One thing about campaign calls...

[MineralMan]

Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from a Minnesota DFL (Democratic) campaign organization. I was working on a project and pretty much concentrating on that. Anyhow, the guy who called asked me if I would be attending this weekend's DFL district convention, where we vote on endorsements for candidates, in a way that's almost unique to Minnesota. I said that I was. The caller said, "Awesome, dude."

Of course, then he started on his pitch for the group of candidates he was calling for. He was beating around the bush quite a bit, so I stopped him and told him that I was working and that I'd like him to get directly to the point he wanted to get across. "Awesome, dude," he repeated.

I'm 64 years old. I'm neither awesome nor a "dude." I am, however, a serious political person. I told this guy that "Awesome, dude" wasn't really an appropriate form of address for political calls, explained that most of the delegates to this convention would be over 50, and advised that he tone down the slang usage in his conversations with them. Since he asked for me by name, he know my name.

He got pissed and said, sarcastically, "Well, DUDE, I guess you're in a bad mood today." He hung up abruptly. So, I never did get to find out which candidates he was representing.

No doubt this guy was a volunteer, and good for him for volunteering. But, campaigns really, really need to do some basic call training for volunteers. That training should include a strong suggestion that Standard English always be used in making campaign calls. There's no point in calling someone if your language is going to annoy them or cause irritation of any kind.

[MineralMan]

1. Tell your own story about campaign calls that

were annoying or that put you off the candidate.