N.C. NAACP files formal vote-suppression complaint against Women's Voices, alerts U.S. DOJ of concer

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Source: Facing South - The Institute for Southern Studies

N.C. NAACP files formal vote-suppression complaint against Women's Voices, alerts U.S. DOJ of concerns

Facing South. Saturday, May 03, 2008

The North Carolina NAACP has filed a formal complaint of possible voter suppression against Women's Voices Women Vote, the D.C. nonprofit that as we revealed earlier this week was behind the deceptive and illegal robo-calls made to state residents. The N.C. NAACP hand-delivered its complaint today to state Attorney General Roy Cooper and State Board of Elections Executive Director Gary Bartlett. It's also alerted the U.S. Department of Justice that it's collecting more information from its national network and is contemplating filing a formal complaint with that agency.

N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (center in photo) announced the filing of the complaint at a press conference held this afternoon outside the N.C. Department of Justice. He was joined by his group's attorney, Al McSurely (left), and Bob Hall (right) of Democracy North Carolina. The state Attorney General's office is already investigating Women's Voices, but the N.C. NAACP and Democracy North Carolina want to be parties to that investigation.

"When you mess with the right to vote, you're messing with everything that is fundamental in our democracy," Barber said.


Read more: http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/05/nc-naacp-files-formal-vote-suppression.asp

---

Here is the full text of the group's complaint, dated May 2. When it refers to "Ex. 1," that is the WVWV letter to Gary Bartlett available here ; "Ex. 2" directs readers to news reports at DailyKos, Facing South and NPR. "HKonJ" refers to Historic Thousands on Jones Street, a statewide coalition of some 70 social justice groups organized by the N.C. NAACP; Jones Street is where the state legislature is located in Raleigh.

RE: Voter Suppression Activity Targeting Black Voters in North Carolina

Dear General Cooper and Mr. Bartlett:

On behalf of the North Carolina Conference of over 100 NAACP Branches across North Carolina, I file this formal complaint against an organization out of Washington, D.C. called Women's Voices Women Votes (hereafter "WVWV") that has engaged in a pattern of massive robo-calls and mass mailings that appear to be designed to suppress and dilute voter participation, with a peculiar focus on African Americans.

One of our HKonJ Partners, Democracy North Carolina, made a request to both agencies earlier this week, to investigate automated telephone calls with misleading information about the voting process made to African Americans. We now know the source of the calls to be WVWV and we know from this group's own admission in a letter faxed to Mr. Bartlett on 28 April 2008 that it knew these messages would confuse voters. The Attorney General has taken initial action to stop the illegal calls, but there needs to be a much more aggressive investigation into WVWV's intentions and aims and the effects of its massive efforts to confuse voters.

Who was targeted? Why? How could a national organization be ignorant of the dates of one of most important primaries in the history of our State? How could a national organization give such wrong-headed directions to unregistered voters during the exact same period when they could easily register through our one-stop early voting procedure? Does the evidence show that WVWV violated NC General Statute 163-275(17),which makes it a felony crime to communicate misleading information about the voting process with the "intent and the effect" "to intimidate or discourage potential voters from exercising their lawful right to vote." Democracy North Carolina joins with us in requesting a much more aggressive investigation of the actions of the group. Here are some of the areas we urge you to look into:

1. The WVWV told Mr. Bartlett in its 28 April 2008 letter that it was about to mail voter registration information to 276,118 unmarried women in North Carolina and that it was sending similar mailings to "unmarried women not just in North Carolina, but around the country." (See Ex. 1) A comprehensive examination of the mailing list must be done to determine how many of these letters wnet to "unmarried women" as opposed to African Americans and other people of color, how many of each group were registered or not registered, and which misleading message each group received.

2. Although in this same letter the WVWV said it was only targeting unmarried women, three days later, on 1 May 2008, after Democracy North Carolina had raised the issue of possible targeting of African Americans, the WVWV denied it only targeted unmarried women. In a written answer it said: "While our focus is on unmarried women, we have worked to target other under-represented groups through our project, the Voter Participation Center." (Ex. 2) To what extent does the WVWV discriminate in how it communicates to African Americans in contrast to unmarried women? We cite as one example the contrast in the automated telephone messages sent to black versus white households in late April.

