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Robo-Calls Make it to CNN. It's Not Good

On CNN, Wolf Blitzer just asked Ken Mehlman about the robo-call story. (The story has been slow to make its way off the internet and into the more major outlets.) Mehlman said he didn't know anything about it, and used the opportunity to list every questionable voting tactic alleged against Democrats from 2000, 2004, and 2006. Mehlman literally went on for five solid minutes, with no interruption from Wolf.

To recap, false-flag robo-calls have been common throughout the nation. Voters receive phone calls that appear to be automated campaign spots for the local Democrat candidate. If the voter hangs up, they get a call back. This can continue six, seven, or eight times. If the voter has the patience to listen to the whole thing, the ad is revealed to be paid for by Republicans. Democratic activists at the polls have reported that people are showing up irritated with Democratic candidates, and are unwilling to listen to the explanation that, in fact, the opposing party is responsible for their frustrating morning.

Talking Points Memo has been all over this story, as has the rest of the blogosphere. Mother Jones may have gotten there first, though, with this story from Daniel Schulman on October 26.

Posted by Jonathan Stein on 11/07/06 at 1:37 PM | E-mail | Print | Digg | de.licio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Yahoo! MyWeb | StumbleUpon | Netscape | Google |