those rascally Republicans - U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum

Curly · #1 (**permalink**) 11-06-2006

This caught my eye - from the City of Brotherly Love.

GOP 'robocall' tactics make me sick - Philadelphia Daily News

Quote:

BEING SICK in bed, which I was for the past couple of weeks, is bad enough.

But being sick in bed while living in a political combat zone - in this case, the 6th Congressional District - is enough to MAKE YOU WANT TO KILL SOMEBODY.

My God, the phone calls! Just as I'd begin to drift off to sleep, the phone would ring and it would be YET ANOTHER DAMN COMPUTERIZED MESSAGE ABOUT LOIS MURPHY.

One, two, three, four times a day it seemed, the phone rang with "robocalls" about the Democratic challenger to incumbent GOP Rep. Jim Gerlach in one of the nastiest races in the country.

I never listened to one word of it, just slammed the phone down and seethed with resentment.

Now, there's an effective campaign strategy, I thought: Infuriate the voters so much that they won't vote.

Quote:

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.' "

Gotta say, it's a neat trick. I've got those robocalls at home, and once I realize it's a recording, I hang up. They're aggravating as hell.

Quote:

Ah, a great tactic on behalf of Gerlach's campaign, then?

Not so, said John Gentzel, communications director. "We've only done a handful - maybe five - in the last couple of months."

Gentzel said they use admittedly unpopular robocalls only to respond quickly to misinformation in a political mailer about Gerlach's voting record.

"This is not us. We're sorry. We're not making these calls."

The culprit in this race is the National Republican Congressional Committee, an organization that's used such scurrilous campaign tactics this season that it has been disavowed in some instances by the candidates it is supporting.

In the past week alone, FCC records reflect $22,119 for anti-Murphy phone-bank expenses, said NRCC spokesman Ed Petru.

If the robocalls cost a dime, which is a high estimate, that would be 220,000 calls right there.

Petru said the agency wouldn't be spending its money on robocalls if they weren't working.

"We don't think there's such a thing as an overinformed voter."

And if in the process of "informing" you, we can use the Democrat's name and piss you off enough, we've got your vote. Typical of a party that doesn't want to run on issues or records.

BDaileyPLS3060 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-06-2006

Since I'm a registered independent, and an examination of voting records in my precinct would reveal I vote every time, I get these calls from both sides.

It's become a game of "Name that Tune". What's the fewest words I have to hear before I realize it's a recorded call and hang up. But I don't slam the phone down. Not worth breaking a phone and having to buy a new one.

Curly · #3 (**permalink**) 11-06-2006

The "Live Free or Die" state of New Hampshire has taken action against the Republican "robocalls."

N.H. makes GOP stop some automated calls:

Quote:

CONCORD, N.H. - 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.

Remember the law-and-order party? Neither do the Republicans.

Quote:

The calls criticize Democratic congressional challenger Paul Hodes, who is locked in a tight race against Republican Rep. Charles Bass.

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.

I guess if you're running as the candidate for the party of corruption, you might as well get started early in bending/breaking laws, eh?

Curly · #4 (**permalink**) 11-07-2006

According to the Associated Press:

Quote:

In at least 53 competitive House races, the National Republican Campaign Committee has launched hundreds of thousands of automated telephone calls, known as "robo calls."

According to an article in the Washington Post:

Quote:

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."

According to the Indianapolis Star:

Quote:

The Indiana Republican Party on Monday fired a company that made recorded calls on candidates' behalf, but officials insisted no law had been broken. ... The Republicans intended for all campaign calls to be conducted "100 percent live," Vane said, but instead Conquest used a live introduction followed by a recording. Under Indiana law, a recorded message can be delivered over the phone only if it is first introduced by a person who seeks and gets permission to play it.

And here's a really ironic twist. The company mentioned in Indiana - Conquest - is Conquest Communications based here in Virginia. If you click on that link, you're taken to a very nice, very clean, and somewhat sparse homepage ... with no links to the company's history or policies or clients ... not even a "contact us" or "about us" link! Apparently, this particular robocall company isn't taking any calls right now!

Here's a Google cached version of Conquest's "contact us" page ... and, it includes their phone number. I wonder if anyone will answer???

Just tried calling Conquest. Got their voicemail.

iamwhatiseem · #5 (**permalink**) 11-07-2006

Yet another reason we need campaign reform...which the Democrats have fought against.

eurovol · #6 (**permalink**) 11-07-2006

RepubliCONS! I hope the RNC gets burned for these nasty tricks. I say $2,000 per robocall or push-poll fine should do the trick.

Opa · #7 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curly

This caught my eye - from the City of Brotherly Love.

GOP 'robocall' tactics make me sick - Philadelphia Daily News

Gotta say, it's a neat trick. I've got those robocalls at home, and once I realize it's a recording, I hang up. They're aggravating as hell.

And if in the process of "informing" you, we can use the Democrat's name and piss you off enough, we've got your vote. Typical of a party that doesn't want to run on issues or records.

We had the same in the 1st and 5th district in Arizona. It worked in the first. in the 5th, JD Hayworth, a 6 term repeat offender went, finally, down to defeat although he has not conceded yet. he's 6 thousend votes behind and statistically it would be possible but not realisticly. just one of those guys that hates to admit he is no longer wanted.

Bookmarks
Digg	del.icio.us	StumbleUpon	Google

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode