Caucus Eve Dirty Tricks Strike Romney Supporters

A Romney volunteer writes:

Today I spent all day at the Romney HQ manning the phones calling voters all over Iowa. We ran into voters who told us they had gotten calls from people stating they represented the Romney campaign and when the voter disclosed they planned to vote for Romney, the caller then asked to take a few minutes to outline Romney's policy positions.

The caller would then provide a litany of misleading statements like how Romney planned to raise taxes and why, etc.

Comments

Between Mormon holiday cards in SC, push-polling, and "not" releasing negative ads, Mitt Romney has been hit harder than any other candidate. When he gets through this, he will be battle hardened and ready to take on whomever the Dems throw at us.

Posted by Principal Chair | January 3, 2008 3:46 PM

I wonder who's behind this and all the other nasty tactics. Let me guess? Huck or McCain? Or both?

Who has more at stake? These people are despicable.

Posted by Willie | January 3, 2008 4:17 PM

These "dirty tricks" won't work for whoever is behind them.....they never really work. Just like this time, the word gets out and generates some sympathy AND BOOSTS supporters resolve to get out and fight/vote.

Posted by Kris in AL | January 3, 2008 4:32 PM

We live in an age where we have amazing technology to intercept or backtrack phone messages, as long as a court permits it.

The "dirty tricks" of 527s and campaigns seem to be accumulating. In 2000, supporters of John McCain were running misleading push-polls in my state and had also "friendly warned" me and other people they ID'd as Bush supporters, that cops would be at the poll places but also inspecting cars and putting on "Denver boots" for cars that had expired emissions/inspection decals or any other violations like bad taillights.
In CT, Lieberman supporters were contacted that their regular polling place was shut down and they needed to vote in another city or town - furnishing the "substitute polling place address" which of course didn't exist. Those calls were traced back to pro-Ned Lamont anti-war activists
when one had moral reservations about "disenfranchising voters" and cheesed on the scheme to Lieberman people.

It seems that law needs to catch up with these duplicitous folks and allow phone call traceback to the phone banks, many located in other states, then nab the owners and follow the money trail that funded them back to the true culprits.

The Romney-bashing is from McCain people or anti-Mormon minions of Pastor Hucleberry. Giuliani's people are nowhere to be found in Iowa and Thompsons are laid back. Paulistas include many zealots, but Pauls people merely dislike Romney as a plastic man. However, they hate McCain more than anybody for his Gang of 14 torpedoing libertarian judges, McCain-Feingold eroding the 1st Amendment, and the McCain-Kennedy immigration deal.

Posted by Chris Ford | January 3, 2008 6:15 PM

It's not just targeting Romney.

At the Making Light blog, there's a report of a similar call in New Hampshire where the person said he was voting for Gravel, and the person on the phone said Gravel is a Republican.

I expect the amount of disinformation depends on who you say you're voting for.

Apparently, the caller never identified who paid for the call, which is illegal in New Hampshire) and the caller id was blocked.

Posted by Jon H | January 3, 2008 7:57 PM