To speed your investigation (it is probably too late to prevent or remedy the damage done to voter turnout during early voting and on Tuesday, May 6th, but we trust a solid investigation will prevent similar misfeasance in future elections), permit us to share with you the information we have gathered since we first became aware of the confusing robo-calls and mailings a few days ago:

1. WVWV admitted it made thousands of automatic calls to North Carolina residents on 24 and 25 April 2008. (See Ex. 2) On calls, apparently to white women, a woman said: "Hi. Just a reminder. Your voter registration form is in the mail to you. Your voice counts and your vote . Sign it, date it and send it in. Thanks!"

2. An African American man, who identified himself as Lamont Williams (hereafter "Lamont") gave the following message to other homes: "Hello. This is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter-registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is fill it out, sign it, date and return your application. Then, you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return your registration form when it arrives. Thank you." According to WVWV, "Mr. Williams is a professional voice talent," and his calls only went to men and a woman was used to contact women."

3. Lamont's calls tell people that are registered that they are not and that the only way they can vote is to wait a few days, get a form in the mail, fill it out and mail it back in. As one commentator said, "Whether the result of deliberate design or massive negligence on the part of WVWV and/or its vendors in terms of the timing of the calls and the determination of who would be called, the end result is something which rightly raised suspicions about the intent of this program."

4. Contrary to North Carolina law, there was no identification of the organization who had paid for the call, WVWV, or its "project" organization, Voter Participation Center, nor did Lamont provide any way for the receivers of his misleading message to check on it, if they had questions.

5. Mr. Kevin Farmer, in Durham, N.C. has an original tape of Lamont's message, which was apparently aimed at a young African American male voter who had registered to vote for the first time in 2004, and whose 2004 telephone number was reassigned to the store where Mr. Farmer now works.

6. Rev. and Mrs. Nelson Johnson received Lamont's message three times. Neither are unmarried women--they are African American civil rights activists in Greensboro.

7. When Lamont's messages were sent to hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians on April 24th and 25th the deadline to register for the May 6 primary had passed if you tried to register by mail. You could easily register--and Vote! by going to a one stop early voting place. WVWV focus has been on unmarried women. (See Ex. 1)

8. WVWV sent Mr. Bartlett its fax from the Institute of Women's Policy Research which has the same address, 1707 L Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036 as the Women's Voices. The letter was dated April 24, but the fax was sent late in the afternoon of April 28, which was the same day the mailing was scheduled to leave the mail house for North Carolina.

9. In the letter to Mr. Bartlett, the WVWV explained its massive 276,118 mailing that was about to be sent, but did not mention Lamont's calls or any other calls, presumably to the same people, telling them to look for the mailer. (Ex. 1)

10. Copies of the mailing pieces were not sent to Mr. Bartlett for his review or even as a courtesy. Some of the messages on the mail pieces are misleading while others appear to misrepresent North Carolina law regarding the registration process. For example, some say, "The deadline for voter registration is approaching," but the mail-in deadline has ended two weeks earlier. Some say, "state law requires you to update your voter registration records," but voters who move within a county are allowed to vote without previously changing their registration.

11. WVWV has said they have tried to delay the 276,000 pieces of mail destined for North Carolina and that "a majority of the mail that was going to North Carolina will not be delivered, and our folks are continuing to try to make sure that as much of the NC mail as possible is held until a later date." (Ex. 2) Based on conversations with WVWV's vendors and postal officials on Friday, approximately 110,000 pieces are still being delivered this week, most heavily in Eastern North Carolina.

12. WVWV said it "was a mistake" for Lamont not to identify the sponsoring organization and "we regret the error and will ensure it does not happen again." WVWV has repeatedly been challenged on the inaccurate and misleading mass robo-calls and mass mailings in other states, and it merely apologizes, and says they will do better in the future. Months ago, we understand, WVWV pledged to identify the source of Lamont's calls. This promise was broken.

13. The robo-calls in N.C. were part of a massive set of calls and mailings in 24 states in late April 2008 that included Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Oregon--all states where the voter registration deadline has passed and the primary is approaching. Two months earlier, on 6 and 7 February during other primary campaigns, Lamont, or someone acting for WVWV, made millions of calls in 22 states, including Virginia. At that time, the registration deadline had passed in Virginia and the primary was days away. The resulting chaos led to an investigation by the State Police and more promises from WVWV to change its deceptive practices.

