North Carolina AG Opens Investigation of Robo Calls

[KoKo]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/nonpr...

North Carolina AG Opens Investigation of Robo Calls
By Paul Kiel - April 30, 2008, 6:22PM

And yet another development on those calls by Women's Voices Women Vote.

North Carolina's attorney general has just put out a press release (pdf) saying that he's investigating the calls and taking credit for having them stopped. "Regardless of the motivation, the robo-calls violated the law and they needed to stop," Roy Cooper said. He also includes a correspondence with the group's lawyer. In the letter, Cooper requests a variety of information about the calls.

Sarah Johnson, the group's spokeswoman declined to comment on the correspondence, referring questions to the group's lawyer. But she did say that the calls occurred last Thursday and Friday in North Carolina as they did in all the other 24 states (pdf) targeted by the group this April

[tammywammy]

1. Recommended

[NightWatcher]

2. whomever is behind this should be punished

[lapfog_1]

11. Pretty much established that WVWV.org is behind it

Here is a huffpo article from the founder of WVWV giving an explanation...

(I love the comments area, especially the one about "Lamont" calling and never identifying who he was calling on behalf of... and "Lamont" apparently sounded like a young black man... and it has targeted young single women... which would be in larger proportion African American and overwhelmingly Obama supporters)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/page-gardner/confusion-surrounding-rob_b_99427.html

[chill_wind]

3. Thanks for the update. K&R n/t

[swishyfeet]

4. Link isn't working for me n/t

[DearAbby]

5. Link not showing up...

error: Link not found

[EFerrari]

6. Didn't the Governor come out for Clinton or am I confused? n/t

[KoKo]

15. Yes...Gun Toating, NASCAR racing Dem (DINO) Gov. Bubba Easley came out for Hillary...

Cooper is the Attorney General. He's not a Bubba so far.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. yep, lame duck "Crash Easley" who was sued last month for destroying public records

NC's Gov "Crash" "deletes public records" "diverts $ from mental health" Easley endorses Clinton
Posted by WillYourVoteBCounted in General Discussion: Primaries
Wed Apr 30th 2008, 12:14 AM
(Link) NC Gov Easley endores Hillary Clinton - and why it may hurt Clinton Here's why I'm not surprised that someone like him would do that.(He's the outgoing DINO Gov) Destroys public records on a regular basis April 14, 2008 Stephanie Cruz - AHN Raleigh, NC (AHN) - Several media organizations on Monday filed a lawsuit against Gov. Mike Easley, accusing his administration of routinely violating the state's public records law by deleting official e-mails. The complaint was filed in Wake Cou...
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WillYourVoteBCounted/188

[DerekJ]

7. Here is the link:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/north_carolina_ag_opens_invest.php

[Tinksrival]

8. What about Mark Penn's employee's 527

running swiftboat ads in Indiana?

snip>>>>>>
Obama supporter, State Representative Ryan Dvorak from Indiana said, "What we got is a lot of Hoosiers excited by a candidate that would bridge the political divide and then we saw Ohio and Pennsylvania inserting a lot of negativity. The ALP is just one of Hillary Clinton's pal groups, run by one of Mark Penn's employees. What I get from my district is that my people want to see a positive outlook."

snip>>>>

Indiana's 84 delegates are up for grabs, with the candidates running neck and neck in the state, according to polls. Both Democratic contenders and The American Leadership Project (ALP), a pro-Clinton stealth non-profit operating outside the campaign finance laws, are planning on airing competing ads in the Hoosier state, but it's the ALP ad and the organization's $700,000 buy that has the Obama campaign scurrying to reporters in an effort to blunt the attack.

In a press phone call conference, Heather Higginbottom, the Obama Campaign National Policy Director said, "The substance of the ALP attack ad is baseless. Senator Obama has set out a plan with specific policies. He has a 48-page economy policy paper to strengthen the economy and it is posted on our website."

With the race up for grabs in the last delegate rich state left on the map and Obama's recent losses in Ohio and Pennsylvania, 527's with their rich coffers and scant oversight by federal watchdogs will figure larger in this primary race for the nomination than ever before.
snip>>>>

Clip at link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-davis/pro-clinton...

