God damnit, Obama, stop texting me!

The BBQ Pit
1

I voted for you four hours ago! I can’t volunteer for you today because I have other committments. I told this to the guy who called me Saturday. And the guy who called me Sunday morning. And the woman who called me Sunday night. And the guy who called me yesterday.

So chill with the texts, please! I text a lot. Like, a lot. It’s a vital part of my job, and is one of the primary ways we communicate at work. Rather than call people, I usually text them, at about a 5:1 ratio.

But what the hell, seriously?! I’m used to getting about 5 texts a week from the Obama camp, maybe more since VA became such a hotly contested state. But so far today, I’ve gotten 6 texts. Some don’t even make any sense.

62262 11/04 6:00 AM It’s time to go to work. The majority of issues arise in the morning so be alert and prepared.
62262 11/04 7:53 AM Reporting Hotline is very busy during check-in. Please allow several seconds for the recording to begin. If it does not pick-up, simply hang-up & dial again.
62262 11/04 8:36 AM Immediately report DREs with no Presidential Screen/Ballot.
62262 11/04 10:18 AM Our moment is now. Tell your friends to vote for Barack TODAY! If you are in line by 7pm, they must count your vote. Info call 877-582-62262 or BarackObama.com
62262 11/04 10:20 AM No more reporting to IVR. Call turnout numbers into field hub.

WTF? I signed up to get “periodic updates” and “breaking news” back when they announced the VP pick would be made via text. Since then, I’ve gotten occasional updates and the usual reminders to vote, but what the fuck does this shit mean??

I voted for you. Stop texting me. We are not BFFs.

2

I just learned today in class that DRE’s stand for Digital Rectal Exams.

So perhaps the 3rd message is simply Obama caring for you to get your prostate screened.

3

Lol. 143.

4

I really can’t get too excited about your problem here, since you signed up for it. I have a lot more sympathy for whoever McCain’s drunk-dialing at 9 on a Saturday over in another forum.

5

I think some posters on this board would beg to differ. :wink:

6

I’ve been getting daily emails from Hillary and Bill for almost a year. I’m afraid to share any info with any candidates now.

7

This is true, and in retrospect, I don’t mind their persistence all that much – especially today. My main beef was that I couldn’t even decipher what some of those texts meant without the help of the intarwebs.

I had to Wiki DRE, and really, WTF is “No more reporting to IVR. Call turnout numbers into field hub.”??

8

Hmm. Another.

62262 11/04 12:19 PM Long lines at polls. Outside attorneys be creative and cheerful to keep folks from leaving. People in line by 7pm can vote.

I’m not an outside attorney. I’m beginning to think I’m on the wrong mailing/SMSing list.

Is anyone else who’s signed up for Obama texts getting these??

9

We each got one today, reminding us to vote and that’s it. Sounds like you might be on the wrong list (and that the campaign isn’t as worried about Wisconsin).

10

IVR = Integrated Voice Response, which is the series of menus you get when you call tech support/your bank/etc. So I’m guessing in the past, volunteers would call into an IVR system to report how many people they talked to in a day, positive/neutral/negative numbers, etc. Today, they want you to call directly into the field hub and talk to a live person, since getting data out of the IVR will be too slow to do anything about it.

11

Reply with “stop” as the body of the message and bob’s your uncle…

12

I get his e-mails but not his texts. I feel neglected. :frowning: I got one for the Joe Biden pick (or whatever that initial text was that we signed up for), but I haven’t gotten one since.

13

What did you say about Bjorn Stronginthearm?

14

You are - they think you are working the election for them today. It sounds kind of neat, actually - though I can see how it would be annoying if you need to text for work.

15

It would be really cool if he gets one like “Precinct 12 trending JMC. Pickup 1k prefilled BO ballot and deliver ASAP.”

16

But surely, he’s MY uncle, right? :stuck_out_tongue:

Well played…

17

Heheh. Nope. A few have come in the past few hours; just got this one:

62262 11/04 4:27 PM Be quick with your 4pm turnout numbers. Need them right away. Critical. Dial xxx-xxx-xxxx to report your turn out numbers. For questions calls xxx-xxx-xxxx

18

Another VA voter here…

B, man I voted for you. Chill. This is like 6 texts.

Have fun at the party. Spend some time with Michells and the girls. Hit me next week and we can hang out.

But I already voted for you. Quit texting me bro.

19

There’s a facebook group devoted to this very rant. I also signed up for “periodic updates”. I’ve gotten about a dozen emails this week (not in the last 7 days, but Sun, Mon, and Tues). Here’s my list:

10:44 People who love their country can change it! Make sure everyone you know votes today for Barack by 7pm. For voting info call: [phone] or [website].

13:17 Our moment is now. Tell your friends to vote for Barack TODAY! If you’re in line by 7pm, they must count your vote. Info: [phone] [website]
Even better was Sunday night, though:

19:28 Vote for Barack tomorrow! Polls are open in NM from 7am to 7pm. For location info visit xxx Please fwd this msg

19:33: CORRECTION: Vote for Barack Tuesday! Polls are open in NM from 7am to 7pm. For location info visit xxx Please fwd this msg

The ones from fivethirtyeight are cool, too, but they’ve been sending out a lot the past couple days, as well.