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Are You a Blog Troll? Collect Your Points at JohnMcCain.com

On McCain's "Blog Interact" page, where the candidate's supporters can find recommended blogs of all ideological stripes, the campaign is actually awarding points for trolling.

Help spread the word about John McCain on news and blog sites. Your efforts to help get the message out about John McCain's policies and plan for the future is one of the most valuable things you can do for this campaign. You know why John McCain should be the next President of the United States and we need you to tell others why.
Select from the numerous web, blog and news sites listed here, go there, and make your opinions supporting John McCain known. Once you’ve commented on a post, video or news story, report the details of your comment by clicking the button below. After your comments are verified, you will be awarded points through the McCain Online Action Center.

The site even has "Today's Talking Points" that McCain supporters can cut and paste into the comments sections of liberal blogs.

The lack of online savvy on display here is just stunning. But at least "John McCain is aware of the internet." (Via Andrew Sullivan)






Comments

What exactly do the "points" get you? Can you exchange them for McCain-embroidered golf equipment?

Posted by: bacon on 06/24/08 at 9:17 AM  Respond

C'mon, Bacon, don't let's be silly! We all know these points add up to a free meal at Denny's! Woohoo!

Posted by: Lea on 06/24/08 at 9:28 AM  Respond

Do they really think people are so weak-minded that just pasting a talking point will --- what's happening to me ---

John McCain will put the national interest ahead of partisanship, he will work with anyone who sincerely wants to get this country moving again. If John McCain is elected President, the era of the permanent campaign will end.

Seriously, maybe "trolls" should be reserved for conservatives who just screw around on liberal sites, making nasty comments or pasting screeds regardless of topic, while those participating in a paste-today's-talking-point campaign should be called "zombies", since they haven't even the brains to write their own nonsense.

I post over on Salon and they have a troll actually called "bucksforMcCain". I think if you are a troll, you are supposed to hide your tail.

It is interesting how so many of the right wing bloggers post invective in capital letters, specialize in name-calling, make unsupported assertions, and generally act like they are about 19. They are rarely thoughtful or ask questions. What is it about being right wing that dumbs things down? Emotional thinkers, eh?

I wouldn't waste my time on right wing sites. Life is too short.

Posted by: Elydog on 06/24/08 at 10:33 AM  Respond

I did think it was weird that the suggested sites to troll listed 4 or 5 liberal, 4 or 5 moderate, and about 40 conservative sites. Just who exactly is McCain trying to troll? A concerted effort to troll those who are supposed to be your base - that's not a good footing to be on, right?

Posted by: bacon on 06/24/08 at 11:14 AM  Respond

"A concerted effort to troll those who are supposed to be your base - that's not a good footing to be on, right?"

That's why McCain's page doesn't say a single word about "trolling" on any of the sites, which this story's author knew if he actually read the page in question.
It doesn't suggest posting to annoy or get a rise out of liberal or democrat posters.

It just promotes posting the McCain campaign's version of things on politically oriented discussion boards.

You can find similar "talking points" lists on Democratic Party run sites all over the web.
Doesn't mean if you use them to debate conservatives or Republicans you've automatically become a "troll".
It just means you're equally as lame and lazy as the Repubs that do the same.

Posted by: Troll-Not on 06/24/08 at 11:26 AM  Respond

I dont think the left or right will fall for this pandering

Posted by: Jet on 06/24/08 at 8:52 PM  Respond

Why exactly should this be considered a "lack of online savvy"? It may be lame but it is a savvy way to use the masses to help game the system and spread their message online.

Posted by: Marcel on 06/25/08 at 1:55 PM  Respond

I think this is just one more example of why we need to get beyond this liberal v. conservative, red v. blue, Republican v. Democrat politics. We need to start electing people who want to listen to us and not us to listen to them.

Posted by: Cabbage on 06/25/08 at 4:42 PM  Respond

"What is it about being right wing that dumbs things down? Emotional thinkers, eh?"

What it's about imo is that progressives (esp. the green variety) are more evolved (therefore, more intelligent and deeper) than conservatives.

Couldn't they just borrow Ron Paul's spambots?

["I think this is just one more example of why we need to get beyond this liberal v. conservative, red v. blue, Republican v. Democrat politics. We need to start electing people who want to listen to us and not us to listen to them."]

I couldn't agree more!
I get regular emailings from DCCC, and a couple of months back they were inviting me to support their new "grassroots" initiative.
Really!
A so-called "grassroots" initiative being organized at the highest levels of government, and pressed on the rank & file. They successfully proved that, either they don't know what a "grassroots movement" means any more (bad), or they consider US so stupid that We don't (worse)!

It's perfectly obvious that McCain's people take a very similar view of the electorate.


["Couldn't they just borrow Ron Paul's spambots?"]

Uh...., No.

The people who support Ron Paul do so precisely because he is so drastically different from the John McCains and Rudy Gulianis of the nation.
Just wearing the same party label as Paul isn't going to be enough to get the Ron Paul voters. A lot of those people support Ron Paul in spite of the fact that Ron Paul is a Republican..., NOT because of it.

Posted by: Troll-Not on 06/26/08 at 8:16 AM  Respond

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