Is this why Clinton still owes all that $$ to Penn? Is this legal??

[marions ghost]

9. I hope this story gets out in NC media asap...

might help to undo some of the damage of the robo-calls. With the AG on it, there's a chance it will get some attention before May 6 and hopefully not have too much impact on the election.

[Coexist]

10. it was on The Situation Room

but they spun it as a "mistake"

[marions ghost]

13. OK good...

Calling it a mere "mistake" would seem pretty lame to most people. Sending 270,000 forms out past the deadline (in the case of NC) is a "mistake"--yeah right. Did they mention on Situation Room that NC was not the only state--in fact that 11 states were involved?

After the Bush era, I don't think people are so gullible as to take spin as gospel, unless they really are delusional.

Right now the media has to be careful to avoid slander while they investigate (hopefully).

[KoKo]

16. HA....Sara the spokesperson was over in the TPM "Comments Section" making a fool of herself...

saying "overworked...so many primaries..so little time...so sorry...mistake... and every question a commenter on the site put to her she sounded like some of the Regent Grads who were hauled up to testify before Congress who "knew nothing" once their lawyers had secured them the right to only have "certain questions asked...and certain questions (cleared) for answer.

Here's statement from WVWV's Gardner...who I wonder if she was "Sara" on TPM here:
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.wvwv.org/2008/4/30/mail-registration

Statement of Page Gardner, President, Women's Voices, Women Vote

Organization Trying to Stop Remaining Mail in North Carolina

"In an attempt to prevent further confusion surrounding our voter registration efforts prior to the North Carolina primary, Women’s Voices. Women Vote took the extra step of attempting to stop the remaining mail from being delivered to homes. In total, 20 postal trucks are carrying Women’s Voices. Women Vote registration applications. Four of the trucks have already delivered, but Women’s Voices. Women Vote is making every attempt to delay the delivery of the remaining sixteen trucks.

In regards to the questions from the Facing South blog post regarding robo-calls associated with our mailing, we offer this clarification:

“North Carolina is one of 24 states where we mailed a total of more than 3 million voter registration applications.

“Calls were made to mail recipients for whom we have working phone numbers to alert the household they would be receiving a voter registration form and encouraging them to register to vote. In advance of the mail, a letter was sent to Gary Bartlett in the North Carolina Board of Elections Office. A copy of the letter and a press release sent to North Carolina media announcing the registration effort is attached.

“We understand concerns have been raised about the source of phone calls placed by Women's Voices, Women Vote. These calls were our sincere attempt to encourage voter registration for those not registered for the general election this fall. We understand North Carolina's primary registration effort deadline was April 11. We apologize for any confusion our calls may have caused. Our intent and purpose was solely to call attention to the registration applications we hope will be completed and returned to the Board of Elections office making thousands more North Carolinians participants in one of the most important elections of our lifetimes.

Women’s Voices. Women Vote has been in contact with the North Carolina State Board of Elections to work together to resolve any confusion regarding our voter registration efforts.

“Women's Voices. Women Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to bringing the voices of unmarried women to our democracy. Our goal in this election cycle is to register 1 million of these women on their own, in turn helping to bring their concerns regarding making affordable health care, equal pay for equal work and a brighter future for themselves and the lives of their families, to the forefront of the election this fall.

“Already this cycle, our voter registration efforts have generated more than 26,600 registration applications in North Carolina. Women’s Voices. Women Vote first registered voters in North Carolina in 2004. Nationally, Women’s Voices Women Vote registered over 100,000 new voters in both 2004 and 2006. Since July of 2007, almost 400,000 additional individuals have returned our applications in anticipation of participating in the 2008 general election.

[blm]

20. Mistake MY ASS. They got these numbers because these Dems ARE REGISTERED

and I'd bet anything that Terry McAuliffe mined the DNC database for Clintons before he left.

