McCain Campaign Offers Rewards For Turn-Key Comments

According to a story at the Washington Post, John McCain's presidential campaign is offering more than moral suasion to fire people up for a McCain presidency; they're also offering ready-made snippets of rhetoric for interested supporters to supply under their own names in public comments to online news sources and forums. Such pre-written commentary by itself is neither new nor necessarily nefarious, but it seems a bit off-kilter that prolific commenters are eligible for rewards — not just campaign swag like hats and stickers, but higher-ticket items like a ride with McCain on his campaign bus. Probably a script could be whipped up to compare the canned suggestions on the site with "grassroots" comments on political news sites around the web.

This is going to end badly

As per the subject line, this is going to end badly.

I do, however, find it interesting that this astroturfing is being done so publicly. Before the sources were always hidden, as if the originators seemed ashamed of it.

Now they're acting as if it seems to be business as usual.

Are party supporters allowed to have their own opinion these days? Anecodatal evidence suggests that there is a hive mind forming.

Re:This is going to end badly

Anecodatal evidence suggests that there is a hive mind forming.

The correct term is groupthink. You need to get on the same page as everybody else.

Re:This is going to end badly

End badly?

I recognize there are serious issues at stake in this election, and serious differences between the candidates. And we will argue about them, as we should.

But it should remain an argument among friends; each of us struggling to hear our conscience, and heed its demands; each of us, despite our differences, united in our great cause, and respectful of the goodness in each other.

How that can end badly? Especially since John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers.

The Issue: Jobs for America

John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will destroy millions of good American jobs, ensure our neighboring nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices continuing on their existing successful path, and bring relief to Chinese consumers. Click to learn how the McCain Economic Plan will help bring reform, prosperity and peace to America. Read More... [barackobama.com]

Re:The Issue: Jobs for America

The Revolution was a liberal cause in the extreme. The "conservative" principles were not the ones founding this country, they were the ones fighting to prevent its independence from England. You Tory.

What's "higher-ticket" mean?

not just campaign swag like hats and stickers, but higher-ticket items like a ride with McCain on his campaign bus.

Huh? I'd sure rather have a hat or a sticker than ride in the same vehicle as some old guy. Have you smelled an old person? It's not pretty; like a combination of mothballs, fried bacon, a Catholic church, talcum powder, and the dust underneath the couch

Re:What's "higher-ticket" mean?

It said you'd get a ride on the bus, not which McCain you'd be riding [google.com].

Yeah? Well...

... most young people smell like wet diapers that have been further soiled by their shit-for-brains.

Really. You think a 20-year-old bricklayer smells BETTER at the end of the day than talcum powder? Man, you live a sheltered life.

Yeah.. well worth it.

If there's anything that will swing my vote at an election it's a comment posted on someone's blog. Policies schmolicies, I want to see what the public think!

*goes to look at what the public think*

Ok, I saw what the public think, and now I want the winner of America's Got Talent to be president.

Oh man, too easy...

The trolls just write themselves...I'll attempt to rise above.

Still, it's pretty damn pathetic when you can't trust your supporters to express their own opinions to the point where you have to give them your opinions to reprint.

Ah fuck it. Lets burn some karma..."I guess all his supporters are too senile to remember what he stands for?" or maybe "He flip-flops so often that it's safer if they just cut and paste?" Maybe "Since most of his supporters are illiterate, it's the only way they can meaningfully contribute. Coming next month, a McDonalds-style interface with pictures of common attack points (a flat tire, little back guy in diapers, a black playing card, etc)."

I am so sick of "talking points." It just reeks of brand advertising.

Re:Oh man, too easy...

I am so sick of "talking points." It just reeks of brand advertising.

Modern politics is all about brand advertising. Nobody really wants a serious discussion of the issues, least of all the candidates. You tell your base what they want to hear, you demonize your opponent in hopes of demoralizing his base, and you get your people to drive your supporters to the polls while trying to disenfranchise your opponent's supporters. If all else fails, you throw some ballot boxes into a river.

The whole idea is doing whatever is necessary to get more people to vote for you than for the other guy. Glitzy advertising that paints you as a hero of the working man and your opponent as a clown (or demon) who will single-handedly destroy the country is a key part of the package. Serious discourse has no place in such an environment.

On top of that, now you have the Internet to deal with. In this case, the more parrots you have mindlessly regurgitating your talking points on blogs and various forums, the better. It's like the hot chicks at the bar that invite you to hang out with them and offer you some expensive name brand liquor. It's viral advertising, and if it can be used to sell booze, why can't it be used to sell candidates?

Sure, the whole thing is sleazy, but that's politics for you.

Republican supporters vs. Democrat Supporters

The reason for them doing this is because Democratic supporters tend to be a lot more vocal about their support compared to Republican supporters. This may be anecdotal, but for the sites I view, I see way more Obama supporters spouting out campaign rhetoric compared to McCain supporters. At the same time, all the national polls I see have the two in a virtual dead heat. Why are we seeing more people screaming their support for Obama? The RNC has noticed this, and is trying to light a fire under the Republican supporters in order to get them screaming just as loudly for McCain.

It's probably about the demographic. Republicans tend to be older, quiet, "don't rock the boat" types who don't give a shit about anything that doesn't concern them. Democrats tend to be young, vocal, "Change NOW!" types who feel that society as a whole needs to better function. It makes sense.

And we should vote for him over the other guy why?

Considering one of McCain's selling point is supposed to be experience, why does his campaign keep making rookie mistakes?

