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Robocalls
Robocalls can be an under-the-radar way to reach voters.
However, for voters who are bombarded by calls they can be annoying.
Romney for President
end of March to April 2 or 3, 2012
Wisconsin
As you know, the fight against Big Labor, led by
Governor Walker, isn’t over here in Wisconsin. I wouldn’t
normally make these calls, but I was shocked to find out that Rick
Santorum repeatedly supported Big Labor and joined with liberal
Democrats in voting against Right to Work legislation during his time
in Washington. He even opposed the hiring of permanent
replacements for striking workers. When it comes to Big Labor,
Rick Santorum’s record of opposing Right to Work legislation and
standing with union bosses speaks for itself. Thank you for listening
to my concerns about Rick Santorum. This call is paid for by
Romney for President Incorporated at 608-535-9xxx.
This call reported by the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Craig Gilbert on his The
Wisconsin Voter blog.
Male Announcer: Hi, I'm
calling with
an urgent message from the Romney for President campaign. This is
Rick Santorum on FOX News in 2009. Santorum: I'm not saying
necessarily earmarks are bad. I have had a lot of earmarks.
In fact I'm very proud of all the earmarks I put in bills, because I
think—I'll defend earmarks... Male Announcer: This call
was paid for
by Romney for President, Inc. at 608-535-9xxx.
Male Announcer: This
is a message from Romney for President. In 2008 Rick Santorum
made the following announcement. Santorum: If you're a
conservative, there really is only one place to go right now. I
would even argue further than that. If you're a Republican, if
you're a Republican in the broadest sense there is only one place to go
right now, and that's, and that's Mitt Romney. Male
Announcer: This call was paid for
by Romney for President, Inc. at 608-535-9xxx.
Female Announcer:
This
is
an
urgent
message
from
Romney for President. [Music] Male
Announcer: Is Rick Santorum ready to be President?
He's never run a business. He's never run a
state. A Washington politician who proudly voted for the
Bridge to Nowhere and for liberal judge Sotomayor. Santorum
opposed creating E-Verify, a conservative
reform to curb illegal immigration. Romney:
It
is a moral imperative for America to stop spending more money than
we take in. Female
Announcer: This call was paid for
by Romney for President, Inc. at 608-535-9xxx.
Male Announcer: This
is a message from Romney for President. [Music] Male Announcer 2: Meet
Arlen Specter. Liberal. Pro-choice Republican turned
Democrat. The deciding vote on Obamacare. Rick Santorum
supported Specter over conservative candidates. Twice.
Santorum: I'm proud to endorse Arlen Specter. Male Announcer 2: Santorum
and Specter voted for liberal circuit judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Santorum and Specter both sided with Big Labor, against Right to
Work. If Rick Santorum couldn't say no to liberal Arlen Specter
can we really trust him to change Washington? Male
Announcer: This call was paid for
by Romney for President, Inc. at 608-535-9xxx.
Male Announcer: This
is an urgent message from Romney for President. Female News Announcer: And
that is where the trouble began after Santorum urged Republicans there
not to vote for Mitt Romney. Santorum: Pick any other
Republican in the country. He is the worst Republican in the
country to put up against Barack Obama... [static SFX] Man (NYT reporter Jeff Zeleny):
You
said
that
Mitt
Romney
is
the
worst
Republican
in
the
country.
Is
that
true?
Santorum:
What
speech
did
you
listen
to?
Zeleny:
Right
here.
Right
here. You said he is the worst Republican... Santorum: Stop
lying... Quit distorting my words. If I see it, it's
bulls**t. Come on, man. What are you doing? Zeleny: Who's distorting
your words? You just did by asking me that question. [rewind SFX] Santorum: He is the worst Republican in the
country to put up against Barack Obama...Male
Announcer: This call was paid for
by Romney for President, Inc. at 608-535-9xxx.
Notes:
In
addition
to
surrogate/celebrity
robocalls,
there
are
also
more
mundane,
although
sometimes
"urgent"
attack
robocalls.
In
the
April
3 Wisconsin
primary campaign Romney for President did at least six different calls
attacking Santorum. One of the ads ("Is Rick Santorum ready
to be President?") simply reprises the audio of the TV ad "Never." with
a bit edited off the end. It
is
surprising
to see the
Santorum-Zeleny exchange made into a robocall. Santorum's use of
an expletive might have turned off some voters, but
also might have put him in good stead with conservatives for standing
up to the New York Times.
The
incident
happened
on
March
25
when
Santorum
was
campaigning
in
Wisconsin.
The
robocall
uses
a
very
condensed
version
of
the
exchange,
transcribed
from
video
below.
Zeleny: You said that Mitt
Romney is the worst Republican in the country. Is that
true?
Santorum: What speech did you listen to?
Zeleny: Right here. Right here. You said he
is the worst Republican...
Santorum: Stop lying. I said he was the worst Republican
to run on the issue of Obamacare, and that's what I was talking
about. I have said uniquely, for every speech I give, I say he is
uniquely disqualified to run against Barack Obama on the issue of
health care. Would you guys quit distorting what I'm
saying.
Zeleny: Do you think
he's the worst Republican to run...
Santorum: To run
against Barack Obama on the issue of health care because he fashioned
the blueprint. I've been saying it in every speech. Quit
distorting my words. If I see it, it's bulls**t. Come on,
man. What are you doing?
Zeleny: Who's distorting
your words?
Santorum: You just
did, by asking me that question.
Zeleny: You sound
upset about...
Santorum: I'm upset
when the media distorts what I say. Yeah I do get upset.
Because you knew exactly what I'm saying and you're misrepresenting it.
What are you guys in the business of doing? Reporting the truth
or are you here to try to spin and make news. Stop it. You
don't care about the truth at all, do you? You really
don't. Asking that question tells me you don't care at all about
the truth.