Look out Floridians, the politicians and the horrid big money political machines are coming.
Be prepared to be under attack! In your mailbox, in your newspaper, on your smart phone, on your computer, on your televisions, your radios, and your landline phones. There will be signage littering all your streets, most of the lawns around town. I have no poll to prove this but I suspect gun sales have been up this week. You might want to just go ahead and unplug those landline phones now and save yourself dawn til way past dusk aggravation.
Finally, today, the hoards will depart our state and flock in mass to Florida.
For sure they have plumped up some local and state coffers. Charleston has been raining money. All those yankee network folks and their hairdressers and such seem to have learned how to enjoy cheese grits and biscuits for breakfast. Good bye lattes and energy bars.
Back to the politics.
Things are not as they seem.
First of all, I made it a point to take all the polling calls. I saw this as a duty. If you do not plan to vote for a candidate with big PAC money then the only way the others can make any showing in the numbers is if we voters suffer through the calls and speak up for our choices. It is grueling work. I took the calls from the robos and actual humans. It would be hard to say which was more frustrating. This experience got me so aggravated I sent e-mails to all the taking heads at Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. Here is why, they are broadcasting flawed data 24/7. I am still awaiting their replies.
Here is a typical situation with the robo calls:
" If the election were being held today would you vote for
Romney? Press 1. Gingrich? press 2. Paul? Press 3."
If, after the third offer you have not pressed a button the call is terminated.
There is no opportunity to add your position to the polling. No choice for the others.
What is maybe a tad interesting is the order of the voting for Ron. Newt or Mitt depending on who is conducting the poll. In some of them, where their candidate is mentioned first and you don't push number one ... yep they disconnect so they only collect votes for their candidate.
What happened to honesty?
Lady Liberty is weeping.
When actual humans call the experience is different.
Some are rigidly impersonal others seek to bond through a sort of theatrical folksyness.
In one polling call, a man asked if I had a few minutes to answer a survey/poll?
" Well, yes if you hurry up before it's time for me to get the pasta out of the hot water".
" Is that a candidate?"
" No, it's dinner"
" Will you take the survey?
" Yes, but get on with it."
" What is your date of birth?
" You called to survey my age?"
"We try to determine the age of voters"
" Okay, I am old enough to vote."
" What is your actual age lady?"
" Somewhere between 18 and death".
He hung up.
At least he did so before I overcooked the pasta.
Blowfish was over in his chair having a laugh.
He does not feel enough dedication to answer any of the calls but he is having a fine entertainment
watching me have fits over them all. I threatened to go on a Kitchen strike. No cooking for non participating Americans. I think it is important to step up and not be silent. If you want to have a say in what is happening in our country you have to participate in the process. If you have been a long time member of the "silent majority" it is time to be silent no more. Speak up! Act! Vote!
On Thursday morning, a few hours before the last SC debate, I received a personal call;
" Good morning! Is this Fishy?"
" Yes"
" Mrs. Goodsouth here, calling to share with you this morning our family's pride and excitement in the opportunity to again have our White House as the residence of a fine Southern gentleman!"
" I think your gentleman went home to Texas this morning."
" I am, of course, referring to Speaker Gingrich."
" Oh."
" Fishy, I am calling this morning to invite you to join us in supporting Speaker Gingrich in saving our Nation. He is the only one who can oust the current occupier of our White House."
" I will not be voting for Mr. Gingrich."
" Well that is just not a loyal decision. Let me help you understand why you must , as a thinking person, vote for our Speaker"
" Can we skip that part of the conversation and just move on to have a nice day?"
"Please explain why you think you will not be favoring our candidate with your support.
I can set you straight again in one skinny minute."
" Mrs. Goodsouth, you have my admiration for your participation and support of this election process but I will not be voting for the Newt. There is nothing you could say which will change this."
" Why ever in this whole world would you withhold your support from this fine man?"
" Because he is NOT a 'fine man' and there are better choices."
" He is the only candidate who can beat The Occupier in a debate".
" Do you think we are hoping to elect a Great Debater or a president?
Plus he is not , in my view, a great debater. He does however practice effective stagecraft."