14. WVWV says it was fully aware of the closing of the registration rolls in North Carolina, the availability of one-stop registration/voting, and other important voting factors that would influence the impact of its call/mailing operation. In its letter to Mr. Bartlett, WVWV apologized for the confusion its poor timing caused, but dismissed the timing as an "unfortunate coincidence."

15. Voters in Virginia, Oregon, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Michigan complained to the WVWV that the anonymous calls probably caused voter confusion and frustration. The Institute for Southern Studies found media or other reports about complaints regarding WVWV calls or mailings in at least 10 states in the past five months.

By copy of this letter we alert the U.S. Department of Justice that the NC NAACP is collecting more information through our national network in contemplation of filing a formal complaint about this issue. We also copy this letter to our National NAACP leadership, which has approved these complaints. Through our national organization, we will see information about how these confusing robo-calls and mailings affected minority voter participation in other states, such as West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky, as we continue our discussions about our next steps to expose efforts to confuse and mislead voters in key primary states. We will also be consulting with two national Election Protection hotlines that are monitoring the primary election in North Carolina to evaluate whether their findings shed additional light on the actions of WVWV.

...more at the link including audio of "Lamont's robo call"

Women's Voices Women Vote - Organizational Chart Shows Clinton Ties Run Deep

NPR has the Center for Investigative Reporting's organizational chart for "Women's Voices, Women Vote"
here

Here's my brief sketch of the group, from the above chart:

Here are the members of WVWV who worked for Bill Clinton

Page Gardner is the Founder and President of WVWV.
She served as Bill Clinton's deputy political director for his 1992 campaign.
She also served on his presidential transition team.

Joe Goode is the Executive director of WVWV.
He was a polster for Bill Clintons 1992 Presidential campaign.

Michael Lux is a board member.
He worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign.
He claims to have switched his support from Hillary to Obama,
but only has donated to Hillary and Hillpac.

Mimi Mager is a board member.
She served as a member of the Clinton-Gore transition team.
She was a founding member of Emily's list (which supports Hillary)

John Podesta is a board member.
He is a former chief of staff to President Clinton.

Pat Griffin is on the leadership team.
He is a partner at Grifin Willins CPM,
WVWV has paid CPM 88,842 for strategic planning.
Griffin is Former top advisor to Pres Clinton,
served as assistant to president Clinton for leg affairs

Anna Greenberg, Leadership Team, Sen VP Greenber QRR.
WVWV paid GQRR 225,854 for polling focus groups.
also conducts surveys for NPR.
Greenberg has served as pollster to president Clinton.

Maggie Williams is on the leadership team. Also partner at Griffin Williams CPM.
She is current campaign manager for Sen Cinton.
Advised her senatorial campaign.
Was chief of staff of for Hillary Clinton while she was first lady.
Served as assistant to President Clinton and COS at President Clinton's foundation.

**************************
Here are the members of WVWV who worked for Hillary Clinton

Maggie Williams is on the leadership team. Also partner at Griffin Williams CPM.
She is current campaign manager for Sen Cinton.
Advised her senatorial campaign.
Was chief of staff of for Hillary Clinton while she was first lady.
Also served as asst to Pres Clinton and COS at Pres Clinton's foundation.

Mimi Mager is a board member.
She served as a member of the Clinton-Gore transition team.
She was a founding member of Emily's list (which supports Hillary)

Ties to Clinton campaign through marriage or money

Ron Rosenblith is on leadership team.
Is married to Page Gardner (who was Bill Clinton's dep political director for his 92 campaign.)
He is CEO of Integral resources, and
IR has received 791,954 for phones from WVWV.

Hal Malchow is on the WVWV Leadership team.
He is president of MSHC.
MSHC has received 580,319 from WVWV for voter list development.
Malchow's MSHC is owed nearly $1 million by the Clinton campaign for printing expenses.

Members who say they support Obama or Edwards

Todd Webster, leadership team. is President of Webster Strategies.
WVWV has paid Webster Strategies 89,953 for website communication.
Says is Obama supporter, Obama campaign has paid WS 8,000.
No donations found.

b]Michael Lux is a board member.
He worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign.
He claims to have switched his support from Hillary to Obama,
but only has donated to Hillary and Hillpac.

William McNary is a board member and says he supports Obama but no donations found.

