Republican dirty trick "robo calls" aimed at legless vet

GOP'S Deceptive Robocalls from Depressing Election Turnout
GOP'S Deceptive Robocalls from Depressing Election Turnout

With the Midterm Elections well underway the Republican machine is busy cobbling together their latest Cut-Down-The-Vote campaign. Meet "the robocall."

Your vigilance is needed right now, so take a quick moment to read about what's going on -- today, in your country, in your home -- and pass it on to everyone you know. The national TV networks are thus far ignoring the story, so it's up to you. Tomorrow is too late.

In addition to the phony mailers to Latinos, calls directing voters to nonexistent polls, and a fresh batch of onerous voter ID laws, this year's "hanging chad" is the Robocall.

Robocalling itself is simple: a computer calls your home phone and delivers a pre-recorded message about a candidate. They're annoying, sure, but it's legal and, according to one political strategist, "they represent the freedom of speech that our country was founded on."

Perhaps, but Americans aren't up in arms about an annoyance, and this isn't about the First Amendment. People are angry, and demanding action, because the Republican Party appears to be using fraudulent and misleading calls to suppress the vote in at least 50 districts across the nation....

Jill Porter, a columnist with the Philadelphia Daily News, was sick in bed when she was deluged with the calls:

There are dozens of online computerized-call firms available to do the dirty work. And it's much cheaper in a costly media market such as Philadelphia to use robocalls than to pay for TV ads.

But if they annoy voters rather than enlighten them, what's the point?

That's what I asked Lois Murphy's campaign yesterday.

The answer was simple:

"It's not us!"

Only three recorded calls have been made on behalf of Murphy's campaign, including one from Gov. Rendell, which were sponsored by the Democratic State Committee.

The rest? A "dirty trick" by the Republicans, said communications director Amy Bonitatibus.

The calls, which begin by offering "important information about Lois Murphy," are designed to mislead voters into thinking the message is from her.

Most recipients slam down the phone before finding out otherwise - and then call to complain.

"We've got a ton of complaints, starting about two weeks ago," Bonitatibus said.

"Some of our biggest supporters have said, 'If you call me again, I'm not voting for Lois.'" [...]

It's not just Philadelphia. Calls from across the nation are strikingly similar, indicating at least some level of coordination. Nearly all reported calls begin: "Hi, I'm calling with information about Democrat X..."

The Boston Globe notes that:

FCC rules say all prerecorded messages must "at the beginning of the message, state clearly the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call."

Now listen to the call in the upper right ("Listen" or "Download" buttons) which sounds as though it's in clear violation of the above FCC rule (audio from the Capitol Fax Blog). It doesn't state who it's from until the end when it says that "this call was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee." (This particular call, it should be noted, smears Iraq War hero Tammy Duckworth, a double-amputee).

A report from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette even notes that Indiana residents had received messages with "Indian or Hispanic" accents. Those, messages, the Democrats point out, included references to immigration issues.

Again, because Republicans will claim, and lazy media will dutifully report, that "everybody does it":

Robocall... annoying but legal.
Robocall from Republicans failing to comply with the FCC by identifying themselves upfront and calling back several times to deceive voters into irritation at Democrats... dirty and possibly illegal.

The good news is, newspapers across the nation, and a few local stations have begun to pick up the story. It's not enough. Tell everyone you know about the latest dirty tricks.

Democrats cited Federal Communications Commission guidelines saying the originators of automated calls must identify themselves at the beginning of each call. Republican Party lawyers, however, said the requirement does not apply to political nonprofit organizations.

Re: Republican dirty trick "robo calls" aimed at l



Anybody want to comment on why they might be running as D's?

Republicans Deny Subterfuge as Phone Barrages Anger Voters
It's a Candidate Calling. Again.
Republicans Deny Subterfuge as Phone Barrages Anger Voters
By Charles Babington and Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 7, 2006; A08

This year's heavy volume of automated political phone calls has infuriated countless voters and triggered sharp complaints from Democrats, who say the Republican Party has crossed the line in bombarding households with recorded attacks on candidates in tight House races nationwide.

Some voters, sick of interrupted dinners and evenings, say they will punish the offending parties by opposing them in today's elections. But critics say Republicans crafted the messages to delude voters -- especially those who hang up quickly -- into thinking that Democrats placed the calls.

Republicans denied the allegation, noting that their party acknowledges its authorship at the recorded calls' end. After citizens' complaints in New Hampshire, however, the National Republican Congressional Committee agreed to end the calls to households on the federal do-not-call list, even though the law exempts political messages from such restrictions.

Whether "robo-calls" are positive or negative, mean-spirited or humorous, thousands of Americans are sick of them, according to campaign organizations that have been fielding complaints over the past two weeks.