He repeatedly mentions his opponent by name in speeches and on his web site (why give the other guy free publicity?), he refers to the border between two countries which don't border each other, and now this.

It's not stupid because it isn't done, it's stupid because people will do it anyway. Supporters (not just McCain's) will cut-and-paste talking points from the candidate on their own. A program like this just makes them, and him, look like idiots.

Neither of Them Deserve to Be President

I was going to go for a funny comment off that page but I'm feeling a bit more irritable today. McCain and Obama are not being honest with the American people WRT oil prices. The simple fact of the matter is that the world can not support 350 million Americans, 1 billion Chinese and 1 billion Indians all who want to drive automobiles. Offshore drilling will not help oil prices. Keeping your tires inflated will not help oil prices. Any long term solution that involves everyone keeping their cars and driving every day will not work.

The simple fact of the matter is that Some Americans will no longer be able to afford to own and operate an automobile. That process has already started. People are on the news saying "I can't afford to put gas in my car to commute to work." It's only going to get worse as gasoline gets more expensive. We might see the price of a gallon of gas bump down a little over the coming years, but the general trend is going to be up. If you're having trouble paying for gas now, you should start planning to not own an automobile in the future. America needs better public transit options and tighter knit communities, because a lot more of us are not going to be driving in the future.

Of course Obama and McCain won't say that. It'd be political suicide. Unfortunately we don't need political grandstanding right now. We need sensible planning for a future where Americans are less affluent and have lower expectations than they did in the past.

So what?

Why the hell should every American be able to afford an automobile?

Most Americans are better off than they were 50 years ago. Just most Americans have forgotten how to be frugal and now impulse buy all kinds of crap on credit cards then wonder why they're screwed when the credit card bills roll in.

Close, but...

The simple fact of the matter is that Some Americans will no longer be able to afford to own and operate an Internal Combustion Engine powered automobile.

Fixed. There is a finite amount of all resources on this planet, so you are correct that at some point, not everyone is going to be able to do everything they currently take for granted. And transportation is going to go through some 'exciting' times in the near future. But the immediate impact is not going to dramatically change the life style of the vast majority of Americans.

-Rick

ooh! I know!

"Are you better off now than you were 8 years ago?"

JOHN MCCAIN
(picture of him embracing George Bush) http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/mccain%20bush%20hug%20twn.jpg [thewashingtonnote.com]

"Four more years!"

I'm not saying McCain's out of touch....

...but he thinks Bluetooth is a tooth disease.

McCain for President

My Freely offered Blog entry. Copy as you see fit. I need no rewards.

I admit it is a bit over the op, but if we are in a world where millions of dollars can be spent comparing a magna cum laude Havard Graduate to Paris Hiton, anything goes.

McCain was not born in the US but is considered a US citizen anyway, unlike many who are born in the US that the republican party wants to consider foreign.

As a proud third generation employee of the government, McCain is uniquely experienced to be president. His third generation military status uniquely places him to find the best government military solutions for every problem, without the distractions of diplomacy or allowing the free market to work. Like the current president, he entered higher education on a legacy, thus putting him in touch with the problems of the elite he represents. Also like the current president, he has a storied military carreer, flying planes around the world. At one point his plane got shot down and he no longer flew planes, but was kept in a POW camp. He was tortured for some time during the captivity. This experience wad apparently not bad enough to make him unconditionally opposed to torture.

He also has a unique perspective on government medical care. As a third generation government employee, he has spent his entire life with free access to the government medical facilities. Although he is 71, and claims to be in good health, he experience has shown him that government medical care is not good enough for the general populous, so is absolutely opposed to it.

Some might think a third generation government employee may not be the best president for a country based on free enterprise, but wait. His second wife, whom he married soon after divorcing his first wife, is the chair of one of the largest beer distributors in the country. As such, McCain has experience with the perks of the corporate life, like luxury corporate jets, which he used to ferry himself between campaign stops during his bid to become president. He understands the compromises that must be made when growing a business, like how many alcohol related teen deaths are acceptable to maintain a certain profit margin.

As we can see McCain is uniquely qualified to understand the needs of the nation. The military can solve all problems. The health care system that has kept him so healthy is not adequate of capable of doing the same for the masses. American Corporations has special problems and must be given significant leeway in their right to earn a profit.

Re:first!

Screw first posts, we have issues that need addressing:

John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers. Read each of the sections below to learn how the McCain Economic Plan will help bring reform, prosperity and peace to America.

GIVE ME MONEY PLEASE!!!! *Sticks out hand*

Re:first!

you have enough points for a McCain 2008 bumper sticker, a few more points and you can qualify for a McCain 2008 coffee mug

Re:first!

first?

I hope for McCain's sake this isn't an example of the ready-made rhetoric. It lacks conviction. Also, it should really have McCain's name in the snippet.

Try something like the following:

McCain first!

See? Much better.

Re:Am I missing something?

Did you miss the Today's Talking Points links? Or did you actively ignore them?

I don't know...

His $0.10 titanium tax doesn't go too far enough! Also, how will he guarantee enough brain slugs for everyone? Right now, they barely have enough to keep the Republican party alive! What will they do to guarantee our independence from foreign brain slugs? And they're definitely not doing enough to protect our right to own Doomsday Devices!

I'm mad enough that I might register with the Apathy party, but I can't be bothered. Besides, everyone knows that the Hypnobama will win this election.

All hail the Hypnobama!

Re:My God, this country is completely screwed

I take it you aren't familiar with the history of our Presidential elections. If you were, you'd realize that while it's sad we are still stuck in the same muck raking environment that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson slandered each other under, it's obviously nothing new.