Chris Desser is a board member/co founder. Endorsed Edwards.

See the full chart here at NPR

[supernova]

1. Woot!!

Good to know. I hope we can get this organization to either shape up or shut down. Their tactics are beyond despicable.

[grantcart]

2. hmmmmmmmm

"replies to this thread"

Time for a grand jury

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

83. PLEASE DIGG story "The Economist" has on robo calls here:

Clinton, Nixon; Nixon, Clinton
economist.com — SIX days ahead of the North Carolina primary comes a story of real sleaze—not Jeremiah Wright-style buffoonery, but Nixon-style illegality designed to dupe and disenfranchise voters...More… (US Elections 2008)
It has 1,241 diggs so far.

GO HERE TO DIGG:

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Clinton_Nixon_Nixon_Clinton

[thunder rising]

3. Absolutely!!

[pompano]

6. Here is the point....

In light of what has happened in the last elections, and I do feel there is smoke to this fire, it is far past time the powers that be are told on no uncertain terms that voting is a Constitutional Right and it will not be manipulated. People, namely women and minorities, fought their asses off to get this Right and no spoiled brat with a pocket full of money, or entity will be allowed to deprive them this most fundamental Right under a Democracy.

In a Democracy it should be a person votes for their choice of the best candidates. This isn't some goddamned game where skullduggery is the norm and a shell game trying to catch the offenders. It happens with too much frequency to keep blowing it off as crying over spilt milk, only to let the criminals move to another town, city or State and set up shop.

Put one of their asses in JAIL and the rest might start paying attention.

I am writing in General terms. WVWV hasn't had their day in Court yet, but it looks like they may.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. Washington Post now has it - let the investigation grow:

Women's Voices, Women Vote: Did the Outreach Overreach?

By Shailagh Murray Sunday, May 4, 2008; Page A10

Women's Voices, Women Vote is one of those little advocacy organizations with a lot of big names attached: Former White House chief of staff John Podesta is a board member, Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams has consulted, and founder Page Gardner worked for the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign, to name a few.

But for all the paid and unpaid talent associated with the group, which focuses on registering unmarried women to vote, it's landed in legal hot water in North Carolina for robo-calling voters after the primary registration date and for not identifying the group in the call.

Voters and watchdog groups complained about the calls, and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper ordered them to stop on Wednesday. Some saw a turnout-suppression conspiracy because the group's allies include so many Clinton supporters, especially Podesta and Williams.

On Friday, Barack Obama's campaign weighed in by circulating the transcript of a National Public Radio report on the calls. It noted that the North Carolina calls seemed to heavily skew to African Americans, including many women who had already registered, causing them to question whether they were eligible to vote in the primary on Tuesday.

... more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

32. Mark Kleiman of "The Reality Based Community" picked the story up:

If Mark picks it up, it may spread to some of the more hesitant yet influential bloggers.
(I've been trying to get America Blog, Jed Report or Balloon Juice to do something on this.)

((( The RBC Update: More on those funny robo-calls in North Carolina )))

2008.05.03 22:56:45


------------------------------------------------------------------------

The NAACP complains, and Women's Voices, Women's Vote issues an
explanation that doesn't explain anything.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://WWW.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/05/more_on_those_funny_robocalls_in_north_carolina.php

[KitSileya]

42. In a democracy a person shouldn't have to register to vote

Everyone should automatically be registered to vote the moment they turn 18 if they have a social security number. There should be options available for those whose parents don't register their birth, but this stupidity of having to register to vote, at least in the GE, is obviously a tool to hinder the poor, the uneducated, the working class etc to vote.

[fascisthunter]

64. Thank You For Saying This

You are so right and shows just how much the power to be don't want us all to vote and how they don't believe in a Democracy.

[KitSileya]

79. I'm from Norway, and that's how we do it here.

In fact, last fall was the first election we had to show ID to vote. We've had international observers at our elections, and they've been shocked at how free and fair our elections are. Now, I realize that isn't possible in the US because Americans have let corporations and rich people destroy practically all democracy by claiming to preserve their rights. If automatic registration were suggested, many Americans, many on this board, even, would cry foul and claim 1984 and nanny state. And to a certain extent they'd be right to be worried (if not with regards to the reason why they're worried) as the American dictatorship, which is supported by both party establishments, would like nothing better than to control Americans. But apart from Howard Dean, I've seen no American politician working for universal suffrage in the US.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

59. Sun: Raleigh News and Observer carries the story

"Is Women's Voices massively incompetent or calculatingly devious?" Hall asked rhetorically.