An Ohio woman, who did not leave her name, called The Washington Post in tears yesterday, saying she could not keep her phone line open to hospice workers caring for her terminally ill mother because of nonstop political robo-calls.

Pamela Lorenz, a retired nurse in Roseville, Calif., called her own experience "harassment as far as I'm concerned" and said, "If I were voting right now, the opponent who's doing this, he'd be off my list for throwing that much trash."

Hour after hour and day after day for two weeks, Lorenz's home has received the same NRCC recorded message attacking Charlie Brown, the Democrat who is challenging Rep. John T. Doolittle (R) in a hard-fought battle in northeastern California. "It is a recorder calling," Lorenz said. "I can't call it back to get them to stop."

Voters in Northern Virginia have been exposed to fewer of the aggressive "push poll" type calls than elsewhere. But they said they have been getting so many of the conventional automated calls plugging candidates that they have started hanging up as soon as the recordings begin or screening them with caller ID.

"I hang up as soon I hear it start. I've already heard most of what people have to say. I don't have time to listen to them," said Angela Elliott, a Fairfax Circle resident who is registered as an independent and has been getting more Democratic calls than Republican ones.

Nicholas Beltrante, of the Alexandria section of Fairfax County, said he has been getting an average of three to five automated calls per day from both Democrats and Republicans. "I made up my mind weeks ago, and the moment I identify them as one of those calls I just hang up," he said.

As annoyed as they are, Northern Virginia voters said their irritation will not prompt them to vote against the campaigns placing the calls, because the calls are positive in nature.

Jane Edmondson, a McLean community activist, registered Democrat and Democratic donor, said she has stopped answering calls that appear as 800 or 877 numbers on her caller ID, for fear that they are robo-calls. At church Sunday, she said, she and others were jealous of one churchgoer who said his caller ID identifies campaign calls as "political calls." "We all said, 'Why don't we get that?' " she said.

Democrats cited federal records indicating that the NRCC recently spent about $600,000 in at least 45 contested House districts for robo-calls, which are among the least expensive campaign tools. The brief calls typically begin with a speaker offering "some information" about the Democratic nominee and then immediately accusing the nominee of seeking to raise taxes, among other perceived wrongs.

Many voters hang up as soon as a robo-call begins -- without waiting for the criticisms or the NRCC sign-off at the end -- so they think it was placed by the Democratic candidate named at the start, said Sarah Feinberg, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Our candidates are inundated with phone calls from furious Democrats and independents saying . . . 'I'm outraged and I'm not going to vote for you anymore,' " she said.

Feinberg said some voters have received robo-calls late at night, despite federal rules barring such calls after 9 p.m. NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said his organization ends all calls by 9 nightly.

Democrats also cited Federal Communications Commission guidelines saying the originators of automated calls must identify themselves at the beginning of each call. Republican Party lawyers, however, said the requirement does not apply to political nonprofit organizations. They rebuffed a "cease and desist" letter sent yesterday by the DCCC.

In a conference call with reporters yesterday, the DCCC chairman, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), compared the widespread robo-calling to a 2002 Republican effort in New Hampshire to jam Democratic phone lines to prevent the Democrats' get-out-the-vote effort. The Republican National Committee has spent more than $2 million to defend its officials in the case, he said. "Make no mistake, this is a dirty trick, one they've done before, one they've gotten caught on and one they continue to do," Emanuel said.

Karyn Hollis, a Villanova University English professor who supports Democrat Lois Murphy in her bid to oust Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), said she has received numerous robo-calls attacking Murphy. "You just get sick of these calls," Hollis said. A quick hang-up can lead the recipient to conclude that Murphy supporters placed the call, she said. Listening to the full message, she said, subjects the voter to a litany of attacks against Murphy.

"It's a double thing," Hollis said. "Either way they win."

Many robo-calls involve celebrities and are positive and straightforward, such as recordings from former president Bill Clinton urging voters to support Democratic nominees. In New Jersey, comic actor Joe Piscopo has recorded messages on behalf of GOP Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr.

In Connecticut, NRCC robo-calls have targeted Dianne Farrell, the Democrat seeking to unseat Rep. Christopher Shays (R). Asked if Farrell has her own automated calls, campaign spokeswoman Jan Ellen Spiegel replied: "Only one, and it's rather distinctive because it's Paul Newman. We haven't gotten complaints about that one."
------------------------------

Staff writers Jonathan Weisman, Dale Russakoff and Michael Powell contributed to this report.

BBB
Anyone want to talk about the shameful disgusting republican attempt to impede people's right to vote. The right to vote is sacred but the republicans use all kinds of illegal tactics each election year to prevent democrats from voting.

Shame on them!

