For the umpteenth time today, the phone rang. Caller ID said, "San Antonio, TX."
Don't know why I even bothered answering, but I did. And I'm glad I did. It made me think we might have a chance to blow some Republican minds tomorrow.
It was a robocall, very fast-talking fellow telling me how important it is to be a voter tomorrow, how electing Bill Cassidy will help roll back Obama's policies and uphold conservative values so cherished by Louisianians.
The script wasn't bad overall. I noticed that whoever wrote it has picked up on the Lakoffism of "voter" vs. "vote." It even incorporated the subtle shaming technique of pointing out that, "Public records indicate that a member of this household didn't vote in a recent election" and emphasizing "how important it is to be a voter."
One problem, though. Public records indicate no such thing. The members of this household--registered Democrats all, by the way--have voted in every single election for the past 14 years. Every one. Runoffs for Juvenile Court judge. Charter changes. Millage bumps for security districts. Historic preservation designations.
What can I say? We like to vote.
And those sacred, scary Public Records reflect that.
So, while the 'Pubs may have some half-decent consultants who follow developments in neuro linguistic programming, I think they might have done more skimming than reading on this one.
While it's important to refer to voters as "voters," it's not helpful to flat-out lie to them. About them.
And it really doesn't help to have a robot do it for you.