Connecticut's 4th District: "It's Paul Newman on the phone"

I just got off the phone with Brother Marathon Pundit #1, who lives in Connecticut's 4th District, whose current representative, moderate Republican Chris Shays, is in a tight race with Democrat Diane Farrell, a Westport selectwoman.

Actor Paul Newman lives in Westport too, and he's been enlisted in the battle to unseat Shays.

Automated calls are bombarding residents of the 4th--and one of the most prevalent is a recording of Paul Newman urging residents of southeastern Connecticut to vote for Farrell.

When my brother told me he's getting "about a dozen of calls a day," he might've been exaggerating--buy maybe not.

From the Greenwich Time:

Mary Sotos is glad she doesn't have an answering machine.

Not that she's anti-social or a Luddite; the Greenwich senior said she wouldn't have any room for messages because of a barrage of automated political phone calls this fall.

"Oh, they're awful," said Sotos, a Republican in her 80s who lives at Putnam Hill. "I don't even pay attention. I got two just before lunchtime. I got one Sunday night."

"Robo calls," as they are commonly known, are seen as an increasingly cheap and time-saving alternative to direct mail or television advertisements by many candidates and political parties.

In addition to this Connecticut race, Newman TV and radio spots, where the blue-eyed one talks up Democratic senate candidate Ned Lamont, are airing in the Constitution State.

Technorati tags: Connecticut Shays politics Paul Newman Lamont Congress