Annoying calls launched

The Republican National Committee Monday started making automated calls to Nevadans to complain about their senior senator, apparently hoping the technique will be just as popular for the GOP as it is for carpet cleaners. The call to Nevada says, in part, “Sen. Harry Reid and Senate Democrats think this shutdown is a game. They are playing politics by cutting off our veterans and their benefits. … These men and women served our country with honor and yet Sen. Reid would rather put partisan politics ahead of honoring our commitment to the people who defended this country.”

Although Republicans are usually more vocal in their support of veterans, congressional vote tallies of groups like Disabled American Veterans and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America generally rank Republicans in Congress lower than most Democrats on bills of veteran interest (“McCain and veterans,” Newsview blog, September 26, 2008).