Republican Dirty Tricks: Robocall Disruption


I volunteered for the first time today for MoveOn's voter outreach program, where a group of dedicated people are manning a bunch of telephones to remind voters to vote next Tuesday. I was handed a list of voters to call from California's 50th district, where Francine Busby is trying to unseat Brian Bilbray, who narrowly defeated Busby in a contested election after the resignation of Duke Cunningham.

As I was studying the Busby's short bio, the supervisor came and took back my handful of pages.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We're canceling calls to the 50th district," she said. "People are complaining that they're getting robocalls from Busby, and they're really angry."

I asked her to explain, and what I learned from her and other MoveOn staffers shocked me. Apparently, the Republican National Campaign Committee (RNCC) has sponsored a barrage of robotic telephone calls to Democratic voters. These lengthy calls leave the initial impression that they are being made on behalf of Francine Busby, but at the end they reverse course and endorse the Republican candidate, Brian Bilbray.

Here's where it goes beyond clever, onward to diabolical: If the target hangs up, the program calls back. Over and over and over. The re-dials reportedly run upwards of 14 times. Worse, the phone rings early in the morning or very late at night, maximizing the anger generated by what appears to be a Democratic robocaller run amok. Only occasionally does a victim sit around to listen to the entire call, realizing that they've been played for a fool.

After I heard this, the first thing I thought of was Karl Rove. Even if Rove didn't think this up, it's certainly in the spirit of Rove's brand of dirty tricks. Abuse of the system is the way these people work.

The supervisor handed me a different page, one with numbers from Minnesota, where I grew up. The calls went fairly well, with a lot of citizens expressing frustration with the direction the country is going.

I didn't mention to them how much worse the reality is. These Republicans really are scumbags, especially at the national level. How dare they even call themselves Americans anymore? I finished the numbers from Minnesota and got some sheets for people in Arizona. I hope I don't interrupt anybody's NFL viewing.


Jimbo92107 November 6, 2006 - 12:00am

Here is suggestion from columnist Jill Porter, for the Philadelphia Daily News on how to get revenge.

You can complain to the FCC if you think the calls are illegal, as some Murphy supporters have done. (202-418-1440, phone; 202-418-0232, fax.)

Or you can do what I briefly considered yesterday: Send the NRCC your own robocalls telling it to STOP IT!

Try www.voiceshot.com - 12 cents a call, no minimum. The NRCC's number is 202-479-7000.

That taste of its own medicine would make me feel much better after two weeks sick in bed.

LJ November 6, 2006 - 12:41am

There is a lot you can do, as it turns out.
This diary
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/5/212753/967
on dailyKos has an excellent list of instructions on ways to capture information from harrassing and misleading robocalls that can be used as evidence of FCC violations, privacy violations and voters rights violations. The republican november surprise is: they play dirty.
The information in that diary could just as well catch a Dem but so far I only hear of crap that NRCC is pulling on voters.

also, someone is robocalling voters with misinformation about where to vote, at least in NM at this point. If a person has any doubt, where to vote or what the polling hours are in your precinct, call 1-866-MY VOTE -1 [1-866-698-6831] This is the number MoveOn gives out.

I am a MoveOn call for change volunteer too and this phone abuse by republicans makes me furious.

greensmile November 6, 2006 - 5:06pm

Wasn't it similar on 2004.

Cheat me once, shame on you. Cheat me twice, shame on me.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 6, 2006 - 5:10pm

Robocalls are good for scams and annoying people. Using them otherwise is much more difficult.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 6, 2006 - 4:49pm

"People are complaining that they're getting robocalls from Busby, and they're really angry."
I asked her to explain, and what I learned from her and other MoveOn staffers shocked me. Apparently, the Republican National Campaign Committee (RNCC) has sponsored a barrage of robotic telephone calls to Democratic voters.

And how are you going to explain that to the victims? Maybe by calling them.

I think the voters should be warned about scam calls just before the election because this is the prime time for election scams.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 6, 2006 - 5:08pm

Philadelphia Daily News

...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!"

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.' "

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.

Chickadee November 6, 2006 - 5:32pm

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

Of course, under these circumstances the only honorable thing to do would be for the indignant Republican candidates to withdraw from all races where the NRCC pulled its dirty robocall trick.

Anybody think they will? Of course not, because this is what they do. They lie, they cheat, and when they win, it's all good.

"Death before being dishonored any more." - Col. Ted Westhusing

Jimbo92107 November 7, 2006 - 12:45am

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