" Oh my goodness Fishy. We have a lot of work to do to get you on the true path this morning".
" I am not going to travel your path today Mrs. Goodsouth. Good bye and God bless you."
I hardly hung up from that call when my phone rang.
A robocall again disallowing a vote beyond the PAC's candidate.
I was soooooooo annoyed I called the local GOP office to complain.
The man taking the call there suggested I stop answering the robo calls and just vote for his choice.
I mentioned as a staffer in the GOP office he was not there to support any one candidate. If that was his mission he should be on the phone banks in the headquarters for his chosen one.
His response,
" Would you like to make your donation by phone today?"
I found this equally dismaying and irritating.
Here is my next issue.
So to the Trolls, Auntys and La Divas of Florida, you have my sympathies.
It's not fun but please, y'all do your part ! Participate! Report if things are not as they should be and vote. It counts. A lot.
16 comments:
" He is the only candidate who can beat The Occupier in a debate".
" Do you think we hoping to elect a Great Debater or a president? Plus he is not , in my view,
a great debater. He does however practice effective stagecraft."
Very true.
The Troll County District Attorney will be prosecuting Ron Paul Zombies who break the laws here this time around. And the State Attorney General might do so as well. So, we won't be subject to as much phone crap and dirty tricks as y'all were. As far as I know, only the Paul campaign still tries to do that kind of stuff on the "Republican" side of the equation.
As for the Super-Pac Ads, the Pro-Romney Pac has already been running attack-ads for 2 months now. The Romney campaign itself has been running touchy-feelies for about one month. Nobody else has run any yet.
I reject the notion that you can't do the sort of "retail politics" SC gets in Florida. It would take a little longer and cost a little more but it's doable. You could mine the Republican-Rich areas of the state in about 3 weeks at a bargain price of about 1 million.
Unfortunately, none of the "poor guys" opted to do so this time and with the compressed schedule they won't have a chance now.
The convention in Tampa might be fun and will be a nice double-dose of cash-from-the-election-process for the State.
Ron Paul Zombies will also be subject to arrest and prosecution at the convention.
OK Fishy, I has mah shields up. We doan answer land lines unless the name comes up--no "unknown" or 888888 answered.
Long ago I quit supportin' the RNC--they STILL call wif' their greasy hand out--Idone told a local GOP honcho, "I'll NEVER give $$ to you fellas--I give mah pennies to the specific candidate I like."
Honcho: h but we can mulitply your contribution more than a single candidate can."
Yeah, Honcho, I'm sure ya can--but ya multiply it fer YORE boy, not mine."
Fishy, I doan beleive in bein' silent, but I'se pretty shure the thang is rigged to some degree.
I know Demos who say they cain't git no decent folks elected cause the machine crushes non-conformity.
Lady Liberty weeps--indeed.
You are a better woman than me. I don't take those robocalls either and I actually work in politics. Thank goodness our primary has no national significance, that's all I'm saying. I am thinking of turning the ringers off our phones in the near future. I can call out and voice mail can get anything important. Because, around here, if you vote in a primary, you are on the call list FOREVER.
People call me and I just tell them I'm voting by secret ballot. Any thing else should be against the law.
Sorry I don't do polls fishy.
"Newt 2012" has been calling our house for the past two weeks and we don't answer. I'm about ready to get rid of our land line, but Mr. Boxer isn't in favor of it... yet. I am shocked at what people think they can ask; age/etc. At work, I'm asked MANY times a week, how many employees do you have, what are you annual sales? etc. I give zero information out, even to Dun and Bradstreet, which I consider the Mob of Bidness.
Since I no longer watch the news and thanks to tivo, see no commercials, the only place where I'm assaulted is the radio and and I'm about ready to rip that out too.
Audio books are soooo much better.
nice to see you posting! :-)
Troll,
The Pauloists are frightening.
I am not sure I think they belong within the Republican Party. I will look forward to your commentary when they get to Troll Country.
Aunty,
Yes indeed get yore shield in place.
And oh-so-sadly I agree, the rigging is in place.
Pam,
I don't know about that .... you work in politics, I just visit there occasionally. It would make me crazy to work hard at something for little to no gain!
