Today, the day before the elections, as we get word that the races are tightening, it is useful to consider the role of religious right wing activists and party operatives in attempting to get out the vote on behalf of the GOP. As much as it has been shown in recent weeks that the marriage between the religious right and the GOP is little more than an tension filled marriage of convenience and one which will likely cost the Republicans 100,000s of moderate votes, those who are in the middle of this ugly relationship will go down kicking and screaming. It is my hope that after we take the House and restore some degree of checks and balances, we will go after such tax exempt groups as the one described below and reveal them as being the blatantly partisan front group that they are.
The New York Times reports
An automated voice at the other end of the telephone line asks whether you believe that judges who "push homosexual marriage and create new rights like abortion and sodomy" should be controlled. If your reply is "yes," the voice lets you know that the Democratic candidate in the Senate race in Montana, Jon Tester, is not your man.
In Maryland, a similar question-and-answer sequence suggests that only the Republican Senate candidate would keep the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. In Tennessee, another paints the Democrat as wanting to give foreign terrorists "the same legal rights and privileges" as Americans.
Using a telemarketing tactic that is best known for steering consumers to buy products, the organizers of the political telephone calls say they have reached hundreds of thousands of homes in five states over the last several weeks in a push to win votes for Republicans. Democrats say the calls present a distorted picture.
The Ohio-based conservatives behind the new campaign, who include current and former Procter & Gamble managers, say the automated system can reach vast numbers of people at a fraction of the cost of traditional volunteer phone banks and is the most ambitious political use of the telemarketing technology ever undertaken.
But critics say the automated calls are a twist on push polls -- a campaign tactic that is often criticized as deceptive because it involves calling potential voters under the guise of measuring public opinion, while the real intent is to change opinions with questions that push people in one direction or the other.
The calls have set off a furor in the closing days of a campaign in which control of Congress hinges on a handful of races.
So, Jon Tester is running for the Senate in order to create new rights like abortion and sodomy? I'm not even sure what that means. I know, though, having just read George Lakoff, that "abortion" and "sodomy" are frames, or buzzwords, and are the instruments of those who engage in smear campaigns. And to claim that Harold Ford is wanting to "give rights to terrorists" is another form of nonsense used to smear Ford.
And as to organization behind this particular smear campaign? Why, it's a "conservative Christian" organization.
Harold E. Swift, one of the organizers of the Ohio group, Common Sense Ohio, claims, innocently, that this group is engaged in a "very sophisticated approach to voter education." Its goal is simply to "make people aware of the candidate's stand on the issues that are important to them."
In fact, Common Sense Ohio is financed by wealthy Republican donors. A sister organization, "Common Sense 2006" received a donation from the Republican Governors Public Policy Committee, an affiliate of the Republican Governors Association. No one knows quite how much specifically these groups have raised or who specifically has contributed to them, as under federal law, the groups are not required to disclose their donors publicly or reveal how much money they have raised.
Looking further at Common Sense Ohio
They describe themselves as "a group of Ohio citizens committed to help fellow citizens learn more about issues important to Ohio's future." They indicate that their "purpose is to build a stronger Ohio by informing fellow Ohioans on issues affecting Ohio's future."
A tax exempt 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, Common Sense Ohio claims to be non-partisan. Their self-descrimptions are very innocent and they make themselves sound as much of a neutral information source as a neighborhood public library. A quick perusal of their website indicates that they are anything but. They engage, for example, in a hatchet job on Democratic candidate for governor Ted Strickland, noting the following.
Congress.org rates Ted Strickland's Power Ranking in the bottom 10% of Representatives in Congress, 402 out of 435 Representatives overall and 17 of 18 Representatives from Ohio. The Washington Post rates Ted Strickland in the bottom 1% for missing votes. The National Taxpayers Union grades Ted Strickland an F--Big Spender on tax votes, with a score of 13% out of 100%. Citizens Against Government Waste grades Ted Strickland Hostile, with a score of 9% out of 100%.
They've also used their funds to run attack ads against Strickland.
The Common Sense Tennessee website lists "John Lind" as the "treasurer." If it is the same John Lind, he's the founder of the Presidential Prayer Team which is running a "Pray the Vote" campaign for the 2006 elections. In encouraging "prayer" as if prayer were the equivalent of a political lawn sign, this group further thins the wall separating church and state. For that alone, they should be delegitimized and scorned.
One report, which also looks at this groups attacks in Tennessee, says about Lind and his campaign
The campaign talks about "wicked leaders" and says:Which type of leaders will we have here in America? The righteous kind we hope, but that's only going to be realized if God's people pray for the upcoming elections. This is not a political effort, but rather a spiritual one, as we encourage prayer for Godly leaders to be elected.
The group is also selling an exclusive $60 "Pray the Vote Prayer Package":
"As we near Election Day on November 7, 2006, you have the opportunity from your pulpit on November 5th, or with your group to encourage your people to pray for the elections, then to vote in them. Present your churchgoers or group members with the message that it's critical we pray for righteous leaders to be elected, even as we perform our civic duty to vote for them. Use one of our two Pray the Vote Sermons plus our inspirational Pray The Vote Video along with the numerous other resources available to you in our church Group Prayer Package."
But wait there's more. There are unconfirmed reports making the Tennessee blog rounds that voters are getting mailers and phone calls saying things like "only property owners are allowed to vote," "if you voted in the primary you don't need to vote again because your vote will carry over," and "if you have any outstanding traffic tickets you can be arrested on the spot if you show up to vote." It's not clear who is behind this if it is even happening. But at this point nothing would come as a surprise.
This is as nasty a campaign as we can remember in recent Tennessee history and we still have a week to go. Everyone agrees it has no place in politics but nobody seems to know what to do about it. McCain-Feingold does not seem to have made things much better, and with all the exceptions, exclusions, and loopholes may have even made things worse. The real concern is that voters will be turned off by all of this and stay home. Regardless of which party you support and who wins or loses, that would be the worst outcome.
So, this is where we stand after 6 years of a Bush playing to his base and 6 years of corruption by the Republicans, one form of which is allowing blatantly partisan groups to get away with pretending to be non-partisan. Allowing them to do that also allows them to lie, cheat and distort the truth, all for power, which is something they hunger for. May the results of tuesday's elections point toward the restoration of checks and balances, and thus sanity.