Why did the RNC dump millions into a deceptive and likely illegal program to harrass voters until they unplugged their phones, called the police and practically went crazy trying to make the calls stop? Simple. It works.
In at least seven of those districts, the Democrat failed to unseat the incumbent by only a couple thousand votes. The NRCC’s calls may have been the difference in those races.
Consider, for example, Florida’s 13th District, where Christine Jennings is currently locked in a recount battle. The final tally shows her down 386 votes. In the last three weeks of the election, the NRCC spent $58,326.78 on robo calls against Jennings, according to FEC reports. At five to fifteen cents a call, the NRCC bought itself between 388,000 and 1.17 million calls in the district. Approximately 250,000 people voted in the 13th on Tuesday.
Voters there report being inundated with calls — so much so that some decided not to vote for Jennings. From The Herald Tribune:
“We’re just glad it’s all over,” said Betty Beatty…
“They bugged us with their phone calls something terrible,” said Betty, who voted for Buchanan because “with all her calls, Jennings, Jennings, Jennings, I wouldn’t have voted for that woman if she were the only one running.”
There are thousands of voters like Betty Beatty in every targeted district. The Republican incumbent held many of these races by tiny margins. This isn’t hard math. Unless somebody goes to prison for breaking campaign laws and relentlessly harrassing Americans this revolting, effective trick will become an oft-used page in the GOP campaign playbook.
Zifnab
I’d love to see Pelosi tackle this issue in her first hundred days, if not her first hundred hours. I don’t think anybody is going to oppose amending the Telephone Act or the Campaign Reform Act to outright ban robocalls in general. And putting real prison time on these harassing measures sounds like a great deteriant.
The Other Steve
It’s sad that the Republican party is so bereft of positive ideas for this country.
Next we’ll have robo door knockers.
Sherard
What a goddam joke. You are proposing prison terms for something based on a handful of anecdotal evidence.
There were people in these very comments asking for a single recording of one of these alleged misleading robocalls. I am still curious if even one recording has yet been produced.
Otherwise, I would find it typical of both parties, in fact, to waste time debating and crafting legislation to counteract something that may not even exist.
Sherard
Oh, I forgot. Anecdotal evidence and shrieking moonbats. A lethal combination.
p.lukasiak
The most crucial aspect of these calls were that they were illegal — under the law, you have to identify the source of the call up front.
If I’d contributed to Jennings, I’d be looking to put together a class action suit against the RNC and the companies involved in the calls demanding that all contributions to Jennings be refunded in full — based on a stated presumption that my contribution was going to a candidate who would not be confronted with illegal campaign tactics that would affect her chances of winning.
Tim F.
Amazing. I suggest that somebody go to jail for breaking the law and Sherard throws a fit. Today’s GOP in a nutshell.
Andrew J. Lazarus
Sherard might want to check out the GOP payments to robocall firms, reported as required by law.
jh
Sherard says:
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we are in the presence of a a dishonest person.
two seconds of googling produced the following evidence that robocalls do in fact exist.
Republican Committee Agrees To Stop Some Campaign Calls
Pb
There are people here who can’t follow links, use Google, or do basic research?
I guess so…
Andrew
You must puts Shretard is cage with bear and gypsy.
Baby Jane
Should this really be tagged Republican Stupidity?
Republican Vandalism? Hmm, maybe.
Republican Racketeering? Could be.
Republican Swindling? Sure.
I like the ring of Tony Soprano Enjoys a Bowl of Ice Cream.
But, whatever it is, stupid it ain’t.
Gregory
“will become”?
MrSnrub
Did anyone go back to Ms Beatty and show her that she was used by the other campaign, and that her refusal to consider Jennings was what they wanted?
I have yet to see a story about that type of follow-up. Anyone else seen them?
legion
I’ve asked this jokingly before, but I’m getting more serious.
