Old Tricks

The Republican Party, which sponsored a phone-jamming scheme in New Hampshire four years ago--an effort that saw one of its operatives sent to prison--is up to its old tricks. This time, the NRCC has been paying for repeated robo-calls to voters in the Granite State's hotly-contested 2nd Congressional District. The calls have confused many voters who think they are being made on behalf of Democratic candidate Paul Hodes--which would be funny except that the repetitiveness of the calls is annoying many voters who think that they are coming from the Democrat.

Now here's the really rich part. While Paul Bass (R-NH), the incumbent who is in a statistical tie with Hodes in the polls, has criticized the calls, the NRCC says they will continue. Indeed, a spokesman says that to stop them at the candidate's request would be illegal. "We make these expenditures individually of any campaign, and to heed their calls to do them or discontinue them would be coordination, which would violate the (federal) laws."

A spokesman for Hodes, the Democrat, observed that "If [Bass] can't stand up to his party on this, he can't stand up to his party on anything." If the voters hear that message before they go to the polls on Tuesday, Bass will be hooked and cooked.

Democrats have also complained that some of the calls violate federal law, because they have been made to people on the federal do-not-call registry.

Remember the Republicans are the party that claims to represent traditional values.