May 04, 2008 02:26 AM Raleigh News and Observer

NAACP lodges call complaint
Group wants investigation of automated phone campaign

Titan Barksdale, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - The N.C. NAACP sent a complaint Saturday to the state Justice Department requesting an aggressive investigation into recent automated calls it suspects were meant to confuse voters and suppress the black vote.
A group identified as Women's Voices Women Vote has said it was behind the calls made to voters in North Carolina that provided misinformation about voter registration.

The calls told voters to expect a "voter registration packet" in the mail, though the calls were made after April 11 -- the registration deadline in North Carolina.

When voters answered the call, a man who identified himself as Lamont Williams provided the misinformation. Williams is a professional voice talent, according to information the NAACP said it received from Women's Voices.

...

In a four-page letter sent to Cooper, Barber asks that the names of North Carolina voters who were called be made available. He says the state NAACP chapter plans to file another complaint about the calls with the U.S. Department of Justice.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1060266.html

[klook]

4. Let the chips fall where they may.

Whoever's behind this needs to be prosecuted.

[KoKo]

5. Good! NC Grassroots Activists worked too hard to get a Voting Rights Bill through NC Legislature

to have this kind of CRAP going on. No matter who is doing it...it's just plain WRONG!! And, shameful that there are high powered Dems like John Podesta who founded "Center for American Progress" and the "Think Progress" Web Site to have anything to do with this as a Board Member.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

10. We owe the NC NAACP a debt of gratitude

Its hard to find a group that will take another "non profit" on.

This story should expand more and more.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. "Lamont Williams" called voters in Ohio in 2007

Voter Suppression in Columbus?
Submitted by Jerid on Sun, 11/04/2007 - 6:37pm.
Looks like voter suppression for Tuesday's elections may've started in Columbus. From an email from a reader:

I just got a weird robo-call that I suspect may be a form of voter
suppression, albeit kinda braindead. From memory, a stentorian voice
reminiscent of James Earl Jones says: "Hello. This is Lamont Williams.
In a few days you should be getting a voter registration form in the
mail. Please fill it out and return promptly and you will be able to
vote. Thank you."

Since the election is Tuesday, the message is nonsensical. Also, I
can't find any information on this Lamont Williams. The caller ID was
blocked ("unknown caller").

Just thought you might want to know, particularly if other people are
getting this phone call.


Certainly is a weird call. Any other BSB readers out there getting these types of calls. They could definitely be taken to try and trick people into waiting for forms, instead of voting on Tuesday. Sounds exactly like the sort of thing the GOP would need to do to make inroads against the massive defeat they're expected to suffer on Tuesday in Cbus.

http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/voter_suppression_in_columbus

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

61. PS: WVWV calls in Ohio in Nov 2007 - would help the GOP

odd that the group helping the Clintons would also at other times help the GOP.

[speedoo]

7. I must have missed Hillary's denunciation of this group, and her firing of..

Maggie Williams.

Links, anyone?;)

[Alcibiades]

9. Denounce and reject

or was it denounce and repudiate?

Whatever. Either they are stupid, or they are guilty. I have a suspicion they are not stupid.

[Alcibiades]

8. Why didn't Lamont identity his group?

The plainest violation of the law is right here:

"Contrary to North Carolina law, there was no identification of the organization who had paid for the call, WVWV, or its "project" organization, Voter Participation Center, nor did Lamont provide any way for the receivers of his misleading message to check on it, if they had questions."

If innocent, why not identify the group? The DoJ needs all the internal documents of these people. All of them. I simply cannot believe that such a well-financed, apparently well-organized group could be so ignorant of election law. Who are their lawyers? You know they have them.

This makes me madder than anything. We don't need these Washington groups coming down here and conducting voter suppression, thank you. These Washington outsiders have no sensitivity, none, about our history. Progressive white Democrats in the south should be working to helping to restore people's voting rights, not to violate them.

WVWV, don't you ever, ever dare call yourselves a "progressive" group. You made a bad, bad choice, and, if guilty, you deserve to be sent to federal prison.