At what point do we find some ballsy lawyers and try to get the national-level GOP declared a criminal synidcate & start throwing RICO suits at them?
Bruce Moomaw
Dear Sherard, I can personally vouch for the existence of those deliberately misleading robocalls in the CA-4 district — Rep. Doolittle bombarded me with them for about a month before the election. For a few days during the period 2 weeks before the election, I was receiving them at the rate of one a day, each day faithfully at 7 PM. The Washington Post quoted one other voter as saying that she was getting them at the rate of once per hour, driving her and her family nuts.
But then, this isn’t the first time Doolittle has used dirty tactics to possibly swing the vote in a close election — he got into the state Senate here in 1984 by secretly funding a mass mailing the day before the election for a third-party candidate, thereby bleeding off enough votes from his main opponent to squeak through even though he did have to pay a fine of roughly $50,000 afterwards.
Meanwhile, of course, the NRCC used them so blatantly in New Hampshire that the state Attorney General has opened a criminal investigation. (The fact that Rep. Tom Reynolds was the NRCC’s chairman this year may not be coincidental.)
DougJ
Sherard is right. You mean you’re going to put someone in jail for actually breaking the law and getting caught doing it on tape? What the hell is this country coming to where we put people in jail for breaking the law with incontrovertible evidence? What ever happened to rail roading innocent people? Oh, that’s right, we don’t need to — we just throw them in jail on suspcision of being terrorist, then there’s no trial so we don’t have to railroad them.
DougJ
Just like global warming. Am I right?
jcricket
Dave Reichart personally invented a new way to skirt laws about not using your House privileges to mail campaign literature. He mailed many bundles of 499 pieces (the limit is 500). This is similar to how people take out avoids a ton of the issues with our current system, especially when states convert 100% to vote by mail.
jcricket
Wow, comment box swallowed a couple paragraphs there. Sorry.
My point was, in this case (robocalling) the law was clearly broken. But in cases where people intentionally do things to skirt the rules, what’s warranted is a changing of the law (this is otherwise known as legislation, something Bush isn’t fond of).
I also wanted to say that going to vote-by-mail along with a few key campaign law reforms would solve a ton of these issues. Not all of them, but the really important ones (robocalls are just a sideshow).
RSA
A class-action civil suit would contribute to a good multi-pronged attack on this practice.
The Other Steve
You don’t think people who do something illegal should face jail time?
Interesting. Another example of why Republicans can’t be trusted on issues of national security.
demimondian
Dear Sherard,
My family (in Redmond, Wa.) was targeting by a set of harassment calls, also intended to drive us away from voting for a Democratic candidate, and also not properly labeled.
demi “You were saying?” mondian
DougJ
And come on, does Betty Beaty sound like a real name to you? She’s a plant, just like that guy who sent the antrax letters to Keith Olbermann.
Jay
I’m sure you meant this but the prison should be one containing father stabbers, mother rapers and the same in reverse. Not some low security Club Fed. I’d like to take it further: If an American behaves like they live in a Banana Republic in order to get in office, they should be stripped of their U.S. citizenship and dropped off in the nearest place where “voting” involves one name on the ballot and large men with sticks if you ask any questions. Hey, I can dream.
And since we’re all about accountability these days, what about some sort of Sarbanes-Oxley Act for people seeking elected office? A lot of these schmucks will blame their staff or the RNC or little green men from Mars. How hard would it be to craft a rule that the candidate must sign off on any activities related to their campaign and is responsible for the dirty tricks?
pie
This sarcasm is uncalled for. Sherard is quite correct. These robocalls, if they even existed, were likely Democrats masquerading as Republicans masquerading as Democrats. In an election where Democrats masquerading as Republicans won much of the Congress, such a thing is not too far-fetched. Pelosi and her minions would stop at nothing to gain control.
Moreover, robocalls should not even be illegal. Repetition is the cornerstone of democratic debate, and there is no greater example of repetition than hourly telephone calls asking for the support of the robocandidate.
