Dirty Trick Robocalls in Wisconsin
The recall election for Scott Walker was held on Tuesday and, unsurprisingly, some unknown group was playing dirty tricks by sending out a robocall to voters telling them that if they signed the recall petition they didn’t have to show up to vote because that was their vote.
With both sides counting on dramatic turnout, Tom Barrett’s campaign is charging Scott Walker supporters with dirty tricks. In an e-mail sent to supporters last night, Barrett for Wisconsin Finance Director Mary Urbina-McCarthy wrote, “Reports coming into our call center have confirmed that Walker’s allies just launched a massive wave of voter suppression calls to recall petition signers.” According to Urbina-McCarthy, the message of the calls was: “If you signed the recall petition, your job is done and you don’t need to vote on Tuesday.”
Last night I talked to a Wisconsin voter who says she received just such a robo-call. Carol Gibbons told me she picked up the phone and heard a male voice saying “thank you for taking this call,” and that “if you signed the recall petition, you did not have to vote because that would be your vote.” After hearing the vote-suppressing message, said Gibbons, “I wanted to take the phone and throw it in the middle of the road.”
Walker’s response:
Reached over e-mail, Walker spokesperson Ciara Matthews didn’t question the existence of the calls, but accused Barrett’s campaign of falsely blaming her candidate: “Any accusation that our campaign is making those calls is categorically false and unfounded. Once again Mayor Barrett and his campaign are trying to falsely attack Governor Walker with absolutely no evidence. This is a desperate move by Mayor Barrett to avoid addressing his lack of a plan to create jobs in Wisconsin.”
Oh, of course not! Who would dare to suggest that dishonest robocalls that clearly benefit Walker would originate with him? Actually, I doubt they do — at least directly. I’ve covered many such situations over the years and if these reports are confirmed, it will inevitably trace back to some shadowy group led by Republican operatives without any direct connection to Walker. That’s how the game is played.
Ray Ingles:
June 8th, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Has there ever been an actual case of left-wing voter suppression tricks like that? I know of none, but that conceivably could be due to biased sampling of news outlets…
D. C. Sessions:
June 8th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
There’s very little cost and no real downside for tricks like this, and they can tip a close election.
Expect them to become routine.
Cuttlefish:
June 8th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal
gshelley:
June 8th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Did Mayor Barrett actually suggest this was down to Walker? The quote above just said walker allies, which is pretty hard to argue against. Or is the walker camp responding to allegations that no one made in order to avoid responding to what actually happened?
Marcus Ranum:
June 8th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Wow – election fraud. Maybe it’s a good idea to tighten down about who can vote, hmmm? Oh, wait. Did I get that backwards?
d cwilson:
June 8th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
As opposed to Walker’s plans, which have destroyed jobs in Wisconsin.
abb3w:
June 8th, 2012 at 2:27 pm
I recall seeing a report that some people with caller ID called the number back, and found it was one of a bank used by the state GOP. However, I cannot substantiate the existence of this report with my Google-fu at present; it might just be a hallucination.
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
June 8th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
On one hand, I’m really inclined to think that anyone shit-stupid enough to fall for something like this deserves what they get.
On the other hand, their neighbors who aren’t get the same thing. :(
Chris from Europe:
June 8th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
There’s at least the hope that Walker will become the next Blagojevich.
Childermass:
June 9th, 2012 at 4:15 am
“Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” — Henry II.
That is how that game is played in politics. It was the same then and now. Luckily at least one thing has changed: the cronies are usually less violent these days.
Nemo:
June 9th, 2012 at 6:05 pm
I was on the receiving end of a similar call here in Maryland, about the last gubenatorial election. I’m happy to say that it was a big scandal that ultimately led to the conviction of the Republican candidate’s campaign manager. Also, it didn’t work.
dingojack:
June 10th, 2012 at 2:02 am
@ Childermass (#10) –
‘L. Cassius ille quem populus Romanus verissimum et sapientissimum iudicem putabat identidem in causis quaerere solebat ‘cui bono‘ fuisset.’*
M. Tullius Cicero
Dingo
—-
* ‘The famous Lucius Cassius, whom the Roman people used to regard as a very honest and wise judge, was in the habit of asking, time and again, ‘To whose benefit?’
fastlane:
June 21st, 2012 at 2:40 pm
If there’s a conviction, I think the state should be made to have another election. It might encourage the states to actually crack down on this stuff.