Who gets calls from PAC's for donations?

[audtatious]

I have a couple that call me from time to time. I think I've donated once at some point so I'm on their "harass list"

Anyway, Newt's people call me today, just as they called me a couple months ago and got dismissed. About? A donation is the end goal (in the form of a gift for me...right) but the call goes on about how Newt is mad about what the Dems are doing and how Obama is as bad as Jimmy Carter. At that point the chic sidetracks down memory lane about remembering the Iran hostage crisis under Carter, etc....I stopped her right there. I told her I remember that time ( maybe she thought I was a kid? ) and one has nothing to do with the other, that both parties today were incompetent and until politicians stop being disingenuous I wasn't going to support any of them. I told her to have a Merry Christmas and a nice day.

I wonder what they will try to sell me the next time.



So, how do you deal with politicians calling for cash?

[Jesda]

GOP used to call me because I donated to Reagan's foundation. They were pushy as hell. I changed my number to get rid of an ex, and as a result I got rid of the GOP. Its a win/win!

[audtatious]

The next time I'll simply tell them to remove me off their call list. If I want to send someone money I'll call them.

[96Qowner]

I worked as a Republican fundraiser for a couple months last year. It was one of the major telemarketing firms on contract with the RNC and the Senate and House fundraising committees, delivering scripts that were developed by the committees with advice from the telemarketer. I couldn't stand it. I was one of the top ten fundraisers, but only because I deviated from the scripts. My conversations usually were productive, whether they yielded a contribution or not, but only because I deviated from the scripts.

Each script had an opener, which of course gets read as pleasantly and conversationally as possible until you get interrupted, at which point you're supposed to go right into a followup script - the "second ask". If that doesn't get a donation, you read a third script - the "third ask". Of course, almost everyone has hung up by then. I'd read the first script until they either hung up or interrupted me, and then I'd have a conversation with them about their objection to donating, trying my best to use some phrases from the scripts, at least. That wasn't good enough. We were monitored constantly throughout our shifts, and they'd come get any of us that strayed too far from the script to listen to the clip of what we did wrong. It didn't seem to matter that I was a top performer.

And then it finally made sense. These are not fundraising calls. The funds raised are just enough to pay for the calls. Anyone who's foolish enough to donate will get hounded by more calls, often reaching several in the same week, if they keep donating. I talked to numerous old men and women on limited fixed incomes who felt responsible for supporting the Party. They really felt bad about saying no, but they were just getting inundated, both by phone and by mail. It was disgusting. So the few sincere, honorable people who donate get milked for the real purpose of the calls.

They're propaganda. The Committees insisted that we all stick to the script because it was a message. Whether it brought donations, it was a message. Unless you're a big donor - like thousands of bucks a crack - you're just getting milked to pay for annoying propaganda calls to you and others. It's cynical and ugly.

And yes, you can easily get your name removed from that list, but only that list - the RNC list, for instance.

[audtatious]

I'm sure it's like everything else, the group making the calls will get the majority of the donation for their service. It's why I don't give to FOP and others who use call-groups to gather the donations.