Republican "fake phone call" scandal spreads - now in Philly too

[johnnyrocket]

Per Aravosis:

This is turning into a big story. They're doing it across the country - Kansas, NH, and now PA. This is the Republican October Surprise, launched in November. It's to cheat, pretend that they are Democrats calling voters and then piss the voters off so much that they don't vote for the Democrats.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/11/republican-fake-phone-call-scandal.html

[ChiciB1]

1. Thank You For Posting this... I've Been Talking About This ALL DAY!

I'm in Florida, and of course it's happening here too!

[UpInArms]

2. why don't we call the RNC and give them a piece of our minds?

The NRCC's number is 202-479-7000.

[antonialee839]

3. I live in Philly and I haven't gotten any calls yet.

Just normal ones from Pat Murphy and Ed Rendell. I will put my family on alert to listen up for any out of the ordinary type of calls.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

10. Would it be directed at DUers or at Independents?

It would make more sense as a tactic to depress the Independent vote. The key to Rove's success IMO has been energizing the fundie/Republican base, depressing the independent vote by any means whatever, and putting up bureaucratic barriers to the Democratic vote.

[Laelth]

4. K&R

This is very important. It needs to hit the news before people go to the polls.

:kick:

-Laelth

[enough]

5. In my district:

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/15898729.htm

snip>

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.

What part of "Do Not Call" don't campaign advisers get?

Sure, "political speech" is exempt from FCC regulations prohibiting unwanted phone solicitations. But since most Americans consider unsolicited calls an invasion of privacy, why would any campaign flood voters with prefab rhetoric?

Yes, the tactic is cheap - in many cases, pennies a phone call, compared with the $15 to $30 an hour pols used to have to pay for telemarketers to call the old-fashioned way.

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!"

snip>

[havocmom]

6. Cheap Labor Republicans won't even pay people minimum wage

to do their dirty work.

Cheap Labor Republicans have outsourced dirty tricks and lying.

Cheap Labor Republicans have declared outright war on working people and voters.

Cheap Labor Republicans are bad for America.

[antonialee839]

8. This is Jill Porter's column, good news is many here read her.

[Hissyspit]

7. k&r

[Hissyspit]

9. Has this been emailed to Olbermann for Monday night?

[Stephanie]

11. Also in New York - check with the John Hall campaign

Folks are getting calls that imply they are from the Hall campaign, and then they call and call and call. One guy was irate about it today.

Is THIS the October Surprise? How fucking LOW can Turdblossom go?

[TexasLawyer]

12. From the Philly article--

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.

[brentspeak]

13. Four years ago, there was a trial balloon of this taking place in NJ

in the 5th Congressional District. I know, because I was one of the recipients of the harassing robocalls. The calls were done on behalf of Republican candidate Scott Garrett (though of course, the calls didn't identify who was calling, and *69 and caller-ID only returned "The number you have reached cannot be determined because the caller is not from this calling area"), and the target was Democrat Anne Sumers.

[Tuesday_Morning]

14. why has this topic moved?

Anybody?

[OneBlueSky]

16. I was gonna ask the same thing . . . n/t

.

[glitch]

15. They are doing it for Doolittle in CA too. Which means they're desperate. nt

[Justice]

17. send email to Keith O - ask him to cover on his show tonight, need to get word out

[FernBell]

18. k&r

[mopinko]

19. happening in il 6th

there was a post this morning, but i can't find it now.

[haymark]

20. scary

dirty trick