BBB

Election fixing charges fly in Utah county
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Election fixing charges fly in Utah county
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)

Voting appears to be very popular in Daggett County, Utah.

Daggett County has registered 947 voters for Tuesday's election. According to the most recent Census figures, that's four more than the county's population in 2005.

A spokesman for Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says complaints of vote-stuffing in the county are being investigated. Democrats suspect County Clerk Vickie McKee is letting outsiders swell the Daggett County registration rolls to give Republicans an advantage. The Democrats also say the father of a Republican deputy running for sheriff has 14 adults registered at his household. McKee hasn't responded to messages from The Associated Press.

N.H. makes GOP stop some automated calls
N.H. makes GOP stop some automated calls
By KATHARINE WEBSTER, Associated Press Writer
Mon Nov 6, 4:26 PM ET

A Republican organization agreed to stop making automated phone calls to New Hampshire residents on the federal do-not-call list. But the Democrats said Monday that the calls still violate federal rules.

The National Republican Congressional Committee agreed on Sunday to stop calling homes on the registry after a citizen complained to the state attorney general. Under New Hampshire law, political campaigns can contact people on the do-not-call list, but cannot use automated recordings.

The calls criticize Democratic congressional challenger Paul Hodes, who is locked in a tight race against Republican Rep. Charles Bass (news, bio, voting record).

Bass issued a statement Sunday asking all outside groups to stop the calls and said he was pleased that the NRCC had agreed.

But a spokesman for Hodes said the calls also violate a Federal Communications Commission rule that says automated calls must identify their source at the beginning of the message.

One of the calls features a woman who opens by saying, "Hello. I'm calling with information about Paul Hodes," according to a recording released by the state Democratic Party. She goes on to criticize Hodes' position on taxes and ends by saying the call was paid for by the NRCC and was not coordinated with the Bass campaign.

Alex Burgos, an NRCC spokesman, said the group believes its messages comply with all federal laws.

An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment on the dispute.

The NRCC is using "robo calls" in at least 53 competitive House races nationwide. The calls have led to a few complaints to the FCC.

"This is the same kind of dirty tricks we've seen up here in the last couple of election cycles," Hodes spokesman Reid Cherlin said.

In May, a former Republican National Committee official, James Tobin, was sentenced to 10 months behind bars for his role in the jamming of New Hampshire Democrats' telephones on Election Day 2002. He was the third person sent to prison in the case.

They all do it and they are all annoying. I would never base my vote on this.

However, I will not vote for Andy Levin who sent probably a hundred to two hundred (i swear to you I am not kidding) of paper flyers to my mailbox. I would have 5-6 a day on a good day.

He can bite my ass for wasting all that money and killing all those trees.

The Robocalls
The Robocalls
by Dave Johnson
11.06.2006

Republicans are using computers to call voters in several districts. The calls purport to be from Democrats. If you hang up, they call, and call, and call, even into the night and early morning hours. If you DO listen, you hear a smear message about the Democrat. This is widespread and massive, and there is simply no time to respond.

So it might work.

You and I are informed voters. The fact that you are reading this shows that you seek out information. So you are likely to see through - or find out about - this tactic. But consider the situation with most people. They work hard (not that you don't) and don't have a lot of free time. Maybe they have kids they have to get to school or soccer games (or the mall.) For one reason or another they are NOT as well-informed as we are, so they are susceptible to schemes like this one, which is obviously designed to get them angry at the Democratic candidate, possibly enough to keep them from voting at all.

I've been writing about the Republican calling operation here and here. Taylor Marsh is also looking at it. Talking Points Memo is also on this.

There are articles on the robocall operation here, here, here, here, here and here.

At Patriot Project we have also been looking at the earlier push-polling operation.

Update - According to the Republican Party website,

72-HOUR PROGRAM IS WORKING.

The GOP's 72-hour program has reached 27 million volunteer contacts through Saturday, hitting 3 million voters this Saturday alone. By and large, this effort will have its impact on Election Day and will not show up in most public opinion polls.

And this one at DailyKos, you just have to appreciate these guys. It's simple, it's basic and it gets the job done:

Tim Daly from Clarendon got a call saying that if he votes Tuesday, he will be arrested. A recording of his voicemail can be found online at: www.webbforsenate.com/media/phone_message.wav

The transcript from his voicemail reads:

"This message is for Timothy Daly. This is the Virginia Elections Commission. We've determined you are registered in New York to vote. Therefore, you will not be allowed to cast your vote on Tuesday. If you do show up, you will be charged criminally."

Daly has been registered to vote in Virginia since 1998, and he has voted for the last several cycles with no problem. He has filed a criminal complaint with the Commonwealth's attorney in Arlington.