[caligirl]

11. ya think boy George might now ask Hillary about Maggie Williams, John Podesta and Joe Goodes

connections to this?

If the main stream press ignores this they are confirming the lowest of standards we have come to expect of them.

[Robeson]

12. To think that "members" of our party could be involved in voter suppression....

...is f*cking sickening.

[DiverDave]

13. Sounds like a KKKarl plan to me.

wouldnt put it past her...

[jonestonesusa]

14. Amen, great post and links...

I challenge HC supporters to read the articles and stand up for the right of every citizen to vote without interference. No matter who we support for the top of the ticket, rank and file Democrats need to get outraged at any attempt to disenfranchise voters.

I applaud the NAACP's willingness to bring this suit, even though HC still has some support among African American elected officials, though that support is shrinking.

I will do my part to contact a national or state mass media organization to make sure that the story gets some discussion. If enough of us do this, we can push the media to cover this important story.

[lilyannerose]

15. The Clinton Team Is Putting Karl Rove to Shame

[uberblonde]

16. Oh no! Not the 1992 Clinton supporters!!!

Seriously, it's time you people went into therapy.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. former and current Clinton staff - Maggie Williams???

this is voter supression - whoever does it is in big trouble in our state.

[CreekDog]

49. you're saying that only 1992 supporters are listed in the OP?

?

[yardwork]

69. What about the 2008 Clinton campaign staff? Maggie Williams?

[AzDar]

17. Ugly, and just so goddamned UN-AMERICAN.

:mad:

[EFerrari]

18. Great!

:woohoo:

[JackORoses]

21. exciting and the timing is just right!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

26. the timing follows the timing of the robo calls - calls were during our early voting

early voting ended today around 1 PM at most sites.

We didn't have any way to reach the voters lied to by WVWV, so there's no telling
how much damage it did.


ODD how if WVWV cared about registering people - they didn't tell the voters
that they could register in person during our early voting period.

Its almost as if - they didnt' want the people to vote.

After all, they were calling registered voters, even party leaders (Kevin in Durham) and telling them this stuff.

[chill_wind]

22. It is criminal and corrupt when Pubs do it. It is criminal and currupt when Dems do it.

Corrupt is corrupt.

"When you mess with the right to vote, you're messing with everything that is fundamental in our democracy." (Barber)

Right on!

[Enthusiast]

24. If it quacks like a duck and

If It walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a Republican! If you vote for Hillary you are voting for a DINO! Wake the fuck up!

[democracy1st]

25. great

[Zachstar]

27. Well I am glad to see a stand being taken against Vote Suppression but you know what the pundits ...

Will say....

Democrats are tearing themselves apart... If this is what Clinton wanted she is getting it on a silver platter.

[usregimechange]

28. I am sitting here not knowing what the hell to say...

[usregimechange]

29. A wholehearted and emphatic K&R for the future of democracy, Christ!

What can I do about this?

[McCamy Taylor]

30. 4 days before NC primary, Obama needs anti Clinton pr campaign, NAACP files complaint

and DU is up in arms. Boy, this is the "Race Memo" all over again. The funny thing is that if I read the article above correctly, this has been going on in other states all along. And yet, someone decided to make a stink about it now .

So, I would like to interject a second question.

Why was this timed for now?

And then I will answer my own question.

Because this is the Obama campaign's typical politics of distraction. It is just as possible that we will discover that similar phone calls and letters are being made and mailed to many states all the time and that none has any relationship to a particular primary. The group's stated mission is to register voters in advance of the general election. They are being charged and convicted in the internet press by people who have a political interest in linking Clinton to dirty tricks in order to boost Obama's chances in North Carolina, because a close finish there will be bad news for him.

Pardon me for being cynical, but after watching the disconnect between what Obama supporters claim that their campaign is about and what they do and say, I do not believe that this type of dirty trick is beneath them at all. They would justify it by saying that the goal--winning the nomination--is worth any sacrifice.

Sorry if people feel that their motives are being unfairly questioned, but they have brought it upon themselves with things like the "Race Memo" and Rep. Clyburn's statement that "all African-Americans" believe that Clinton is trying to make Obama unelectable and the many memos that the Obama camp has put out encouraging the MSM to push the Bosnia sniper story even as Obama has tried to silence criticism of himself by complaining of the politics of distraction.