And the "compromising" ... well I call it something else.
Curmy,
If I had not wanted to add numbers to the polls for a candidate other than the three then I would have never answered those calls. Once I found out only a few of them let me have my say, I was annoyed beyond all measurement.
Boxer,
I need to follow your example.
And I soooooooo agreee with you about the shocking number of things unknown people will boldly ask you. If you say something like, " Sorry, I do not give out personal data over the phone" it is NOT rare for me to get a response like,
" this is my job lady, just answer the questions." like they have a RIGHT to my information. It is soooooo strange.
Blowfish has to have a landline for his pacemaker checkups. Otherwise, it would be over.
UPDATES:
1) Fearing prosecution, the Paul Zombies aren't even going to infest Florida this time around and he's pretty much written off Florida preferring to concentrate on bizarro-world Caucus States where their antics are not only unpunished, they're rewarded.
The other reason he's not going to compaign here is that we are the first truly Closed Primary. As you said, his most zombie-like supporters aren't Republicans. Nor Florida residents. They're basically morons who think Ron Paul is going to legalize pot and consider THAT the most important issue in their pathetic lives.
2) Still haven't seen nor heard ANY advertisements not paid for by Magic Mitt or his Super-Pacs. It appears that Santorum CAN'T buy any TV or Radio spots because most AD time is booked about 2 weeks in advance.
3) Many have already voted and that should favor Romney greatly.
4) While he hasn't officially endorsed anyone, the 700 Pound Gorilla who can't be ignored has given the keys to his Ground-Game-Organizational machine to Magic Mitt.
5) JEB! is the 700 pound gorilla.
one more thing that shocks me; I'll be checking out a store and they'll ask for a phone number or email. WTF? I'm barely OK with giving a zip code and I always give my work one.
We've been getting calls here in New Jersey - and the primary will be over by the time it gets here (June 5th). The Pudge loves to answer the phone, realizes it's a political call and hands me the phone saying it's Aunt or Uncle so-and-so. He laughs like a mental patient when I slam the phone down.
@Troll - I thought the 700 pound gorilla you were talking about was my governor - Chris Christy.
Ron Paul takes PayPal.
I think its hilarious that you think RP people are frightening and that Troll puts his entire wrathful focus on his campaign while actual evil hideous monsters get none of his broad brushing. In this field of contendas you can rag on RP with a straight face? That blows my mind -almost as much as evangelical christians voting for Newt and Troll thinking RP votes are about pot.
Expect another 4 of Obama.
Ron Paul Zombies? I dunno, last time I checked I was a healthy color of alive and kickin'. And I don't smoke pot, nor do I ever want to, legal or not.
When the poleetikal people start calling, I start eh-speaking Spanglish. "M'am, can you put your employer on the phone?" Bwahahahahahahaha!
Buzz,
LOL. Yeah, Christie is a LOT bigger than JEB! but he doesn't have a machine here.
Chick9 and Moi,
The difference is this. Fishy and I have SEEN RP supporters up close and personal whereas all you know about them is media stuff.
YES, legalizing Pot IS THE SALIENT REASON the zombie-posses surround him. Poll-After-Poll shows that. Do you REALLY think those slack-jawed morons understand his monetary policy?
YES, they routinely break laws and pollute the process. I.E. Calling the elderly at 3:00 AM claiming to be supporters of other candidates. I.E. Attempting to vote as Republicans in Florida when they DON'T LIVE HERE. I.E. Putting signs up where they don't belong and not taking them down after the election as the law requires. I.E. Vandalizing other candidate's campaign's property. I.E. Hacking and damaging other candidate's websites.
NO, the other campaigns DO NOT DO THAT KIND OF JUVENILE OCCUPY WALL STREETISH crap!
Tell you what. Instead of believing the media, GO TO THE NEXT CAUCUS State and Say hello to Ron Paul's little friends. Ask them what they think about Paul's monetary policy. Then ask them what they think about legalizing drugs.
Question One: Blank Stare.
Question Two: Yo, Pot be Safe, Yo!
