The latest political dirty trick appears to be bombarding voters with phone calls that the voters think are from the opposition. Of course, the party using the tactic is the National Republican Party – not here but in tighter Congressional races.
In Philadelphia, voters were getting numerous calls that began: “Hello, I’m calling with information about Lois Murphy,” the Democrat running against two-term incumbent Rep. Jim Gerlach in the Philadelphia-area district. Then automated caller would start slamming Murphy. There have been similar reports in Illinois where some voters have said they’ve gotten as many as 18 such calls.
According to FCC rules, all prerecorded messages must “at the beginning of the message, state clearly the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call.” During or after the message, they must give the telephone number of the caller. This wasn’t happening.
GOP party spokesman have blamed the phone contractors and say the message and the calls are not part of any campaign strategy.
One district – maybe a contractor problem, but when it happens in other states, there’s a bigger issue. You can expect to hear more about this after the election.