As for the terrorists, they frequently use innocent people as shields in their nefarious campaign against America. Using Constitutional rights designed to protect the innocent, such as due process and the right against self-incrimination, falls squarely in the realm of such tactics. I think we should give such arguments the short shrift they deserve, and not put the rights of terrorists and those who shield terrorist by their very innocence in the way of keeping this nation safe from terrorists.
On a personal note, I’m sickened by the thought that terrosits can now terrorize us with the use of rule of law and human rights. These people are depraved, and so are their “innocent” human shields, who have been “wrongfully imprisoned” alongside them.
jcricket
She’s not a plant. Plants are for eco-terrorists.
She’s a Liberal Fascist Communist, sent to undermine America’s moral center by inventing far-fetched stories of Republican election trickery.
pie
It is likely that this Democrat was responsible for the calls himself, but wanted you to think that the Republican was behind them, thereby driving you away from the Republican despite the fact that the robocalls were in his name.
How could you be so naive?
pie
Well, at least she voted Republican, so she can’t be all bad.
Zifnab
Mmmm… that’s some good pie.
pie
I like me!
Steve
Money. Of course, the whole post was money.
jcricket
When robocalls are outlawed, only outlaws will have telephones. Or something like that.
Jay
Wrong. She’s a former stem cell subverted by a lesbian Buddhist biker gang. Just like the fake Anthrax mailer. Note the simple initials: BB, CC. Coincidence? Don’t be stupid. Clearly these people had their real identities stripped from them during the lesbian brain washing process and they had to be given simple names their scrambled brains could remember. So stop blaming the stem cells guys and have a little sympathy for Amos Anderson through Zinnia Zucker.
Zifnab
But the deception didn’t end there. If you listened to the end of the call, in which the Democratic Candidate launched into an extensive smear campaign against himself specifically to get people angry enough to vote for him, he even includes the RNCC message at the end of the add identifying himself AS A REPUBLICAN! I’m dead certain that such a mischaracterization is illegal, clearly demonstrating that Democrats are no stranger to robocall dirty tricks.
Of course, the real problem here is the elections themselves. If you let people vote, especially anonymously, they very well might vote to elect Democrats who will help fund terrorism against the United States. I’m just amazed the President let election be held at all. We should all be greatful we live in such a luxurious society.
demimondian
While I do find the parody funny here, it’s the calls were annoying — I couldn’t get through to the family on the phone — and kind of scary.
Now back to your regularly scheduled snark…
Tsulagi
I’ll agree with Baby Jane, stupid it wasn’t. Karl ain’t stupid, just look at the piece of shit he’s twice got elected to the highest office in the land. He knew it was a virtual certainty he was going to lose the House and a fair chance the Senate, but that the races would be tight. Those robocalls were sort of a Hail Mary pass.
Stupid? No. Sleaze? Yes, and more. Spineless? Hey, it’s today’s GOP. Fraud perpetrated for short term gain? Look at the last six years of Republican leadership.
But still in a way you have to laugh. Before the last midterms we had the Iraq War. Probably they thought it would cement a 1,000 year Republican Reich. They were saying the opposition party was dead. Four years later they’re reduced to robocalls to stem their bleeding. Here’s to hoping two years from now they’re really put out of their misery.
scarshapedstar
Ah, the Plausible Deniability Two-Step. You gotta love it.
The calls never happened, never ever, but just for sake of argument he’ll inform us that if they did somehow happen they were faked by moonbats.
Occam’s Razor, anyone?
jcricket
Fixed:
[1] By Americans I mean only the non-gay evangelical Christians, of course.
Jay
Just wondering, were these calls of the unidentified robo-call variety or the “If you come to the polls without proper ID you’ll be flung in jail” sort? I ask because primarily Democrat areas in Virginia had the latter problem on Election Day. Didn’t help “Tabaccy Maccacy” Allen, but it was close.
jcricket
Only if the Democrats keep up the pressure, highlight lots of stuff Republicans have fucked up, and don’t back down when defending their viewpoint/agenda.
