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relatedly, my wife received polititexts destined to her conservative father. The latest was actually genius IMO, in that it stated "Dear STEVEN, due to inactivi

relatedly, my wife received polititexts destined to her conservative father. The latest was actually genius IMO, in that it stated "Dear STEVEN, due to inactivity, your registration will be changed to DEMOCRAT in 20 minutes unless you navigate to this link." It, I assume, redirected to some support page to donate to the US conservative party or its affiliates. The social engineering is getting more effective

mcintyre1994 8mo ago
Inevitably some people are going to be away from their phones when they receive that, so I wonder what they think when they continue getting needy messages from Republicans after that!
SketchySeaBeast 8mo ago
I don't know if the fact that it fully slipped into the absurd or the fact that it probably still worked on people is sadder. I do love the idea of voter registration oscillating back and fourth at 20 minutes intervals forever. Would make voting in the primaries way more exciting as the voter base kept flipping.
- idiotsecant 8mo ago
  This isn't even close to the most ridiculous emotional manipulation techniques American conservative fundraising uses to target old people who might not be in full possession of their faculties. It's some of the scummiest stuff possible.
- zahlman 8mo ago
  To me as a Canadian, the absurd part is that ordinary people are expected to have "registered" with a party (as opposed to registering with the independent organization that runs elections, like we do; they automate getting most of the voter roll from Revenue Canada, but this requires your explicit consent on the tax form).
  - LorenzoGood 8mo ago
    This is just for primaries, you register to vote with the state as well.
    - buellerbueller 8mo ago
      Still absurd that "free" "democratic" elections are allowed to require party membership, even for the primary.
      - lbotos 8mo ago
        How do you envision this working without the "opposing party" poisoning the vote to get a weaker opponent?
        buellerbueller 8mo ago
        I envision that it does not matter, because this is a tactic that would 1) be available to all, and 2) it gives up your vote for someone of your own party, thereby weakening your own position. It's self regulating.
        mothballed 8mo ago
        Can't they do that now? If I think my chosen primary guy is winning in a landslide I could just register for another party I don't like and vote for someone who I think is easier to beat.
        yunwal 8mo ago
        You would still forfeit the ability to vote in your primary though. I do think there are people that do this, but most people want to vote in their primary regardless of whether it's a landslide.
        deleted 8mo ago
        [deleted]
      - 8mo ago
- Hizonner 8mo ago
  > I don't know if the fact that it fully slipped into the absurd or the fact that it probably still worked on people is sadder. The thing is that that one plays on propaganda that people have already been conditioned to accept. Very probably this person's father believes that the Democrats (a) control the state-operated voter registration system, and (b) manipulate it to their advantage. He believes that because he's been sent that message through a vast number of channels for many years. He would think it was absolutely in character for his registered party to be changed, and would probably think that would somehow affect how his vote was actually counted. It's no more absurd than the idea that busloads of illegal aliens are showing up to vote "somewhere". Or whatever other idiotic lies they've been telling forever.

mcintyre1994 8mo ago

Inevitably some people are going to be away from their phones when they receive that, so I wonder what they think when they continue getting needy messages from Republicans after that!

SketchySeaBeast 8mo ago

I don't know if the fact that it fully slipped into the absurd or the fact that it probably still worked on people is sadder. I do love the idea of voter registration oscillating back and fourth at 20 minutes intervals forever. Would make voting in the primaries way more exciting as the voter base kept flipping.

idiotsecant 8mo ago
This isn't even close to the most ridiculous emotional manipulation techniques American conservative fundraising uses to target old people who might not be in full possession of their faculties. It's some of the scummiest stuff possible.
zahlman 8mo ago
To me as a Canadian, the absurd part is that ordinary people are expected to have "registered" with a party (as opposed to registering with the independent organization that runs elections, like we do; they automate getting most of the voter roll from Revenue Canada, but this requires your explicit consent on the tax form).
- LorenzoGood 8mo ago
  This is just for primaries, you register to vote with the state as well.
  - buellerbueller 8mo ago
    Still absurd that "free" "democratic" elections are allowed to require party membership, even for the primary.
    - lbotos 8mo ago
      How do you envision this working without the "opposing party" poisoning the vote to get a weaker opponent?
      - buellerbueller 8mo ago
        I envision that it does not matter, because this is a tactic that would 1) be available to all, and 2) it gives up your vote for someone of your own party, thereby weakening your own position. It's self regulating.
      - mothballed 8mo ago
        Can't they do that now? If I think my chosen primary guy is winning in a landslide I could just register for another party I don't like and vote for someone who I think is easier to beat.
        yunwal 8mo ago
        You would still forfeit the ability to vote in your primary though. I do think there are people that do this, but most people want to vote in their primary regardless of whether it's a landslide.
      - deleted 8mo ago
        [deleted]
    - 8mo ago
Hizonner 8mo ago
> I don't know if the fact that it fully slipped into the absurd or the fact that it probably still worked on people is sadder. The thing is that that one plays on propaganda that people have already been conditioned to accept. Very probably this person's father believes that the Democrats (a) control the state-operated voter registration system, and (b) manipulate it to their advantage. He believes that because he's been sent that message through a vast number of channels for many years. He would think it was absolutely in character for his registered party to be changed, and would probably think that would somehow affect how his vote was actually counted. It's no more absurd than the idea that busloads of illegal aliens are showing up to vote "somewhere". Or whatever other idiotic lies they've been telling forever.