NRCC robocalls hit NY-29
A friend emails over, quoting Rochester Turning:
We’ve been getting word of annoying late night calls
from a Republican robocalling outfit posing as Massa
supporters.The details we’ve gotten so far are vague, but the
seem to mirror a statewide and perhaps nationwide
pattern described by Josh Marshall at Talking Points
Memo:"People on the ground seem to be putting the pieces
together. A wave of harassing calls paid for by the
NRCC targetting probable Democratic voters and
uncommitteds with the intent of getting them pissed
off at multiple repeat call-backs from what they think
is the Dem campaign."
As I understand it, these calls are illegal under New York law, and violate FCC regulations. Is this a case for the Attorney General?
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2006 Elections | Blogs | Breaking News | Sex | New York | Barking crazy rightwingers | Democratic Party | Eric Massa | Progressive Movement
Obviously I'm not a lawyer
so take any legal opinions from me with plenty of salt. But, based on reading the opinions of real lawyers on the blogs, from all over the country where these calls have been cropping up, not only may it be a case for the AG, but it may present an opportunity to cripple the RNC for the foreseeable future, if not to destroy them outright.
Apparently, this type of illegal call is punishable by a fine; I've seen amounts ranging from $500 to $1000, which I guess varies from state to state. In the first story I read about this, in NH, I think, they'd discovered an expenditure line in the Republican's budget for placing the calls that amounted to something over $22,000. If we figure very conservatively, that each call cost a dime, that adds up to 220,000 calls. Which, if they were hauled into court and fined, would make their penalty between $110 million and $220 million for NH alone. Multiply that out by the 50-some districts they seem to be targeting, and you're looking at billions of dollars; they'll go bankrupt paying the fines.
The good news: the DCCC has already initiated legal action against them, and the Republicans are claiming that this tactic is legal, and what's more, that the Dems are doing it too. I have long since run out of similes for how low these people are willing to crawl. It's like they all received Lee Atwater's stem cells.