If there’s one thing Democrats should learn from the last 4 years, it’s that the more they listen to Republicans or concern-trolls like the DLC, the more they lose elections.
I’m not saying go “all liberal, all the time”, but no more backing down. The Republican bullies wilt under real pressure, and resort to trickery since they have no ideas left, so just keep up that pressure and you win.
pie
Those jackbooted thugs can have my phone when they pry it out of my cold dead hands.
You hear me, Hillary? I’m gonna order a pizza, come get me!
Truly shameless. Back in the old days, people were tarred and feathered for much, much less. Why we even allow the Democrats to HAVE a national party is beyond me. This country needs to be set aright, and Bush only has 2 years left to do it. I fear for our children.
Four years isn’t enough time to accomplish much. I think we need to extend the Presidential terms to 25 years. Of course, one person should only allowed to be President twice- to give someone power for longer than 50 years is verging on autocracy.
I support George Bush now, but if the War on Terror isn’t clearly on the track to victory by the year 2027, I might consider casting my vote for some member of some as-yet-unformed other party.
pie
Civil suits- neither civil, nor suits. Discuss.
DougJ
Demi, I agree completely. I worked really hard to get out local media to report on the ones we got around here (in NY-29 and NY-25). I think these are really bad — worse than the Steele Democrat stuff (which is just unethical, not illegal). More importantly, I believe that they are illegal.
TenguPhule
Shorter Sherard: I disbelieve…what do you mean I fail my INT roll? Wait, this isn’t a game of AD&D?
Tulkinghorn
How about this: Small Claims Actions.
One million people, who can sign an affidavit regarding when they received calls, and giving evidence of at least $1 in damages, filing small claims suits across the country listing the robocalling company and the NRCC. Sue for the statutory maximum of $5,000 for the harrassment.
These suits can not be consolidated under the rules of most states, and so long as there is a witness or some sort of phone records, you are likely to meet the preponderance of evidence standard.
The NRCC will never be able to mount a defense in all the little podunk small claims courts around the country, but I am sure there will be a collections firm willing to buy the 1 million default judgments a discount or contingency basis.
Voila: up to $5,000,000,000 damages against the NRCC and the robocalling firms. We can put these people out of business just like the Southern Poverty Law Center bankrupted the KKK. Think of it as a DIY RICO case.
D. Harmon
National Right to Life placed deceptive robocalls in my home state, Wyoming on behalf of Cubin, who won by about 1000 votes. Automated campaign calls are against the law here and carry some minor penalties; $750 maximum fines and up to 6 months in jail. A citizen complained to our Secretary of State, Joe Meyer (I read somewhere he was Dick Cheney’s college roomie) and Meyer said NRL told him they didn’t know this was against the law here and pledged to stop. He decided not to press the matter further. Isn’t that sweet? Check out the Casper Star-Tribune for the story, dated November 6 or 7.
I predict more robocalls from “naive” PAC’s in 2008. There are no consequences.
Next time someone gets pulled over for drunk driving in Wyoming, they ought to say they didn’t know it was against the law and they promise Joe Meyer, they’ll never do it again.
Ampersand
Tim, is there a missing link in your post? I don’t see any credit for who wrote the passage you’re quoting.
pie
Sounds like a good plan, but first you have to get all the plaintiffs together and organize it. I’d recommend not using the phone to do so.
pie
Why stop there? “What’s that, Officer? It’s IL-legal to commit first-degree murder in this state? Golly, I’m sorry. I had no idea! I promise I won’t do it again, though, now that I know better.”
Good thing that bullshit they teach in law schools about “Ignorance of the law is no excuse” was wrong. I’m gonna work really hard to forget every law I ever heard, so I can plausibly deny knowledge of them in the future.