By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
You probably never heard his name if you’re not an active Burlington County Republican, Save Jerseyans, but Bob “The Caller” Weisberg was more than just a beloved fixture of the Burlco GOP’s Mt. Holly headquarters before he passed away on Sunday.
He was a legend with his own fan page.
“’Bob the Caller’ selflessly dedicated his time over the last 4 years to make Burlington County a better place. His passion for getting Republican’s elected on all levels was contagious to our staff and fellow volunteers,” explained Josh Foote, the county party’s executive director who spent countless hours with his star volunteer over many cycles. “Even with his health failing him over the last few years, you could always count on ‘Bob the Caller’ to show up and do his 500 phone calls a day, six days a week. Anyone who was lucky enough to work with Bob can’t help but to recall a funny story about some interaction they had with him. Bob was family to each one of us and he will truly be missed.”
500 calls a day? That wasn’t a typo.
Josh believes Bob racked up no less than 150,000 phone bank calls on behalf of Republican candidates, posting approximately 90,000 in just the last two years alone.
Outside of the GOP headquarters conference room, I’m told Bob was married, had two daughters and grandchildren but nevertheless enjoyed dedicating significant amounts of his time to volunteerism after retiring from a career in the insurance industry. Joking with other volunteers, pounding away at his call sheet and keeping visiting candidates on their toes impacted the atmosphere of a late-cycle GOTV grind in an way that’s hard to replicate.
Unsurprisingly, his passing has elicited an outpouring of sentiment across the county.
“On Sunday I found out that one of the best activists the Burlington County GOP has ever had has passed,” Chairman Bill Layton shared in his own reflection via Facebook. “Everyone knew him as Bob ‘the caller’. I knew him as Bob. Someone who was passionate about the Republican Party and our core principles. Someone who held everyone he met to a higher standard. Bob will be missed. Never forgotten. He touched every one of us. My prayers and thoughts go out to him and his Family.”
Missed in more ways than one, Save Jerseyans.
In a cynical age when politics is getting uglier and zeal is often rewarded with scorn, Bob the Caller was a rare breed who injected positivity and energy into many, many successful Burlington County campaigns. Said another way, he gave a damn even as our culture moved in the direction of civic ambivalence. Everyone who’s ever phone banked knows it can be tedious. Folks like Bob made it a joy. We could use about 2,100 more like him; after all, when you cut through the power politics and big money, parties are still little more than the sum of their… Bobs. It’s a lesson that’s more relevant today than ever.
Rest in peace, Bob the Caller!
Permission granted to give your receiver arm a rest. Mission accomplished.
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RIP, Bob. I never met him, but it sounds like he was the kind of person who could always be counted on. This is what real politics is built on- people who give their time & put in a lot of hard, almost thankless work. You get to talk with & meet a lot of different kinds of people, and appreciate that although you may have some differences of opinion, or different perspectives, you’re part of a team. Very different – about 180 degrees different – from what’s happening now in the big race.
Nice tribute, Matt. Bob had two grandsons though, not granddaughters.
“You probably never heard his name if you’re not an active Burlington County Republican, Save Jerseyans…”
Which means that, unless you are one of 0.00001% of the U.S. population, you’ve never heard of this grinning GOPe stooge.
RIP, Bobbo…in light of the destruction that’s coming this November, your spare time will have been completely wasted.
Gene,
Stay classy you Jerkoff.
It certainly is what YOU are thinking, fuckwit. “Classy” is what cost the GOPe eight crucial years that could have been devoted to rebuilding this republic. Instead, you and your “classy” fuckhead GOPe brethren have devoted yourselves to aiding and abetting the enemy.
You deserve what’s coming your way.