[democracy1st]

43. cut your bs,more info came out this week concerning this sorry group

[McCamy Taylor]

47. Yes, there is a lot more info. It is in my new journal. You will not like it.

None of it supports the theory that some Obama supporters are attempting to push in order to improve Obama's performance in the North Carolina primary.

[democracy1st]

51. I read it and do you sit here and think you can believe everything the

Clinton's say when they are using both rightwing tactics and people like Richard Mellon Scaife,Bill Kristol and the rightwing propaganda machine to attack Barack Obama. Give me a break

[mhoran]

77. Honestly, you confuse me.

You have posted numerous times that you are neither an Obama or Clinton supporter, but your posts seem to me to be pro-Clinton and/or anti-Obama the vast, vast majority of the time.

I don't know what to make of that.

[johnt66]

45. WHAT?????

Now you are going to blame the people and Sen.Obama for what this group has done, to supress votes, damn, who else do Sen. Obama has to apologize for? And no one hold Sen. Clinton responsible for anything, when are you going to has her to denounce and apoloize for the people working for her?

[tbyg52]

80. Hey, johnt66!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[burythehatchet]

60. Please change your avatar; you are a disgrace.

[fascisthunter]

62. And You Have an MLK Avatar

nice

[yardwork]

70. Why are robo-calls attempting to suppress the black vote in NC?

The timing is due to this group's efforts to depress black turnout in Tuesday's NC primary.

[mod mom]

75. Excellent! Just because the group is headed by "Dems" doesn't mean we should ignore equal protectio

from suppression like some here suggested yesterday!

[mhoran]

76. How political is the timing?

You might be right, the timing on bringing this forward may be influenced by political considerations.

And you might be right, this may have been going on in other states as well.

Both of those arguments are an attempt to distract attention from the main and most critical point, IMO. There are clear laws regarding efforts at voter suppression. If a crime was committed, it needs to be investigated and, if appropriate, prosecuted.

If there is a clear line that connects Senator Clinton to this, then there is; if there's not, there's not. Frankly, until proven otherwise, I personally will give her the benefit of the doubt.

We can debate timing, or what's going on in other states, or whatever. If these allegations are true, this becomes a classic "dirty trick" that we ALL would decry if the Republican Party was behind it.

To pretend otherwise is, at best, disingenuous.

[Triana]

31. K & R a thousand times (it'll have to do) n/t

[McCamy Taylor]

33. Here is the statement from WVWV

http://www.wvwv.org/2008/5/3/wvwv-voter-registration

Womens Voices, Women Vote has registered over 400,000 unmarried women, African American and Latina voters this cycle. We have mailed applications forms, to over 10 million prospective voters in 26 states. For those unregistered people for whom we have phone numbers, we provide a robo call alerting them that they'll be receiving a registration application in the mail, and urging them to fill it out and return it.

Our North Carolina phone calls and mailing went not only to African American voters but to unmarried women and Latinas. It is hard to imagine why we would have mailed to all these constituencies if we were trying to help one candidate or suppress the vote of one demographic group.

This week, there was a misunderstanding about the robo calls preceding our mailed registration applications in North Carolina. Apparently someone complained that they were already registered, and believed that a call urging them to register might have been intended to create ambiguity about their registration status.

Like many other voter registration groups, we typically continue our voter registration work without a pause up until the general election registration deadline. We have not typically closed down operations during the window when registration will be too late to participate in a primary, but is still in plenty of time to participate in a general election. We do not believe that people who are in fact registered to vote jump to the conclusion that they can't vote simply because they are offered another opportunity to register.

Unfortunately, steadily increasing voter suppression efforts in recent years have created a not-unreasonable sense of suspicion among all of us who support voting rights. In the North Carolina case, it led some to jump to a very wrong conclusion.

We regret any misunderstanding although clearly the mail would have informed all who received the calls as to our identity and the registration rules and deadlines. We have concluded that, in this context, we will not in the future mail or call during the window between close of registration for the primary and the primary election.

[BlooInBloo]

34. self-delete - wrong branch.

[democracy1st]

44. and if you believe that crap ur out of your mind

[marions ghost]

52. OK

go ahead and put out the official spin. "Sorry about the misunderstanding...etc" --Lame.

To anyone associated with elections and election laws, this group's recent activities in several states is highly suspect and warrant a full investigation.

