wing wacko. I've sometimes wondered if he's an actor Jerry hires to spice up his show. Now you got me wondering if he's a hired GOP gun, or has no life and calls in these shows for fun.

[Hello_Kitty]

42. Wouldn't put it past Jerry! LOL! n/t

[thereismore]

63. I think so!!! nt

[Hello_Kitty]

41. If they are why do they sound like such idiots?

Do they pull random people off the unemployment line and hand them scripts or something?

[slampoet]

43. i first encountered GOP paying off protesters with beer in 1992

A huge contingent of BUSH the 1st supporters arrived stone drunk and proceeded to try to start fights in order to get bad publicity for a Hillary appearence. I informed the national staff and they said that it had happened in every town during the tour. Now since using alcohol to influence votes is a federal crime dating back to before the Constitution was signed, I thought there would be an investigation but the Catholic College stonewalled (it was one of their staff that was the Beer/BUSH pusher). So now we have banks of professional script callers.

Shame on C-Span for not having a single call screener with a fraction of the skill an unpaid intern would have.

[EVDebs]

44. CNN and PsyOps

Was an article from 2000 that shows the lengths they'll go to. BTW, PsyOps is paid for with taxpayer money, right ?

www.counterpunch.org/cnnpsyops.html

[Al-CIAda]

46. Phone banks of paid staff and activist/operatives.

[youngred]

48. I'd bet not

there are enough kool-aid drinkers out there that I believe some truly believe the BS that's non-stop spouted.

[FormerDittoHead]

49. They pay REPORTERS, why hesitate to pay talk show callers too?

I esp liked Washington Journal this morning. On one side you have the Cato Institute, and on the other side you have the American Enterprise Institute, for balance.

[enough already]

50. This is all part of Rove's plan

I don't if/how much these pigs are being paid, but it's obviously not a coincidence.

[Kickin_Donkey]

51. It wouldn't surprise me ...

The whole * Bush administration and the right-wing are a Potemkin village held up by propaganda and staged events.

Witness:

-- The rent-a-mob protest of GOP aides in Palm Beach, Florida, after Selection 2000.
-- Copies of books by Hannity, Coulter, Savage, O'Reilly, etc., being bought in bulk by right-wing benefactors to pump up sales numbers so they can make the N.Y. Times best-seller list.
-- The phony newscasts the administration produced.
-- The pig farm in Crawford.
-- The administration paying columnist Armstrong Williams to back its (education?) policy.
-- Soldiers in Iraq being told or ordered to write letters to the editor in their local papers back home in support of the war.
-- Phony journalists at White House press conferences like Guckert.
-- The fake turkeys used during Bush's visit to Iraq on Thanksgiving.
-- The astroturf LTTE campaigns to newspapers across the country.
-- Audiences for Dennis Miller's MSNBC show being paid to attend.

These examples of the right-wing rigging the game are just off the top of my head. I'm not even getting into their "backing" from Diebold, "the new Pearl Harbor" on September 11, 2001, or the fact that they control the MSM.

Paying callers to talk shows? That's small change in the GOP's world.

[AtomicKitten]

52. they are parrots mimicking Limbaugh, Hannity, etc.

Empty-headed parrots repeating GOP rhetoric. Squawk!

[butterfly77]

53. Yes ! Especially on Bill Bennett

and some of their other shows you can tell they are leading the witness , I mean caller to speak on particular points for the unsuspecting listener who happens to tune in. On C-span they always have the same talking points and they really get angry if some one calls on the repug line and says they disagree with bushie.

[wishlist]

54. There are many of them on internet also such as right here on DU

It was quite evident to me during the 2004 Presidential campaign that a number of internet posters were paid professionals spreading the Repub talking points.

[AntiCoup2K4]

55. They're still here

Haven't you ever seen the Benchwarmer?

