Did The RNC Consider Mailing Out Illegal ‘Census’ Forms?

[RandySF]

A 2010 mailing from the Republican National Committee with the words “Census Document” was so controversial that Congress passed a law making such tactics illegal. In early 2011, the RNC was apparently planning to do it again.

That’s according to the Direct Marketing Association, which said in a recent ethics report obtained by TPM that the RNC, under its current chairman, was “likely” to mail out an “identical mail piece” to the one that got them into trouble. The RNC denies such a plan was ever under consideration during the new regime.

DMA’s Corporate and Social Responsibility Department investigated the RNC issue last year, contacting several officials over a number of months, according to its 2011 compliance review report period (which covers Feb. 2010 to Nov. 2011).

The investigation began because the flier in question had several violations of DMA’s Guidelines for Honesty & Clarity and Solicitations in the Guise of Governmental Notifications. For one, it was “unclear that the documents are not going to be returned to the government,” it was “unclear that the solicitation is NOT from or affiliated with the US government” and there was a “lack of clarity around the voluntary nature of payment.”

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/did_the_rnc_consider_mailing_out_illegal_census_form_in_2011.php?ref=fpa

[applegrove]

1. The GOP certainly has an ongoing war on good information happening. They want

people to be working from 'wrong' assumptions. Easier to make money off the public in various ways (easier to win elections too if the public is ill informed) if the only good information is only available to people who can afford to pay big bucks for it.