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DU Home » Latest Threads » Forums & Groups » Main » General Discussion (Forum) » Question about Romney tea...

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:03 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

Question about Romney team cancelling volunteers' credit cards and phones right after he lost.

Is it possible to that on short notice? It seems to me that it would be difficult to cancer the credit card accounts and phone accounts for thousands of volunteers in the middle of the night. It seems like this would need to be done in advance, well in advance, not within minutes of conceding a presidential race after midnight.

It seems to me that Romney had planned to cancel the credit card and phone accounts for his volunteers whether or not he won.

29 replies, 1460 views

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Reply Question about Romney team cancelling volunteers' credit cards and phones right after he lost. (Original post)
 yardwork Nov 2012 OP
LineReply stop. it's a phone call. prolly from the campaign treasurer.
 elehhhhna Nov 2012 #1
LineLineReply In the middle of the night?
 yardwork Nov 2012 #9
LineLineLineNew Reply sure, all those 1-800 customer services are 24/7/365
 Motown_Johnny Nov 2012 #26
LineReply They could have done it in seconds w/ one phone call or one email ......
 Botany Nov 2012 #2
LineReply Has anyone stepped forward to repudiate this story?
 hedgehog Nov 2012 #3
LineLineReply What's to repudiate?
 Brother Buzz Nov 2012 #14
LineReply Several cards issued under one account holder, could be done quickly.
 justice1 Nov 2012 #4
LineReply Bill Press had a guest on his show the other day who said
 Not Me Nov 2012 #5
LineReply From an HR perspective...
 dorkzilla Nov 2012 #6
LineLineReply In the middle of the night this could be done instantly?
 yardwork Nov 2012 #10
LineLineLineReply If your card is stolen would you wait until morning to call?
 GoneOffShore Nov 2012 #12
LineLineLineLineNew Reply Gotcha. It could have been done at the last minute, I see that now.
 yardwork Nov 2012 #20
LineLineLineReply Yep, the credit card companies are there 24/7...
 dorkzilla Nov 2012 #13
LineLineLineLineReply So you think that they would have cancelled the cards even if Romney won?
 yardwork Nov 2012 #15
LineLineLineLineLineReply I doubt he would have shut them down if he'd won
 aletier_v Nov 2012 #19
LineLineLineLineLineLineNew Reply Maybe the people who were going to transition didn't have their accounts turned off.
 yardwork Nov 2012 #23
LineLineLineLineLineLineLineNew Reply That's why I mentioned "a few accounts"
 aletier_v Nov 2012 #28
LineLineLineLineLineLineNew Reply Except that this would have been a bookkeeping nightmare
 dorkzilla Nov 2012 #27
LineLineLineLineLineNew Reply I would think it was pre-arranged
 dorkzilla Nov 2012 #22
LineLineLineLineLineLineNew Reply Bain behavior. They invented it.
 yardwork Nov 2012 #25
LineLineLineReply Why not? They're staffed around the clock
 Retrograde Nov 2012 #16
LineReply Some of them were probably planning on using it to get home i.e. airplane fare, taxi's, etc.
 JaneyVee Nov 2012 #7
LineLineNew Reply Yep--right when they are soon to collect their last checks before
 TwilightGardener Nov 2012 #21
LineReply You can do it almost instantly.
 aletier_v Nov 2012 #8
LineReply I agree with you yard work
 Justice Nov 2012 #11
LineLineReply We don't have any evidence, but that's what my gut tells me.
 yardwork Nov 2012 #18
LineLineLineNew Reply they do it so you can't 'steal' from them
 Viva_La_Revolution Nov 2012 #29
LineReply Go online, report it lost/stolen, it is shut off. Done (nt)
 The Straight Story Nov 2012 #17
LineNew Reply If we don't hear them bitch about having to pay hotel or airfare after then
 flamingdem Nov 2012 #24

Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:08 PM

Star Member elehhhhna (26,784 posts)

1. stop. it's a phone call. prolly from the campaign treasurer.

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Response to elehhhhna (Reply #1)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:41 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

9. In the middle of the night?

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Response to yardwork (Reply #9)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:55 PM

Star Member Motown_Johnny (15,526 posts)

26. sure, all those 1-800 customer services are 24/7/365

You might end up talking to someone in India but that doesn't mean you can't cancel your credit card.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:08 PM

Star Member Botany (36,161 posts)

2. They could have done it in seconds w/ one phone call or one email ......

..... the cards were no doubt under a very few accounts and mostly
through one bank ....... Mitt made his money fucking over people
and I have no doubt that he and or his campaign had a "kill switch"
ready to go.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:09 PM

Star Member hedgehog (30,574 posts)

3. Has anyone stepped forward to repudiate this story?

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Response to hedgehog (Reply #3)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:48 PM

Star Member Brother Buzz (8,493 posts)

14. What's to repudiate?

No ghost quotes, it happened.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:12 PM

justice1 (717 posts)

4. Several cards issued under one account holder, could be done quickly.

I read many of the people were from out of state, that this happened to. I would like to hear the reactions, from more workers.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:25 PM

Star Member Not Me (3,282 posts)

5. Bill Press had a guest on his show the other day who said

unlike Meg Whitman in CA and Linda McMAhon in CT, Romney didn't have a cent of his own invested in the race.
Telling.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:26 PM

Star Member dorkzilla (613 posts)

6. From an HR perspective...

I can tell you how incredibly easy this was. The CEO would call me to tell me that she was getting rid of Employee X, and they were meeting with X at 10am. At exactly 10:00, I would call Amex and cancel their card, and cut off their cell phone. At the same time, I would direct IT to change their computer pass codes. By the time they got out of their meeting (10-15 minutes) everything would be done.