[KoKo]

22. It's really filthy stuff that was going on with them...the lowest of the low

for the Clinton's OP's to be suppressing African-American Voters. But, then, some of us Voting Rights Activists wondered why our Dems in Congress didn't do what they promised us when Conyer's held his basement hearings after the 2004 stolen election. Now, perhaps we know why.

And for Leon Paneta to be on their Board..! Mr. Founder of "Center for American Progress" turns out on Board of "shell group" who works to mess up elections. :puke:

[mod mom]

25. Those comments are both poignant and hilarious.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

28. This should be called "Hillary's Operation Chaos"

This group either knew the law and stomped all over it, or are so incompetent they can't dial a fricking phone.
They should have learned our state laws or called the SBOE to get advice before they launched their Operation Chaos. If they wanted to follow the law, they had the resources to learn what they should and could do.

I would like to see that letter they claim they sent to the NC SBoE. I don’t trust anything they say, and they have already created other chaos in our state by mailing out partially pre filled voter registration forms (unsolicited) to thousands of voters around the state, many of whom are already registered.

Some voters thought they should mail in the forms, and this put an increased burden on County BoEs who were already struggling to keep up with entering registrations into the system for people who really were not registered.
The name of this should be “Operation Chaos”.
As a serious advocate for voters, I am sickened at this.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. Its not a mistake, the NC Attorney General said they broke the law

see www.ncvoter.net for some more articles on this including Wired News.

I expect the WaPo might pick this up.

[stillcool]

24. Whoa...that's an ass-kicking link...

I've read the story in other places but that has some great reporting about this!

[marions ghost]

30. Excellent link

thank you

Excerpt from the Wired article:

/"Don Powell, who runs a political phone-calling company in Portland, Oregon, says the fact that the autodial campaign was performed anonymously suggests it wasn't an innocent mistake. In general, he says, anonymous, automated campaigns are designed to suppress voter turnout."/

Bottom line IMO.

[KoKo]

17. Bookmark this site for the latest updates about RoboCall....

http://www.southernstudies.org/facingsouth/

[marions ghost]

33. following it, thank you

:kick: for elections worthy of the term democracy someday

[Spazito]

12. Here is a working link....

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/

If you click on the pdf link on the tpm page, you will be able to read the letter.

[libnnc]

14. kick

[EFerrari]

21. Kick

[stillcool]

23. Oh man. How much lower?

this is fucked up.

[mod mom]

26. If I recall correctly from '04, first we saw the binLaden commericals, then this Texas

Strike Team gave bad info to voters they called, then AF AM precincts were given too few machines and the machines they received broke down, and finally Carville stepped in to share campaign stategy w the opposition. :mad:

see why we questioned their alliances?

[stillcool]

27. I can't imagine why I'm surprised...

I don't even want to think about the general. Although if Hillary is the nominee, it might not matter.

[KoKo]

29. "Facing South" has an update on WVWV's Page Gardner's apologies:

* The role Women's Voices has played in the Virginia and North Carolina primaries has been especially disruptive. In both cases, they launched deceptive robo-calls -- some apparently targeting African-American zip codes -- just before major primaries, leading residents to think they weren't registered to vote.

* Women's Voices has a number of ties to Sen. Hillary Clinton; we provide additional examples here. We don't suggest, and have no evidence to suggest, that Women's Voices is formally connected to the Clinton campaign. However, we do believe such close ties deserve scrutiny.

Ms. Gardner's statement addresses none of these documented issues. Confronted with evidence of repeated deceptive and even illegal actions, Gardner says only, "We apologize for any confusion our calls may have caused."

Unfortunately, this is typical: As we found in our investigation spanning 10 states, every time problems have emerged, Women's Voices responds by "apologizing for confusion." A Google search of "Women's Voices Women Vote" and "confusion" brings up 412 hits. A newspaper in Michigan quipped that Women's Voices media staffer Sarah Johnson seemed "confused by the confusion."

But chalking up serious election law violations and misleading practices to "mistakes" and "confusion" doesn't answer the questions; it just raises more of them. Women's Voices is doing itself no favors by refusing to directly address the facts and issues at hand.