You need to understand that the protests of several legitimate progressive groups in NC deserve to be heard also.

If you are really on the side of voters you would put aside your biases and see that this case needs to be examined.

[lilyannerose]

74. Misunderstanding about the robo calls

Well, of course, it was a misunderstanding, the WVWV understood it wasn't going to get caught.

[BlooInBloo]

35. No matter what party they belong to, white folks will do things like this....

... for the foreseeable future. Hopefully there will be enough caring eyes on the lookout from now until the election.

[McCamy Taylor]

48. That is a very interesting statement. Very divisive. Was that your intention?

[Skwmom]

36. K&R

[TheDonkey]

37. What will be the actual impact of this?

[BlooInBloo]

38. At the very least: it forces Clinton to spend money she doesn't have?

[TheDonkey]

41. Good

That is something at least. I really hope these robocalling dirtbags get what they deserve

[yardwork]

71. I hope that the impact will be for politicians to stop intimidating voters.

The denial of the right to vote is a fundamental crime to democracy.

[nvme]

39. The MSM won't report this

I am sure this is where this story sinks. The Media makes more money the longer this issue drags out. Why they report it? Voter suppression is only sexy when someone's swinging clubs

[Laelth]

40. Grrrr...

Voter suppression is downright evil.

I hope this organization gets sued into oblivion. Kudos to the NC NAACP.

:mad:

-Laelth

[usregimechange]

46. kick!

[TragedyandHope]

50. K&R

:kick:

[Doctor_J]

53. Hil has adopted EVERY Rove ploy

she might just pull this off yet.

[madrchsod]

55. i`m sure uncle karl has many more to give to her

but what is karl getting in return.....hmmmmm a pardon?

[madrchsod]

54. move along..there`s nothing to this story

some people make it an issue because most of the people who are affiliated with this organization are bill and hillary`s friends.

what more can we expect it is the tinfoil hat crowd and their crazy conspiracy theories....?

there are far more important issues than a non story about so called voter suppression....

more sour grapes from obama supporters......

get a real life and maybe a job, you guys have way to much time on your hands.....

:wow::woohoo::bounce: :eyes::bounce::woohoo::wow:

[mhoran]

78. Your post in a nutshell

Minimization
Denial
Blame
Dismissiveness
Name-Calling

It's this kind of endless, blind loyalty to Senator Clinton no matter the issue that diminishes you. It's precisely the type of "tin-foil hat, drinking the Kool-Aid" bs of which you accuse Senator Obama's supporters. Can you not see that?

[madrchsod]

56. the problem is finding a direct connection between

hillary and her best friends...that`s the big problem that i`m afraid will never be resolved

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

57. WVWV director and president are former Clinton STAFFERS, not just friends

there's a huge difference.

WVWV has Bill's former chief of staff and Hillary's former chief of staff on board.
WVWV has their former pollster on board.

ITs not about WVWV having friends of the Clintons on board,its about having
former high level staffers of the Clinton running WVWV.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

58. Maggie Williams is Hillary's campaign advisor, not just a "friend"

plus she's worked for both Bill and Hillary when Bill was in the whitehouse.

Oh and she ran Hillary's senatorial campaign too.

[madrchsod]

65. i forgot about her...interesting is`t it...

well maybe she was just "helping out" her boss... has hillary said anything about this?

[yardwork]

72. LOL! That was sarcasm, right? A direct connection between Hillary and her best friends?

A direct connection between Hillary and her campaign manager?

Since Obama's minister was appropriate for 24/7 air time for over a month, wouldn't you say that the involvement in Hillary's campaign manager is interesting? Worthy of air time?

[usregimechange]

63. Kicking for others

[iwearshoesinky]

66. K and R

[greiner3]

67. March 18, 2009;

Page 8 in local NC's papers; Women voter group found to have violated 198 counts. Chairman of the group, Maggie Williams pleads nolo contendere and is fined $1,000 dollars.

[yardwork]

68. What is the Clinton campaign's explanation for their connection to this group?

This is far, far worse than Obama's minister making controversial remarks.

[catgirl]

73. Kick!!!!!

[susankh4]

81. Why doesn't this surprise me?

Blacks against women? Yes!

White men in the white house... forever. That will be the result.

[Heathen57]

82. K&R

This deserves to be shouted from the rooftops.