# Project ORCA Will Win the Election for Romney! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 9, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451 "2012-11-09T04:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/21 "2012-11-21T17:18:19Z")
Yeah, that doesn’t pass the sniff test. The competition had experienced guys from such minor tech start-ups as Google, Facebook, and Amazon working round the clock. One mid-level staffer couldn’t have caused Narwal to fail. If this Centinello guy is the root of Orca’s failure, then the blame lies on those higher up the food chain in the campaign who made the decisions. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/22 "2012-11-21T17:52:08Z")
“OK, look, here’s the software, it’s all on this stack of 3.5” discs. There are 24 of them, and you do them all, one at a time, in sequence. 1 through 24. Now, you only have this one job, so…" ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/23 "2012-11-21T22:21:21Z")
Yeah it’s all Dan Centinello’s fault. None of his supervisors were aware that it’s a good idea to beta test software before final rollout. How could they have known that? And there was no need to have a backup plan in place. So when election day rolled around it was entirely Dan Centinello’s fault that they didn’t have strike lists properly prepared, although this technique was first applied shortly after the invention of the telephone. I suppose that Dan Centinello also takes the blame for Romney’s 47% remark. Also, when the Romney campaign paid [four times the amount than the Obama campaign did for television advertising](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/mitt-romneys-surprisingly-unbusinesslike-campaign) that failure of routine due-diligence is solely Centinello’s fault, though he had nothing to do with ad-buys. It’s almost as if Centinello acted like a pampered millionaire lining the pockets of his cronies rather than a tough business manager! Furthermore, Centinello consistently put his foot in his mouth during the entire campaign: he couldn’t travel abroad without needlessly insulting our closest allies. Why did the Republicans nominate this guy? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/24 "2012-11-21T22:26:30Z")
Romney For President:The Buck Stops…There. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/25 "2012-11-21T22:28:52Z")
Good riddance, Dan Centinello! I hope you never run for president again! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/26 "2012-11-21T23:45:29Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Good riddance, Dan Centinello! I hope you never run for president again! I hope he’s directly involved in every Republican Presidential campaign from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/27 "2012-11-21T23:58:11Z")
I like this quote from the linked article > [@](#): > > “There was, in fact, massive suppression of the Republican vote – by the Romney campaign, through the diversion of nearly 40,000 volunteers to a failing computer program,” Pollak wrote. I love how Republicans are all for personal responsibility - except when it involves them. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/28 "2012-11-22T00:01:26Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Well, he had to hire on-shore, so he was in unknown territory. And he was stuck hiring Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/29 "2012-11-22T00:10:37Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It may not have mattered so much, probably just the Republicans looking for boogey-men to explain how they got robbed. My understanding is that the software wasn’t much more than a digital form of standard old-fashioned ward politics, keeping track of who your voters are, whether or not they have voted, etc. With a computer, you can do in one second what otherwise might have taken a whole ten. If that’s true, then Anonymous is full of beans, there being no connection between GOTV and vote tabulation, save for the actual voting. > > At any rate, all ORCA could effectively do is the same shit only faster, GOTV-wise. And the Republicans didn’t have any problem getting their people out, the problem was not enough people, period. If ORCA had worked perfectly, no one would have noticed. "Oh, look at the shiny new thing! I’m told they call it a ‘database’! " I agree that Anonymous is full of shit. Even if they did target this ORCA, they certainly did not prevent the Romney campaign from having a back-up plan. But GOTV was crucial in this campaign, and explained why a lot of polls undercounted Obama voters. In fact there was a group of behavioral scientists who advised the Obama campaign and provided strategies for getting people to vote, strategies which in general have been experimentally validated. Probably didn’t change the outcome - but I’m sure it helped. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/30 "2012-11-22T04:01:11Z")
I didn’t express my thought clearly. A GOTV is standard issue, everybody does it, even as hopes vary, but everyone does because, just as you say, it helps. It pretty much has to. But the Pubbies have got most all the voters they are going to, and are destined to have less. That solid commitment on the part of the American right is formidable, but has no room to expand. Very few Republican voters waffle about whether they will or won’t vote, they vote. So, contacted by a GOTV, the Republican voter responds positively, they vote. Most likely, they would have anyway. Motivation counts for less. On the Dem side, there is more slack, there are more people wavering. Not wavering between whether to vote for Obama or Romney, but wavering between dealing with the hassle of voting or not. A GOTV effort has some maneuvering room there, there is a harvest to be brought in. Of course, you are likely trying to talk someone into standing on line for four to seven hours. Which is the basis for my conclusion that had ORCA functioned perfectly, it wouldn’t have made very much difference. By midnight, the NARWHAL would have brought home the bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/31 "2012-11-22T04:11:16Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > [Hacker group Anonymous is claiming that they brought down Orca to try to stop electronic vote manipulation.](http://www.salon.com/2012/11/20/did_anonymous_stop_rove_stealing_the_election/) > > Probably bullshit, but it’s interesting to think about. I think Rove got a 2% return on his $300 million investment in the 2008 election. My understanding of the contemporary GOP is a lot of it can be divided into the true believers and the leaders. The true believers (Bachmann, Cain, Palin, Santorum, Perry) believe a laundry list of easily disproven bullshit and are pretty disconnected from reality. The leaders aren’t but pretend to be (Cheney, Rove, Romney, Gingrich, etc) to build coalitions. This election seemed to show even the leaders aren’t that competent. Rove losing all that money, Romney’s incompetence at everything except the first debate, etc. So my point is, I doubt Rove has that kind of competence because he went into the 2008 election as the boogieman. A guy who would funnel the