35 Comments - 47th Ward - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:08 pm: I can’t listen to this at work, but I don’t think I need to. Any robocall, and I mean any robocall, gets an automatic hang-up in my house. Deleted from the voicemail as soon as they start to play. I don’t care if it’s from a politician I like, or a super famous celebrity or the voice of God herself, I’m not listening to any robocalls. You’d think Rauner would know better. They are so cheap and utterly ineffective. I don’t know why anyone uses them and certainly Rauner has the resources to use live callers. This is the first really bad decision the campaign has made if you ask me. - wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:12 pm: Haven’t had a land line for years. Great move. Why would anyone shell out money for robocalls? All the research I’ve seen is that they don’t work and they honk people off. - Soccermom - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:16 pm: Congressman Danny Davis robocalled me earlier this week. At least, I assume it was a robocall. If it wasn’t, I feel terrible that I hung up on him… - Loren Heal - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:17 pm: All evidence is that robocalls do not provide any content benefit to a campaign. They may be useful to activate volunteers or as a pure GOTV play, but there’s no evidence either way on that. They do not move the needle on favorability. Most people hang up before learning who is calling, and those who listen to the calls are as likely to backlash as to respond positively. The only group of people still in favor of these is that dwindling subset of obsolete campaign consultants who do not provide honest performance metrics. - Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:21 pm: Word, I cut the land line a year ago. Haven’t missed it at all. That voice sounded like some automated attendant thingy. Oh, and the Farmer didn’t mind “Blago’s $10b debt” when he got a slice of it for GTCR. - Downstate Weed Chewing Hick - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:21 pm: Terrible. Just terrible. I dont think robocalls are effective anymore, but assuming you are going to do it, my goodness, put a tiny bit of effort into it and pronounce your candidate’s name the same way he pronounces it. - OneMan - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:24 pm: I suspect it is in part a VOIP issue on their robocalling vendor. But regardless the quality sucks. - Boone's Is Back - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:28 pm: Yes- I received this one. Pure crap. - whetstone - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:30 pm: Almost sounds like a production error–reminds me of when I’m slowing down an interview to transcribe it. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:32 pm: Well, Raunerbots want a “voice”, I just didn’t think it would be a monotone voice droning on talking points and poor quality recording work. Rauner is closing “on the cheap” I guess. If this is part and parcel of the GOTV Rauner’s Crew likes, I might prefer “Call me, maybe?” over this drivel. I heard the word “Pathetic” in the call. The voice is “Right. Exactly right.” Dopey… - DuPage - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:39 pm: I get a robocall about every other day reminding me to vote for Jeanne Ives. I just hang up ASAP. - woodchuck - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:43 pm: $18 Carhartt meets $18 VOIP system. I wouldn’t vote for Rauner for Mosquito Abatement District Chair but from an operational perspective, this is Bush league. - woodchuck - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:44 pm: Oops - meant to say $18 watch meets $18 VOIP. Didn’t mean to disrespect Carhartt. - Wensicia - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:44 pm: No land line, no robocalls for over ten years now. Peace and quiet. Priceless! - Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 3:55 pm: Robocalls? Really? With his lead and domination of the airwaves, why risk alienating people? - Norseman - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 4:27 pm: Maybe if the Baron paid minimum wage the voice may have been more emoting for her boss. A 401k might help too. - David Ormsby - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 4:27 pm: I’ve received multiple, live pollster calls who have been unable to pronounce the candidates’ names, stumbling and bumbling throughout the call – even with helpful prompting, they had no power of retention. - D - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 4:35 pm: Received 2 calls from Rauner on my cell phone, not having a land line hasn’t allowed me to escape these worthless calls. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 5:03 pm: To the Post, Thus might be the first indication of the “milking of the piggy bank.” Rauner has done relentless Ads for attacking, defending , defining, and every one of them seemed to have legit reasons, and not have the “milking” going on. This GOTV; Mail, RoboCalls… It’s not that it’s just “over the top / overkill” it is literally like the old “Wheel of Fortune”, when the “remainder” was a gift certificate or something tangible, not cash. Rauner has cash to burn, it appears, so terribly simple mail, 4-color no less, with GoodFellas and Wanted posters; boilerplate mail, and drones, droning in RoboCalls on Raunerite talking points in a voice that could make dogs painfully howl. Why? Lack if a Ground Game? Is this what the Wisconsin “Call me, Maybe”… sounds like? “Pathetic” Pathetic indeed. If this constitutes the Ground Game, then this could be the hope (One in 5, but even that is too generous), Brady or Dillard …see, of is it …hear? Words fail me as well. Being up 20, and being able to be “milked” for shoddy GOTV, Wisconsin style. Terrible way to close. You are 5 days out, and that drivel is your ” Quality” GOTV? This is disappointing. Maybe this is what is seen when the shine is off the apple? Not impressive. - Dan Bureaucrat - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 5:38 pm: It seems the sentence structure is so convoluted that she had to speak dreadfully slow to even understand it herself. But that theory is based on only one sentence because that’s all I could bear. - vttk17a1 - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 5:46 pm: I get robo calls. I hang up on the robo calls. I vote against anyone who makes a robo call. - Ggal - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 5:53 pm: I have an app for my iPhone that converts voice mail to text. I have one saved from the Brady Campaign and it’s a real hoot to read. I especially like the last line that reads: “Hope go Brady Andrea Rodriguez let’s take back our state paid for a pretty sick of it thank.” Maybe I can get that Rauner one to convert. - PoolGuy - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 5:58 pm: was that voice from one of those old 900-number lines? - Oh Come On! - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 6:15 pm: Judy Baar Topinka calling for Tom Cross. Immediately deleted the recorded message. - Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 6:36 pm: Wow. Somebody paid for that? Sounds like an SNL skit. - DuPage Dave - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 7:21 pm: I had a knock on my door tonight and it was a local guy running for county board. I told him that I always vote for the first guy to come to my house and ask. I also hung up on 4 robocalls so far tonight. - Nearly Normal - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 8:31 pm: Got that robocall, too, this afternoon. Hung up before it was finished. Pathetic. - Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 9:14 pm: Nothing like the door-to-door. We have a hot sheriff’s race down here. One of the guys knocked on my door and I said “I didn’t do it!” Wasn’t the first time he’d heard that one. - Oneman - Thursday, Mar 13, 14 @ 10:19 pm: Got the call on my machine, the sound quality was better, the voice was still the same sort of monotone. - Late to the Party - Friday, Mar 14, 14 @ 6:05 am: I never listen to robo-calls. When the survey calls come in, I say I have no opinion on any topic. When the siding salesman calls, I tell him my house is brick. When he suggests windows, I say the house is all brick, there are no windows. My phone is for my use; not theirs. - Kakistocracy Kid - Friday, Mar 14, 14 @ 6:48 am: Yeah, I live in Kansas! - Out of stater - Friday, Mar 14, 14 @ 6:48 am: Yeah, I live in Kansas! - Former Illini - Friday, Mar 14, 14 @ 7:00 am: Hard line = no Robo Calls! Best decision I have made. - Nicky - Friday, Mar 14, 14 @ 8:42 am: Yep, got that call yesterday. It’s so bad it is almost good. - Makandadawg - Friday, Mar 14, 14 @ 9:56 am: The reference to “our election” really gets me going. If I have to pay to have the darn primary election then I will vote any way I want. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.