Virginia's widespread voter suppression incidents
Virginia State Board of Elections Secretary Finds Widespread Incidents of Voter Suppression
The American Chronicle
Monday 06 November 2006

Threats of incarceration, changed polling locations, and fliers to "Skip the Election."

Over the past several days, voters throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia have filed complaints of incidents aimed at suppressing voter turn out in heavily Democratic and African American neighborhoods. Today, the Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections Jean Jensen concluded that the incidents appear widespread and deliberate.

"There are now credible reports from multiple jurisdictions around the Commonwealth that establish a pattern of dirty tricks being employed to confuse and frustrate Virginia's voters from exercising their right to vote tomorrow. In addition to reports that have been received by the Democratic Party of Virginia, these local election officials have been receiving reports from concerned voters," said Jack Young, co-chair of Promote the Vote.

Jay Myerson, General Counsel of the Democratic Party of Virginia noted the irony that our troops are fighting to create democracy in Iraq at a time when those very rights are being tested here at home. Myerson and Young urged voters to recognize that voting precincts are not changed by telephone calls and called upon the US Department of Justice to vigorously investigate these matters.

Documented incidents of suppression incidents include:

1) Calls That Voting Will Lead to Arrest.

Tim Daly from Clarendon got a call saying that if he votes Tuesday, he will be arrested. A recording of his voicemail can be found online at: www.webbforsenate.com/media/phone_message.wav

The transcript from his voicemail reads: "This message is for Timothy Daly. This is the Virginia Elections Commission. We've determined you are registered in New York to vote. Therefore, you will not be allowed to cast your vote on Tuesday. If you do show up, you will be charged criminally."

Daly has been registered to vote in Virginia since 1998, and he has voted for the last several cycles with no problem. He has filed a criminal complaint with the Commonwealth's attorney in Arlington.

"This is a clear attempt to erroneously lead voters to believe they cannot participate in the Virginia election. Nothing is further from the truth. You have the right to vote in the Virginia election as long as you are a Virginia resident, registered to vote in Virginia and have not voted in any other general election this year. We've seen this tactic before and it is about time the Republicans learned that it will not work," said Jay B. Myerson, General Counsel of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

2) Widespread Calls, Allegedly From "Webb Volunteers," Telling Voters That Their Polling Location has Changed.

A couple of examples:

a. Norman Cox has been registered to vote in the same location in Arlington since 1972. Someone from a 406 number (in Montana) called to tell him that his polling place has changed. [Note: The Webb Campaign is NOT making any such phone calls.] Cox said he believed that he was being mislead and the caller hung up.

b. Peter Baumann in Cape Charles, VA (North Hampton) got a similar call from a "Webb volunteer" saying his polling location had changed. He said: No, I'm a poll worker and I know where I vote. The girl - who was calling from California - hung up.
The Secretary of the State Board of Elections Jean Jensen has logged dozens of similar calls, finding heavy trends in Accomack County (middle peninsula) and Essex County (outer peninsula) [as reported by the counties' registrars].

3) Fliers in Buckingham County Say "SKIP THIS ELECTION" (paid for by the RNC) have caused many in the African American community to call the Board of Elections to see if the election is still on. The full tag line says: "SKIP THIS ELECTION… (and then in smaller print): Don't Let the Tax and Spend Liberals Win."

"Intimidation of voters has no place in this or any election. The blatant attempts by Republicans to suppress the African American vote by saying: 'SKIP THIS ELECTION' is contrary to the democratic principles that govern our Commonwealth and we hope the world," said Jack Young, the co-chair of Virginia Promote the Vote and a national voting rights expert.

4) Voter Machine Problems.

a. On many ballots in heavily Democratic neighborhoods, Jim's name is cut off. The ballots say: "James H. (Jim)" with no Webb.

b. New reports that ballots in Essex County have Jim's name split on 2 pages. The "James H (Jim)" on one page, "Webb" on the next.

c. Reports of voting machines in Isle of White that do not provide a clear image of the ballot, making voting a challenge.

Jay Myerson said "these are the reasons why the Democratic Party of Virginia since Mark Warner's gubernatorial campaign has urged all voters to participate in the electoral process." Myerson, as co-chair of the Virginia Promote the Vote, reiterated Virginia Promote the Vote's "guarantee to the voters of Virginia: Your Right to Vote. We Guarantee It."

Re: BBB



Shame on Al Gore. He, after all, invented this mess.

How many left leaning media outlets will conveniently forget that some states cross timezones and will start reporting exit poll numbers before the western polls close?

I don't think it will matter, no nation elections this time around.

Re: BBB


Al Gore invented voting machines? Or he invented dirty tricks? Which is it?

supposedly there are steps being taken to counter this... we'll see

Cycloptichorn