Need help "DUing" Ari Fleischer's propaganda push-freedomswatch.org

[mirrera]

I am in Maine and we are getting hit hard with these commercials selling the occupation using wounded vets. If you haven't seen them you can watch them on the site which I do not want to link to. The 15 million dollar ad campaign is targeting Republicans who may be wavering like my senator, Olympia Snowe. What they do is tell you to call your congress person and tell them not to cut and run. They give a phone number.

Here is the rub; when you call you are asked "Do you believe surrender in Iraq will increase the terror threat to America?" If you say yes to their questions you get through to your congress person. If you engage them and disagree they say thank you and hang up. They really do hate democracy!

Capitolhillblue gives a quick overview ( http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/3226) however I disagree with what they ask us to do. They say call up and straighten out the robot like people who answer the phone. That does nothing.

Here is what I did. I knew from the Randi Rhodes show that I would not get through by confronting them and I wanted to see how they worked. I called and acted like I agreed with everything. They ask you if you would like to speak to your congress person and I said yes please.

When I got through to my congress person's answering machine I told her how I got through and how disgraceful that she would have loyalty to a president and a party over our country. I told her she was going to get all these phone calls from people in support of the occupation because everyone else gets disconnected. I spoke my mind and then I called the number again. I wanted to make sure it was true they would hang up. I called back and was asked the same question. This time I acted confused and asked them to repeat the question about 3 different ways so that I could write it down. I said that they were really confusing me and that I just didn't understand how having our troops home would put us in danger. Then I said that I was actually more afraid that my own government was putting me in danger. Abruptly the person said "thank you" and hung up. No engagement. Fun messing around, but a waste of time.



Here is the action I would love DUers to do:
Call this "Freedoms Watch", answer yes to their questions so you don't get hung up on, and use them to get to their targeted Congress person and speak your mind. Let them know that once again the GOP is trying to make the minority appear like the majority. They are the proverbial bully in the playground afraid of a fair fight. If you want to call back and try and engage the phone people after that, it is up to you.

Please let me know what happens. This group scares me. They are truly the war mongers, who want to "create reality" while we stay in our fact based world.

here is the number 1-877-222-8001

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Don't forget THEY are paying for the call

:evilgrin:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. I hope they pay through the nose, the ears, the mouth, the rectum

and any other handy hole they might have.

[calimary]

2. Excellent battle tactic!

Sometimes we have to infiltrate a little.

And yes, THEY'RE paying for the call.

[mirrera]

3. Easy Armchair Activism ;0) need numbers to have an effect! n/t

[Jensen]

4. Done! Just called was asked questions, Zip code, name

and address! So be prepare to give fake info!

[mirrera]

5. Shameless plea for one more rec. it is sinking!

My brother is doing this in Tennessee as well it is FUN!

[gratuitous]

6. Freedom fighting IS fun

It's kind of a secret, though, so don't tell anyone.

[calimary]

8. True. We have to be the stealth fighters.

WE have to BE the representation we wish we had in Congress. If they won't get off their simpering pathetic asses and take off those damned kneepads, then WE have to push forward.

[calimary]

9. And also, DON'T FORGET those OTHER numbers!

The ones these schmucks don't control and aren't filtering "on our behalf."

The ones in my sig line below, that are TOLL FREE to the Capitol Hill switchboard!

Go independent of this particular campaign - and beyond its reach.

For example, you might use one of OUR TOLL FREE numbers and call either your own Congresscritter - or better yet, SOMEBODY ELSE'S, especially some republi-CON. Be SURE to tell whoever answers that you are aware of this ad campaign and the TOLL FREE number they're asking everyone to call. And yet, you call to register a "no" and they won't let you through. Nevertheless, your "no" vote DESERVES TO BE HEARD, TOO. After all, isn't that the same kind of Democracy that we're stuck in the Iraq quagmire trying to transplant? Do we REALLY kill ourselves pushing Democracy over there so we don't have to do it (or have it) here???

[ChairmanAgnostic]

10. good idea!

and thanks for the numbers

[mirrera]

17. You are absolutely right. We all should call regardless...

My fear in is that most won't do it spontaneously. Meanwhile our congress people will get a flood of calls because of this ad. Our side gets disconnected so the percentages will be pooched through trickery, as usual. I would love to see this campaign's numbers show LOTS of calls made, but the calls will be OURS! BWAhahahaha...oh god what has happened to me!

[rodeodance]

12. i gave it a 9th

[ChairmanAgnostic]

15. it hit perfection, like

bo

just now.

[Maine-ah]

11. k&r

[rodeodance]

13. r

[mirrera]

18. Thank you! Beautiful baby,,,n/t

[Upfront]

14. I called.

It was just as you said it would be. I lied and got through to my Sen. Levin now knows what one person thinks of that war and when our troops should come home. That would be today if not sooner. Thanks for the heads up.

[guruoo]

16. K&R

[progressoid]

19. Umm...Why should I use their number to contact my congressmen??

I understand your outrage - I watched the videos. :puke:

But what is the point of using their number? Why not just call your member of congress directly?

[mirrera]

20. Because their campaign will count the call...

It will swell their numbers and maybe make them feel "done" sooner and the urge to counter them might get some of us to make a call we know we should make but maybe don't. timing is everything. If they are asking their base to call then we need to call. For those of us who keep the emails and phone numbers of congress handy, it is not as much of an issue. I could paper a room with automated replies from congress...hey that would look really cool. I am gonna stop tossing them unread into the garbage! Anyway if it gets one person's blood boiling enough to call I can sleep tonight. It is kind of fun to slip through. Like playing make believe.

Or you can do like my sister-in-law with her sweet southern accent who kept one of the phone operators engaged and softly educated them on all sorts of interesting things and was able to not get hung up on.

I said I was afraid of my government and that Iraq didn't attack us and it was good by.