For example, does "confusion" explain Women's Voices' illegal and deceptive robo-calls in multiple states? Does it pardon the group's misleading and legally inaccurate mailings to hundreds of thousands of voters?

Does "confusion" account for their disruption of the primaries in North Carolina and Virginia? I asked Johnson why the group launched its confusing voter registration campaign in Virginia when they did -- two weeks before the big primary, but two weeks too late for anyone to actually register. She stumbled through several explanations before landing on, "We wanted to make sure they were registered for the general in November." Really? The first week in February, probably the worst time to be dropping a misleading robo-call and mailing campaign in Virginia, was the only week available?

Also: Is it really a "mistake" or "confusion" when you get the same complaints in 10 or more states across the country over the course of at least five months? After a while, the "confusion" defense runs out of steam.

But in this case, it's never been a strong defense. Women's Voices is made up of some of the most seasoned and sophisticated political operatives in Washington. Their staff bios show decades of experience at the highest levels, all the way up to presidential campaigns for Bill Clinton.

Does such a well-connected, deeply-funded and All-Star cast of high-level operatives really make "mistakes" like carrying out illegal robo-calls and forgetting the presidential primary calendar?

At some point, that explanation is no longer plausible, and Women's Voices Women Vote owes voters a real explanation.

http://www.southernstudies.org/facingsouth/

[Hope And Change]

31. K & R!

:kick:

[greguganus]

32. Kicking. Open your eyes Hillbots!! n/t

[catgirl]

34. K & R

[TragedyandHope]

35. Kick for Democracy

:kick:

[myrna minx]

36. K&R n/t

[marions ghost]

37. Contact list for NC Media:

Charlotte Observer
http://www.charlotte.com/

Durham Herald Sun
http://www.herald-sun.com/

Greensboro News-Record
http://www.news-record.com/

Raleigh News and Observer:
http://www.newsobserver.com/

The Independent
http://www.indyweek.com/...

Winston-Salem Journal
http://www.journalnow.com/

NC newspapers:
http://www.usnpl.com/...

[ProSense]

38. This is fascinating:

(UPDATE) John Podesta responds to WVWV robo-call scandal (with new response)

The gist is that the board members are shocked, but their claims are a bit weak since this is a pattern by the group.

[KoKo]

39. ...

[KoKo]

40. UPDATE...just now from Josh Marshall.."TPM"

Update: Group Promised to Change Calls in February
By Paul Kiel - May 1, 2008, 4:10PM

Since we last posted this morning, there are number of other things to update you on those calls by Women's Voices Women Vote.

First off, North Carolina officials were not the first to specifically object to the group's failure to identify themselves and instead use "Lamont Williams" on the calls. As Facing South points out, back in February, after Virginia police investigated the calls and mailings as a possible identity theft scam, the group's spokeswoman told The Virginian-Pilot that "not including information about the source of the voter registration effort was 'absolutely an accidental omission.'" She also said that the group would be changing the calls so that the group was identified as the source.

Obviously, that didn't happen. When I asked the group about that, a spokesperson told me that the failure to change the script was a "mistake" and added "we're doing our best to figure out how the old script got used."

Meanwhile, a group spokeswoman Sarah Johnson explained in a Q&A at DailyKos that the name Lamont Williams was used because that was the name of the actor reading the script. The calls using Williams' voice went to men -- because she said while the group mainly concentrates on unmarried women, they also target "African Americans, Hispanics and young people" -- and a call using a woman's voice went to women.

And finally, anti-robo call activist Shaun Dakin provides some context for the North Carolina attorney general's accusation that the group's calls were illegal because the group was not identified and did not provide a call back number. Dakin, who heads up Stop Political Calls, a group devoted to combating automated calls by establishing a National Political Do Not Contact Registry, writes that Women's Voices Women Vote is breaking the law, but pretty much everybody else does too:

The reality is that there are more than likely several campaigns and other non-profit organizations that are "failing to disclose who sponsored the call" and "failing to offer the org's contact information to get the calls to stop".

In fact, I know of no political campaign at the national level that offers voters a way to opt out of further calls.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/