The Anti-Teabagger Voicemail That Got the Geico Voiceover Actor Fired
DC Douglas was the voice of Geico until recently, when a voicemail he left to Teabagger organization FreedomWorks was blasted over the Internet by organization leader Matt Kibbe. A video uploaded by Douglas explains how the group got him fired.
The video, which includes audio of the original message to FreedomWorks left by Douglas, also includes examples of the harassing messages left to him by FreedomWorks devotees. Kibbe posted Douglas' cell phone number in a blog post on biggovernment.com, instructing readers to "Feel free to contact (him)… call his employer too. Let them know that you…are now in the market for car insurance." The next day, GEICO held auditions to replace Douglas.
In the original message, Douglas asks what percentage of the groups followers are "mentally retarded," and wonders if the group has a PR strategy for when one of their members "actually kills somebody."
Getting the guy fired seems like a disproportionate response to someone calling as a private citizen to voice their opinions about a political organization, but GEICO has been in the FreedomWorks crosshairs for some time after pulling their ads from Glenn Beck's show. Douglas believes that his connection to GEICO is why he was targeted so forcefully.
While Douglas used a pseudonym in the voicemail (Lance Baxter - GREAT pseudonym!) he also included his real phone number, which doubtless made it easy for the group to track down his real identity. Just goes to show you, if you have some trolling you need to do, keep it on the Internet!