Bernie bots running fake research polls via text?

[ecstatic]

So I got a text message from someone claiming to be from VBC research. I played along, since I've been getting a ton of texts from political organizations over the past year (feels good to be reached out to, lol).

Anyway, it all seemed to be legit until I gave negative feedback to the Bernie related questions. Then the bot(?) dropped all pretenses:

Supporters of Bernie Sanders have said: "Nearly half of new wealth goes to the top 1%, many families still struggle. Bernie believes the wealthy and corporate special interests have too much power in Washington and he will make them pay their fair share to invest in the middle class. He will fight to provide affordable healthcare to everyone through a Medicare for All system, equal pay for women, improve wages, and protect and expand Social Security. Bernie has always stood up to the powerful, opposed corruption and fought for ordinary people. He will make sure pharmaceutical companies, Wall Street, and billionaires like Donald Trump no longer run our government."

Asking once more, who is the candidate you are most likely to support?

I don't like this. Why not just tell the truth from the jump instead of falsely representing yourself as a research firm?

[Demsrule86]

1. Push poll.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. That's not even a legit poll. It's a push poll.

[Dennis Donovan]

3. Accusations w/o links don't work.

[ecstatic]

8. Sorry, no link, this is just my experience but

upon googling "vbc research," it appears that other people have received similar texts, and it looks like it is tied to Bernie's campaign.

[MineralMan]

9. See my Bogus Poll! post below.

[redqueen]

13. Or at least a screenshot nt

[MineralMan]

4. Bogus Poll!

Lots of that going on. Let's see if the results get posted here.

Searching on Google turns up nothing about any polling firm calling itself VBC. It does turn up discussions in several places regarding push polls under that name, however.

Search for VBC Research and you'll see those discussions.

[George II]

5. Trashy tactics. "Asking once more" as though that paragraph would change your mind?

[DURHAM D]

6. О нет eom

[Hassin Bin Sober]

7. VBC stands for Very Bernie Christmas

[Eliot Rosewater]

11. If Bernie is elected, how soon do you expect to see no tuition college or UHC?

[TomCADem]

12. Maybe We Can Expect More Deals Between Bernie Family Members

For all of Bernie's focus on college and attacks on family political dynasties, Bernie seems to know from experience. For example, Carina Driscoll has followed her step father into politics, and was funded and endorsed by Bernie's SuperPAC, Our Revolution, notwithstanding Bernie's statement that, “In our family, however, we do not believe in dynastic politics."

Carina's husband, in turn, was paid about $100,000 a year to run the Sander's Institute. Bernie's son, Levi, is on Bernie's payroll as a senior strategist even though Jeff Weaver described him as follows: “[He] really doesn’t know much, to be honest with you.”

With Bernie, politics, business and campaigning are a family affair.

https://vtdigger.org/2017/06/13/one-family-two-schools-questions-swirl-around-another-sanders-deal/

One family, two schools: Questions raised about another Sanders deal

While one deal struck by Jane O’Meara Sanders during her time as Burlington College’s president has triggered a federal investigation, another arrangement she engineered is breeding claims of nepotism and allegations of veiled threats against her husband’s presidential campaign. The bad blood centers on the relationship the college forged with the Vermont Woodworking School, co-founded and run by Sanders’ daughter, Carina Driscoll.

* * *

Moore is equally critical of a deal Jane Sanders brokered between the college and Driscoll’s Vermont Woodworking School, a facility in Franklin County where Burlington College students took courses. In interviews with VTDigger, Moore said the college got the short end of the stick.

“This was a sweetheart deal for Carina Driscoll, Jane Sanders’ daughter,” said Moore. Driscoll is the stepdaughter of Bernie Sanders.

Moore served as the college’s president from 2014 until May 2016, when the school abruptly shut down.

[NYMinute]

17. There is experience of bankrupting Burlington College

under the belt already.

[progressoid]

14. If Elizabeth is elected how soon do you expect to see the ultra-millionaire tax?

Or getting rid of the electoral college. There are plenty of things Warren wants that aren't going to happen either. If you live in a glass house...

BTW, I like both Warren and Sanders as our nominee. In fact, I like them because of their bold plans. They are at the top my list. But I don't expect everything will be implemented when they get to the White House.

[Blue_true]

19. Ok, so what DO you expect will get done?

At least with Biden a person gets a sense that pretty much all he is promising is doable (save for making republicans sane, that train left the station a while ago).

[progressoid]

20. The problem with electing Biden is that we are starting the fight from the center.

Then the compromised bills become a center-right legislation.

I'd rather start bargaining from the left and if necessary compromise toward the center.

[Blue_true]

21. History has clearly shown that starting the fight from the center or center-left

results in more progress getting done (in fact, that is the only points that yield any progress). In order to get anything done politicians must have the majority of the country behind them, the vast majority of the country leans centrist to center-left, that is something that the far left can't seem to accept, but it is a political reality that results in defeat to any politician that don't get it. There are spots where leftist politicians win, but when one study those places, they over time moved to a point where a leftist politician was viable.

I know that people of your mindset always bring up FDR, but FDR catered to racist southern democrats and largely bypassed African Americans and American Indians with the New Deal programs. So FDR was pretty conservative. It was left up to Truman, who people of your mindset pan to integrate the Armed Forces and begin the process of giving soldiers of color VA benefits. Of course people of your mindset loath LBJ, but in terms of what progress we have today, LBJ was monumental, his policies were center to center-left.

I don't remotely buy your argument, because a review of history proves it wrong.

[David__77]

10. I think text push polling is not unique to Sanders.

It’s probably an effective way to reach out to people who would never answer a call from an unknown number.

[redstatebluegirl]

15. I got something similar and recognized it as a push poll and deleted it.

[NYMinute]

16. It is deceptive indeed but this is not the first time nt

[NYMinute]

18. Here is another anecdote about the same poll

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=331611.0