Sorry to be the ones to tell you this, but the libertarian intellectuals who you see in the media represent about 20% of the people who actually attend Ron Paul events. Most of them look embarrassed and LEAVE when the chanting starts.
Fishy and I have SEEN the other 80%. And most of them have NO CLUE what the Federal Reserve is and think the Gold-Standard is really wicked weed, yo!
As for Mitt and Newt, if they start threatening to Run a Third-Party Campaign, they'll get PLENTY OF TROLL WRATH! If their supporters start BREAKING THE LAW and polluting the process, they'll get plenty of Troll Wrath!
Neither has happened.
OMG!
I turned on the news very briefly today at lunch time and did not push the off button in time to prevent the nausea.
I am FRIGHTENED for America, for all of us.
Chickory,
I cannot face 5 more Obamanator years. It is unendurable.
On the PayPal issue;
I sent e-mails to the campaigns of Huntsman and Santorum asking each to revise their donation sites to accept PayPal. I still have not received an answer from either. I have received more requests for donations.
I am horrified to hear, via the media, it is middle age white women who gave The Lizard the SC victory. That is beyond dismal.
Troll,
If it is impossible for every candidate who made the Florida ballot to purchase air space then does this confirm the Presidency of the United States of America is auctioned off to the highest bidder? Or to the guy with the deepest pockets or the meanest PACS???????? This new reality nauseates me.
Boxer,
I was recently in the PetsMart here buying cases of dogfood for the shelter. The stuff rang up as one dollar more per case at the register than the advertised price in the aisle. I questioned this and was told the price was only the advertised price for "club" members or those with one of those store loyalty cards. I asked her to please use the counter card to reduce the price. She declined saying it was not store policy. I responded by telling her it was federal law. She leaned over and said, "I know but our manager is mean about this if we use our counter cards." I invited her to call him because by then I was dug in and very annoyed. No manager. The clerk made the corrections then automatically said, "Can I have your phone number please?"
I fled.
Buzz,
LOL " The Pudge" sounds like a full blown teenager! Nice to see you out and about again.
Moi,
I think there is a great deal of merit to the nucleus of many of RP's positions. His ideas on how to implement ... not so much. Some of his supporters are more like followers of some bizarre sect or commune. There is no reality to them,no actual position on issues or ideas. They just chant and destroy.
Even folks who love dogs, who have strong telepathy with dogs, have the smarts to be wary of dogs traveling in a rabid pack.
Troll,
I love JEB.
For years people said he could not get elected because his wife is out of control. Then they said he could not be elected because W spoiled his opportunity. Please.
Do they think a Calista or Michele is acceptable? JEB is looking really good.
Chris Christie is big,
but he is not JEB.
I must be in denial because this Fishy cannot imagine ANY of the current roster of candidates getting the nomination.
@Troll: I hear you on Ron Paul's followers, but that rabid pack of dogs is NOT going to be running the White House nor influencing his policies. Can he control which of his policies the asses of masses choose to cherry pick? Every single bit of correspondence I've ever received from him has focused on his monetary policies--I've yet to receive anything on his so-called drug policy. But if he does mine this particular stupidity to win the nod, geez, what is that called again? Oh, yes, POLITICS.
@Fishy: I agree with you wholeheartedly. As much as I support Ron Paul, it's qualified support. I do not believe there IS a candidate who is worthy of the republican nod.
@Troll: yeah, makes sense. to be irritated by monkey warfare perpetrated by some flakes while honorable sign ordinance obeyers go ahead and sell our futures down the river. RP has said he wont run 3rd party. Cant you see that what he really wants, and has said on countless networks (and post primary elections) is a slot to speak at the RNC? Any real conservative would be grateful for the change in conversation thanks to RP. If you are hating on RP, then you are a republican, not a conservative and married to party not this nation.
Fishy,
Yes, the nomination system heavily favors those with big bucks and those who've run and lost previously. I.E. Mitt and Ron.
Moi,
I never said Paul makes legalizing drugs the center-piece of his campaign. I said, correctly, that's the part of his platform the zombies like. And, to some extent, even understand.
K9,
You are factually incorrect. Ron Paul has NEVER said he won't run third-party. NEVER.
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