They are certainly unpaid. I've had some experience with congressional interns (I was one last summer and lived with a bunch of others), while he's clearly not speaking officially for their Senators, they are definitely informed enough that what he said clearly wasn't an accident. Maybe he's pissed about it too (more likely than an accident), but he's certainly aware. Given the controversy about the subject, I would imagine that he's got a very standardized response.
One thing they certainly do is record all the responses. He's got a tally of how many people called, from where, and what they thought about things even if he doesn't put much effort into responding.
When things are really controversial, they get absolutely flooded. I'm a little disappointed you got through at all. I know I had some friends this summer working in the offices of people on the super committee and they couldn't answer calls fast enough or even clear voice mails fast enough to keep the answering machine open. This tells me that a whole lot less people are calling than are saying they are calling from the internet.
One thing they certainly do is record all the responses. He's got a tally of how many people called, from where, and what they thought about things even if he doesn't put much effort into responding.
When things are really controversial, they get absolutely flooded. I'm a little disappointed you got through at all. I know I had some friends this summer working in the offices of people on the super committee and they couldn't answer calls fast enough or even clear voice mails fast enough to keep the answering machine open. This tells me that a whole lot less people are calling than are saying they are calling from the internet.