If I needed to, I could have cancelled all Amex cards for all our employees with one phone call.

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Response to dorkzilla (Reply #6)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:42 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

10. In the middle of the night this could be done instantly?

I really don't know, which is why I posted this thread.

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Response to yardwork (Reply #10)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:47 PM

Star Member GoneOffShore (11,193 posts)

12. If your card is stolen would you wait until morning to call?

Nope - you call AMEX/VISA/MASTERCARD IMMEDIATELY and they cancel the card.

I've cancelled cards at noon, at midnight, from foreign countries.

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Response to GoneOffShore (Reply #12)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:52 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

20. Gotcha. It could have been done at the last minute, I see that now.

The bigger question is why this was one of the first things that the campaign leadership thought of in the minutes after Romney conceded. I guess they are just used to firing people.

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Response to yardwork (Reply #10)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:47 PM

Star Member dorkzilla (613 posts)

13. Yep, the credit card companies are there 24/7...

but I have a feeling this was pre-arranged. Someone in the campaign probably arranged to have all cards cancelled at midnight, or they had a drop-dead date pre-arranged when they set up the account.

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Response to dorkzilla (Reply #13)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:49 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

15. So you think that they would have cancelled the cards even if Romney won?

I now understand that it is entirely possible that this was a last-minute decision made because Romney lost. However, I would not put it past them to have planned to have cancelled the volunteers' accounts even if he won. It would be typical of Romney. The volunteers were no longer useful to Romney, either way.

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Response to yardwork (Reply #15)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:51 PM

aletier_v (1,773 posts)

19. I doubt he would have shut them down if he'd won

For one thing, a number of those people would transition
into perm positions, and there's no reason to annoy them.

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Response to aletier_v (Reply #19)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:54 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

23. Maybe the people who were going to transition didn't have their accounts turned off.

We don't even know if the stories are true. We have accounts on the blogosphere of rank and file Romney volunteers finding that they had no way to pay for taxis, hotels, and airfare home from the convention center. We don't know that the ones who had been picked to be part of the transition team were treated this way.

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Response to yardwork (Reply #23)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:56 PM

aletier_v (1,773 posts)

28. That's why I mentioned "a few accounts"

I wouldn't be surprised if there were several accounts
with specific missions - advertising, IT, etc.

So perhaps you're right,
there could have been a "transition team" account
which wasn't shut down
but others were.

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Response to aletier_v (Reply #19)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:56 PM

Star Member dorkzilla (613 posts)

27. Except that this would have been a bookkeeping nightmare

The campaign and the transition team would be two separate entities. The probably had replacement cards all set to go for the latter in case of a win.

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Response to yardwork (Reply #15)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:52 PM

Star Member dorkzilla (613 posts)

22. I would think it was pre-arranged

To them and their ilk, it was a business decision. There is no consideration of the human side. I can tell you that this is the reason I no longer do HR work. Its soul-crushing for people like us.

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Response to dorkzilla (Reply #22)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:54 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

25. Bain behavior. They invented it.

It is chilling, though.

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Response to yardwork (Reply #10)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:49 PM

Star Member Retrograde (3,341 posts)

16. Why not? They're staffed around the clock

Credit card companies have customers doing business around the world, so they need to have a way for them to contact the company when they have problems - any time. The more business you do with the company, the better the service - and I suspect an organization like Romney's campaign has a hot-line number directly to a live person. Heck, I have one and I'm not even a Republican!

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:27 PM

JaneyVee (4,257 posts)

7. Some of them were probably planning on using it to get home i.e. airplane fare, taxi's, etc.

What an asshole.

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Response to JaneyVee (Reply #7)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:52 PM

Star Member TwilightGardener (39,696 posts)

21. Yep--right when they are soon to collect their last checks before

being unemployed, they have to shell out probably hundreds for their own flights home. Imagine how mad you'd be if you were laid off while on a business trip and told to purchase your own flight home.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:30 PM

aletier_v (1,773 posts)

8. You can do it almost instantly.

I imagine that all cards were linked into a single (or perhaps a few accounts).

Flip one switch, BING, all shut down.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:44 PM

Justice (4,367 posts)

11. I agree with you yard work

I think they were set to be turned off win or lose.

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Response to Justice (Reply #11)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:50 PM

Star Member yardwork (37,170 posts)

18. We don't have any evidence, but that's what my gut tells me.

I now understand that this could have been a last minute decision, made minutes after Romney conceded, but why? Why would that have been something that the campaign manager was thinking of in those moments of disappointment.

The line of reasoning would have had to be: "OMG we lost!!! How did this happen! I feel shellshocked. Oh yeah, I better cancel all the credit card and phone accounts of our thousands of volunteers. Screw them."

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Response to yardwork (Reply #18)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 03:22 PM

Viva_La_Revolution (27,113 posts)

29. they do it so you can't 'steal' from them

They know if they were in the small guy's shoes, they would run up all kinds of charges on the cards before they got cancelled. So they figure everyone else would do that too.

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:50 PM

Star Member The Straight Story (41,738 posts)

17. Go online, report it lost/stolen, it is shut off. Done (nt)

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Response to yardwork (Original post)

Sat Nov 10, 2012, 12:54 PM

flamingdem (23,277 posts)

24. If we don't hear them bitch about having to pay hotel or airfare after then

it's not such a big deal because they probably had those paid already.

Doesn't mean we can't enjoy it!

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