Monday, February 05, 2007
Super Sunday Hijinks
Newsday SpinCycle
Another botched Republican Campaign Strategy.....this is the gang that obviously can't shoot straight...........andy
Despite both campaigns swearing they shut down their phone operations during the big game, a few Republicans say they received robo-calls Sunday night urging them to vote for Maureen O'Connell.
Marie Grieco, an East Williston real estate agent, said her phone rang three times between 7:02 p.m. and 8:01 p.m. with the recorded voice apologizing for interrupting the game and asking her to vote for O'Connell.
"I was suspicious that it was not her calling," said Grieco, a self-described political independent who said she had been undecided on the Senate race before the calls. "Now I'm going to vote for Maureen."
Johnson spokesman Alex Navarro, who warned against Super Bowl robo-calls to Democratic households before the game, said his side had nothing to do with the O'Connell calls. That didn't stop O'Connell mouthpiece Mike Arens from blaming Team Johnson. Reid J. Epstein
"This is a pathetic low," Arens said. He said other Republicans reported receiving multiple recorded phone messages during the game -- purportedly pushing O'Connell.
This isn't the first allegation of funny business on the telephone during the campaign. Last week, Diane Pine of Great Neck said her phone rang seven times in one night from people offering a push-poll, or message test, asking her leading questions, knocking Johnson.
No one took responsibility for those calls, either. meanwhile Liz Benjamin(Capitol Confidential) reports "Republican 7th SD candidate Maureen O’Connell has called a 1:30 p.m. press conference to respond to “illegal telemarketing calls” made during last night’s Super Bowl game that her campaign says were “fraudulently attributed” to her in a “blatant and unlawful attempt to undermine her candidacy.”
Newsday’s Spin Cycle has more about the calls, for which O’Connell’s Democratic opponent, Craig Johnson, insists it is not responsible.
“The last shreds of credibility Maureen O’Connell had have already been eviscerated by the editorial pages of The New York Times and the Daily News,” said Johnson spokesman Alex Navarro. “She’s gotten some very bad advice. At this point, O’Connell should stop lying about her record, stop lying about the campaign and stop embarrassing herself.”
Working Families Party Co-Chairman Bob Master, who dismissed the calls as “stupid,” said the WFP had nothing to do with them." ....and Liz also has the dirt on returned absentee ballots..........Democratic 7th SD Craig Johnson’s campaign is “cautiously optimistic” about tomorrow based on the returns of absentee ballots.
The ballots have yet to be opened, but through Saturday, more Democrats than Republicans had voted absentee. The numbers (which the Working Families Party blog posted first):
Democrats: 699
Republicans: 646
Blanks (independents): 177
Independence Party: 18
Conservative Party: 15
Liberal Party: 3
Right to Life: 1
No WFP absentees, which is odd. The party has 335 enrolled members in the 7th SD. The Right-to-Life Party, by comparison, has 644 and the Liberal Party has 882.
“Since Republicans tend to dominate absentee ballot voting in special elections, these results make the Craig Johnson campaign cautiously optimistic about Tuesday,” Brian Stedge-Stroud, Johnson’s campaign manager, said in a press release. “But we’re focused on the task at hand: helping every voter vote and stopping Republican intimidation tactics.” I will be so glad when this special election is over with..........andy
Another botched Republican Campaign Strategy.....this is the gang that obviously can't shoot straight...........andy
Despite both campaigns swearing they shut down their phone operations during the big game, a few Republicans say they received robo-calls Sunday night urging them to vote for Maureen O'Connell.
Marie Grieco, an East Williston real estate agent, said her phone rang three times between 7:02 p.m. and 8:01 p.m. with the recorded voice apologizing for interrupting the game and asking her to vote for O'Connell.
"I was suspicious that it was not her calling," said Grieco, a self-described political independent who said she had been undecided on the Senate race before the calls. "Now I'm going to vote for Maureen."
Johnson spokesman Alex Navarro, who warned against Super Bowl robo-calls to Democratic households before the game, said his side had nothing to do with the O'Connell calls. That didn't stop O'Connell mouthpiece Mike Arens from blaming Team Johnson. Reid J. Epstein
"This is a pathetic low," Arens said. He said other Republicans reported receiving multiple recorded phone messages during the game -- purportedly pushing O'Connell.
This isn't the first allegation of funny business on the telephone during the campaign. Last week, Diane Pine of Great Neck said her phone rang seven times in one night from people offering a push-poll, or message test, asking her leading questions, knocking Johnson.
No one took responsibility for those calls, either. meanwhile Liz Benjamin(Capitol Confidential) reports "Republican 7th SD candidate Maureen O’Connell has called a 1:30 p.m. press conference to respond to “illegal telemarketing calls” made during last night’s Super Bowl game that her campaign says were “fraudulently attributed” to her in a “blatant and unlawful attempt to undermine her candidacy.”
Newsday’s Spin Cycle has more about the calls, for which O’Connell’s Democratic opponent, Craig Johnson, insists it is not responsible.
“The last shreds of credibility Maureen O’Connell had have already been eviscerated by the editorial pages of The New York Times and the Daily News,” said Johnson spokesman Alex Navarro. “She’s gotten some very bad advice. At this point, O’Connell should stop lying about her record, stop lying about the campaign and stop embarrassing herself.”
Working Families Party Co-Chairman Bob Master, who dismissed the calls as “stupid,” said the WFP had nothing to do with them." ....and Liz also has the dirt on returned absentee ballots..........Democratic 7th SD Craig Johnson’s campaign is “cautiously optimistic” about tomorrow based on the returns of absentee ballots.
The ballots have yet to be opened, but through Saturday, more Democrats than Republicans had voted absentee. The numbers (which the Working Families Party blog posted first):
Democrats: 699
Republicans: 646
Blanks (independents): 177
Independence Party: 18
Conservative Party: 15
Liberal Party: 3
Right to Life: 1
No WFP absentees, which is odd. The party has 335 enrolled members in the 7th SD. The Right-to-Life Party, by comparison, has 644 and the Liberal Party has 882.
“Since Republicans tend to dominate absentee ballot voting in special elections, these results make the Craig Johnson campaign cautiously optimistic about Tuesday,” Brian Stedge-Stroud, Johnson’s campaign manager, said in a press release. “But we’re focused on the task at hand: helping every voter vote and stopping Republican intimidation tactics.” I will be so glad when this special election is over with..........andy