[Zodiak]

57. that's Mr Benchwarmer to you, buddy n/t

[jonnyblitz]

59. well, whoever is paying ain't getting their money's worth

and should ask for a refund on that one. the policing of threads with repetitive ad homeniem attacks isn't very convincing...if that is the whole point.

just saying..:P

[Zodiak]

56. As much as I do not want to agree with you

I have to concur. My ignored list doesn't have many people on it, but those that do inhabit it are VERY, VERY prolific, often posting 25-30 times on a single thread (they all are marked by their repetition of the words "far left" without any definnition of the term)...and they usually do 10 threads a day, half of which they initiate themselves (so they can frame the issue themselves and bury the original thread).

I know we aren't supposed to accuse people of being moles, but I wonder......does that policy also insure that "moles" (if they indeed exist) will never be outed?

[AtomicKitten]

58. what does burying a thread mean exactly? n/t

[Neil Lisst]

61. It means to start a similar topic thread, then hit it repeatedly

The result is to keep it UP while the original thread gets buried as readers address the first thread they see at the top of the page.

I think part of it is the holidays. That makes regular readership drop off, but it increases the time and opportunity for anyone who wants to disrupt or infiltrate. It is my feeling that there is an organized effort to get Freepers safely inside DU. I feel that some are here to undermine in subtle ways, by stirring up trouble, by being excessive, and by causing people here to doubt others.

Many of the freepers are psychologically unfit, and have time on their hands. They invest untold hours trying to "get back at" anyone who displeases them. This is one of the few places on the web they can't get past the entry and moderating barriers. They're modern day brownshirts, cyberthugs who would have fit into 1928 Germany just fine.

[rinsd]

67. Why pay them? They would do it for free. (nt)

[AtomicKitten]

74. we hear it now with the ridiculous slams on some Democrats

The GOP may as well be in cahoots with the so-called "far left" because they often use the same talking points. Hell, they'll probably finance them just like they did Nader in their mutual attempt to destroy the Democratic Party.

[OneTwentyoNine]

60. Pay?!? Hell those nutcase's will run over grave crosses for FREE..

You don't have to pay those idiots a dime,they'll do anything and everything their leaders and fatasses on talk radio ask them to do.

[OnionPatch]

62. Are you kidding???

The trick to figuring out what they will do is this. Answer the two following questions:

Will it help them if they do it?
Can they do it?

If both answers are yes, then there is no doubt they are doing it.

[ddeclue]

65. C-SPAN does "he said - she said" callers...

The do one from each party and there are plenty enough callers to keep the GOP lines full. If ever the day comes where all the callers are on our side in this format, that'll be the day Bush is doing the "perp walk" and even THEN, they'll probably be plenty of he said she said callers to complain about how poor George has been mistreated by the press.

Doug D.

[NativeTexan]

68. Hey, they paid for.....

.....newspaper columns.....it would be the next logical step...

[Julius Civitatus]

69. Nothing is beneath the GOP - n/t

[Catherine Vincent]

71. Yes, they do.

Sheep is cheap nowadays.

[AtomicKitten]

73. I think the freepers take their talking points de jour

from the so-called conservative talking heads. It is true that their rhetoric is not only similar but the same. I think they believe if they say it often enough, it will be rendered true.

[johnnyrocket]

76. Absolutely! These paid callers are talking point heavy...

...and not genuine, they certainly don't sound off the cuff. Another illusion of the GOP machine.

[yellowdogmi]

78. I would like

to see the DNC fight fire with fire. I am sure that there are enough people that believe in our cause that we would not have to pay them. I think that part of the problem is a lack of discipline especially when it comes to staying on message. I hate to concede anything to my sworn enemies but they are very good at that. How about a thread for volunteers. We seem to be able to counter their poll freeping. I would also suggest that we attack search engines. I know on some of the sites I visit they show what other people are searching for. If we fill that with words like impeachment or the house resolution by Mr. Conyers this will show up on other peoples screens. Might make them curious. Yes I have too much time on my hands but I am so appalled by this administration I want to subvert any process that I can. Who is in? Any other good ideas.

:evilgrin: