Robo-Calls Push Voters to Draft Clinton in 2012

(Newser) – The “Hillary for president” campaign just got bumped up a notch: Voters across the nation have been getting robo-dialed by a woman—who sounds a bit like the good secretary of state—insisting that “America would be better off” with Clinton as president. The robo-calls, which have been going out to states Clinton won in the 2008 primary, then direct people to RunHillary2012.net to sign a petition. Responses to the robo-calls on Twitter have ranged from confused to “unprintably” angry, the Washington Post reports. And, of course, the fiasco has led to more denials from the Clinton camp; her 2008 press secretary calls the whole thing “silly mischief-making."

Who is behind the mischief-making, however, remains a mystery. The pollsters who have repeatedly pushed for a Clinton campaign in 2012 deny responsibility, and the owner of RunHillary2012.net is anonymous. “There are all kinds of theories,” says the creator of StopPoliticalCalls.org. “It’s the Republicans, it’s Karl Rove. It’s [pollsters] Schoen and Caddell." Whoever it is might be barking up the wrong tree: Researchers have found that robo-calls don’t work. Plus, Clinton’s former press secretary notes, “the fundamental flaw in this logic” is that Clinton supports President Obama’s re-election, “and poll after poll after poll shows that Democrats are united behind their standard-bearer.”