money of billionaires into well crafted ads, then turn the election. But all he did was waste all that money because you can’t buy a better candidate for president or senate. But I could always be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/32 "2012-11-22T04:23:09Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I agree that Anonymous is full of shit. Even if they did target this ORCA, they certainly did not prevent the Romney campaign from having a back-up plan. > > But GOTV was crucial in this campaign, and explained why a lot of polls undercounted Obama voters. In fact there was a group of behavioral scientists who advised the Obama campaign and provided strategies for getting people to vote, strategies which in general have been experimentally validated. Probably didn’t change the outcome - but I’m sure it helped. What methods did they use? I have heard for every 100 phone calls reminding people to vote, about 4 will actually vote who wouldn’t otherwise and another 4 in the households that are called will vote. But aside from that I don’t know what other validated methods to increase turnout are out there. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/33 "2012-11-22T05:25:19Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I agree that Anonymous is full of shit. Even if they did target this ORCA, they certainly did not prevent the Romney campaign from having a back-up plan. Anonymous did not target this ORCA. The targeted something else that _they_ called an ORCA. (I read the wiki article on Anonymous. It turns out they started out at the 4chan imageboard. That makes sense: the video they released 2 weeks before the election had a certain _elan_. But although the group has a history of hacking, they also have been known to pull stunts.) > [@elucidator](#): > > But the Pubbies have got most all the voters they are going to, and are destined to have less. That solid commitment on the part of the American right is formidable, but has no room to expand. … > > On the Dem side, there is more slack, there are more people wavering. Not wavering between whether to vote for Obama or Romney, but wavering between dealing with the hassle of voting or not. I dunno: I understand that the non-voting population is ideologically similar to the voting population. And turnout rates in the US are notoriously low. So it seems that recruiting voters is something that both sides need to do well. Frankly, this worries me a little. I mean it’s nice to know that the Dems have a crack team of experts working for them. But it’s not like these are patented secrets: the Republicans could presumably drum up the fundamentalists if they needed a pool of labor. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/34 "2012-11-22T12:45:43Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > the Republicans could presumably drum up the fundamentalists if they needed a pool of labor. I think that’s part of the issue here. Read the article about NARWHAL and what little information there is about ORCA. They don’t need a pool of labor, they need a pool of expertise. These systems are not easy to build, populate, or maintain. The Republicans look at a person’s fundamentalism first, skill set second and this _is_ rocket science. Now, it’s possible that they can hire in the expertise they need, but I predict that the campaign staff won’t trust the hired gun geeks, won’t support them, and won’t implement their suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/35 "2012-11-22T16:05:37Z")
Why does everyone keep referring to “the hacker group Anonymous”? There is no such group. The original meaning of “anonymous” was “we don’t know who did it”. And, guess what, that’s _still_ what it means. When someone says “The hacker group Anonymous broke into so-and-so and shut down such-and-such”, all they really mean is “Some hacker or another did this, but we don’t know who”. For each event ascribed to Anonymous, there’s some person or people behind it, but there’s no evidence of any connection at all between those people. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/36 "2012-11-22T22:45:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why does everyone keep referring to “the hacker group Anonymous”? There is no such group. The original meaning of “anonymous” was “we don’t know who did it”. And, guess what, that’s _still_ what it means. When someone says “The hacker group Anonymous broke into so-and-so and shut down such-and-such”, all they really mean is “Some hacker or another did this, but we don’t know who”. For each event ascribed to Anonymous, there’s some person or people behind it, but there’s no evidence of any connection at all between those people. Huh? > **[Anonymous (hacker group)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group))** > > Anonymous is a decentralized international activist and hacktivist collective and movement primarily known for its various cyberattacks against several governments, government institutions and government agencies, corporations, and the Church of Scientology. > Anonymous originated in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an "anarchic", digitized "global brain" or "hivemind". Anonymous members (known as anons... They appear to have carried out several coordinated attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/37 "2012-11-23T00:06:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why does everyone keep referring to “the hacker group Anonymous”? There is no such group. The original meaning of “anonymous” was “we don’t know who did it”. And, guess what, that’s _still_ what it means. When someone says “The hacker group Anonymous broke into so-and-so and shut down such-and-such”, all they really mean is “Some hacker or another did this, but we don’t know who”. For each event ascribed to Anonymous, there’s some person or people behind it, but there’s no evidence of any connection at all between those people. Parmy Olsen would probably disagree with you. [We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency](http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Inside-LulzSec-Insurgency/dp/0316213543). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451/38 "2012-11-23T00:26:00Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > What methods did they use? I have heard for every 100 phone calls reminding people to vote, about 4 will actually vote who wouldn’t otherwise and another 4 in the households that are called will vote. But aside from that I don’t know what other validated methods to increase turnout are out there. Some examples, from the Times article and from the literature. (My daughter is in grad school and she runs experiments around some of this stuff.) If you get people to say they will vote, the chance of them actually voting goes up. If you get them to commit to a time, it is even better. These are far more effective than just reminders. They also did things like say that a persons neighbors voted in the last election (this information is publicly available) which also increases turnout. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-orca-will-win-the-election-for-romney/640451.md?page=1)