GOP 'robocalls' enrage Democrats

by Frank James
Chicago Tribune
Nov. 07, 2006

Somewhat ironically, I have received a deluge of emails since last night from Democrats complaining about the flood of last-minute phone calls Republicans are making to voters in an effort drive down the Democratic vote tomorrow.

The e-mailers are upset about “robocalls”—pre-recorded, automated phone calls containing anti-Democratic political messages. The calls initially sound like they’re coming from the Democratic candidates since they mention the Democrat’s name right off the bat.

But they’re actually being made by Republican organizations like the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Because the calls come in repeatedly to the same voters, Democrats fear the annoyed recipients of the calls, who often hang up before it becomes apparent that the calls are being made by Republicans, will be turned off to their candidates, blaming Democrats for interrupting their dinner or sleep. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Jill Porter has a column today describing her personal experience with the calls.

Liberal and Democratic bloggers are writing about the calls. In at least one case, the authorities have stepped in. That’s in New Hampshire, where according to an article in the Concord Monitor, the state’s deputy attorney general said the NRCC agreed to stop targeting voters with the prerecorded calls since New Hampshire makes it illegal to target anyone on the federal Do-Not-Call registry with prerecorded political calls.

But the same article says has an NRCC spokesman saying they will continuue to make the calls to voters.

Meanwhile, there are complaints about what appears to be so-called push polls being used by Republicans to steer voters away from Democratic candidates, as reported in the New York Times today. Perhaps the most famous recent case of this was in 2000 when

All this is just more proof of the famous statement by 19th-Century columnist Finley Peter Dunne who said "Politics ain't beanbag." It wasn't then. It isn't now.