Required To Volunteer?

KMGH Denver reported The Obama campaign has begun notifying people who got tickets for the big acceptance speech at Invesco Field the final night of the convention.... Those viewers said the campaign told them they must volunteer six hours for the campaign by Friday in order to get a ticket.

Volunteer is something you do of your own free will, not something you are required to do. If they want to announce that volunteers will get a ticket, that is one thing, but to announce free tickets, and then say you must earn them by volunteering is another.

"I got a call that if I want the tickets I have to volunteer two shifts of three hours apiece -- for one ticket. If I want two tickets, then it's four shifts of two hours apiece," said Berenice Christensen. Another 7NEWS viewer sent an e-mail that said, "I received a call Monday saying I could 'qualify' for the tickets if I do 12 hours of volunteer work for the Obama campaign between now and Friday the 15th.".... The Obama campaign insists that volunteering is not a requirement to get a ticket.

They said those who were told they must volunteer must have clicked on the opt-in button for "all-star seating" when they signed up for the tickets. If you click that button, then you are required to volunteer, but you get a better seat.

Oh so they fill up the poor seats with anyone, but you can work to get a better seat. Are you still a volunteer if you are being compensated by a better seat?

If you choose not to volunteer, you retain your place in line for what is called a "community credential," according to the campaign.

Susan Duclos blogged To make matters worse, it is reported that the telephone recording also makes it clear that satisfying the work requirement still does not guarantee someone to be eligible for a ticket.

That is a bummer. You might do volunteer work you did not want to do, and still not get a ticket.

Ed Morrissey wondered If the campaign requires people to work for several hours to acquire them, doesn’t that make this an in-kind contribution rather than volunteer work? If people who have already contributed to the limit for Obama perform work as compensation towards these tickets, then they could break campaign law by doing so....

Obama didn’t require Germans in Berlin to work for him in order to cheer him at the Tiergarten. Why does Obama treat Germans better than Americans?

Stoptheaclu blogged Me personally, I can think of a lot better things to do. You know, like, work for a living, spend time with my family, sleep, shove bamboo shoots under my fingernails… stuff like that. But I guess if you support the Obamamessiah and want to see your idol, you must automatically put your life aside and sacrifice every hour you aren’t at your job volunteering for him. Who needs sleep when you’ve got the Obamamessiah?

Cassy Fiano blogged I guess that Democrats aren't as concerned about their supporters working and taking care of their families. But of course, this is typical Obama. We're supposed to give up everything for him, support everything he does, and then cheer wildly about it at the end of the day. And why would he give anything away for free? This bait-and-switch deal with Obama is the premise of his entire campaign: he lures you in with pretty words and nice-sounding promises, and then once he's got you hooked, he knocks you over the head with reality.

Michelle Malkin blogged Guess she won’t be making the Big O gesture with the rest of the cult. The Soul-Fixer has his work cut out for him.

Riehl blogged They always said if George Bush were elected the country could be looking at forced labor camps. And they were right.

TBlumer blogged Can you imagine the traditional media outcry if the GOP convention and its stereotypical mean, exploitative capitalists started demanding “slave labor” as a condition for entry — and either incompletely disclosed the requirement, or only disclosed it after the fact?