UPDATED 5/2: No word from Mr. Podesta yesterday. Scroll all the way down for my latest email to him.
UPDATED 5/1 with new response.
I was, like everyone else here, extremely upset when I heard Facing South's (tremendous) report today about the Women's Voices, Women Vote robo-calls in North Carolina.
I wasn't surprised to find that there were ties to Clinton's campaign - in fact, when I read about the robo-calls, my first thought was "Mark Penn." I really lost it, though, when I saw that John Podesta is a member of WVWV's board.
You see, John Podesta is a graduate of my tiny and relatively unknown but completely amazing alma mater, Knox College - Knox is where Elsinora kicked John Ashcroft's ass last week, as a matter of fact. So I've always felt a kind of connection to him. I've met him a few times and found him to be an extremely pleasant guy.
Then I found out that he's on WVWV's board. So I dug up his email address and sent him this:
Dear John:
I read today, with immeasurable shock and disappointment, that Women’s Voices, Women Vote, an organization on whose board you sit, has been involved in suspicious attempts to mislead and disenfranchise black voters in several states over the past several months, most recently this week in North Carolina. (Details can be found here: http://southernstudies.org/... <http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/04/facing-south-exclusive-dc-nonprofit.asp> )
As a fellow Knox alum, I expected better from you. I have told countless people with great pride that John Podesta went to MY college. Remember when you took over Old Main? Do you remember the 1970 version of yourself? What were you fighting for then? Fairness? Equality? Everyone’s right to have their voices heard? Does the 2008 version of you still stand for these things?
In case you are unaware of the situation, WVWV has robo-called black North Carolina voters (using the name "Lamont Williams") with the message that they needed to return a voter registration packet by mail, despite the fact that North Carolina does not register voters by mail, the voter registration deadline in North Carolina is April 11, and many of these voters are already registered (but the calls make them think they are not).
It is a Class I felony in North Carolina "to misrepresent the law to the public through mass mailing or any other means of communication where the intent and the effect is to intimidate or discourage potential voters from exercising their lawful right to vote."
I hope against all hope that you did not have prior knowledge of these incidents, and that these voter disenfranchisement efforts have not, as some have suggested, been coordinated by the Clinton campaign. I urge you to immediately break all ties with this group and publicly renounce their tactics.
Regretfully,
Stefanie [lastname]
Knox College Class of [year]
He actually responded, which I didn't expect, though his response was less than satisfying:
Believe me, you were no more shocked than I was. WVWV has a strong record of registering disenfranchised people so that they can participate in the political process. Over 400,000 in this cycle. With respect to North Carolina, remedial action is being undertaken. While I believe the calling program there was a mistake of judgment and execution, and not an attempt to disenfranchise voters, as a board member, I have asked for a full accounting of the circumstances of the North Carolina events.
It's great that he's asked for "a full accounting of the circumstances," but seriously, I don't understand thinking this is all a big coincidence. So, my response:
Thanks for responding, John. I'm glad to hear that you've requested an accounting of what's happening in North Carolina but frankly North Carolina is just the tip of the iceberg - WVWV has apparently executed similar "lapses in judgment" in Virginia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas, usually immediately before those states' primaries. I have an incredibly difficult time believing this is anything less than voter disenfranchisement - if their intentions were good, why wouldn't WVWV identify themselves on the call? Why target black voters? Why use a fictitious identity for the call, and why else use the name Lamont, if not to immediately establish the caller's racial identity? Why choose the week before an election to suggest to these (largely black) voters that they may not be registered to vote?
From my perspective, the odds of all these factors being coincidental is virtually nill. But I look forward to the full accounting, which I hope you will encourage WVWV to make public. Thank you.
Stef
When/if he responds, I'll post that too.
Tonight, Podesta wrote me back with a link to the McNary piece in HuffPo. That's it, just the McNary piece.
Oh, poor John Podesta. He has underestimated us. Here's my response;
Thanks for passing this along. It was published on Huffington Post earlier this evening. I still have grave concerns about WVWV's actions and all of my pressing questions, including those I posed to you earlier, are still unanswered. I'm sure WVWV has done fine work in the past, but that is an insufficient defense in this case. I appreciate that McNary is an Obama supporter but the fact that we support the same candidate makes me no more likely to be mollified by his inadequate explanation.
Still, no one has explained why in the world an organization that is ostensibly reaching out to female voters would robo-call registered black voters using a male voice named "Lamont." If they're trying to register new female voters, why would they send out packets to already registered voters that erroneously tell them that they cannot vote unless they return the packets? (I trust you've seen the packets by now.) And why send out the packets, as they have in several states, in the narrow window of time between the primary registration deadline and the primary? In any case, why would a reputable organization with no nefarious intent not only fail to identify themselves either on the calls OR in the packets, but actively block caller ID when making the calls?
To suggest that an organization focused on voter registration could unintentionally and unwittingly engage in such classic vote suppression tactics truly strains the limits of credulity.
I'd also like to know whether, as a member of the board, you were made aware that WVWV was reprimanded by the Virginia State Police in February of this year, and that complaints have been made against the organization's tactics in up to 9 other states.
Thank you, really, for engaging with me on this. If this situation really is what I fear it is, it would certainly be a grave threat to our democracy, one that we cannot and should not abide.
Stef
UPDATE: My first time on the Rec list! Thank you!
UPDATE 5/2: No word from Mr. Podesta yesterday. I just sent him this:
Hey John, I'm curious about exactly kind of "remedial action" is going on in North Carolina. I've been following up on Facing South's investigation and have not seen anything about efforts WVWV might be undertaking to undo the effects of their misleading robo-calls. I'm sure you understand that simply stopping the misleading calls is not enough.
It is now WVWV's responsibility to clear up the misunderstanding they have caused. Is WVWV re-calling all the voters they robo-called to be absolutely sure that they have not disenfranchised these voters, and to educate them about North Carolina's one-stop registration and vote? (Info here.)The deadline for one-stop registration and early voting is three days before the election, which is tomorrow. I'll be spending my day tomorrow calling NC voters to make sure they know they can vote. Will you? Will WVWV?
Stef