Growing Scandals in South Carolina
If you thought the political divide in 2000 was rough, check out the latest happenings of the Republican Primary. For those of you who don’t know. South Carolina was won by President George W. Bush during the race for the Republican nomination and stopped Senator John McCain’s momentum when McCain fell victim of the not-so-classical southern rumor mill. It was alleged that McCain fathered a black children illegitimately while still being married to his wife, Cindy.
Interestingly enough, McCain is more the South Carolina establish man this time around. His schedule is tight and he’s made a comeback worthy of the history books. South Carolina is sacred for Republicans because it, in modern times, must be won by the eventual nominee. If McCain pulls off South Carolina - other candidates may as well pack their bags for home.
There are some calls going around from a Mike Huckabee supporter challenging the records of Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. The calls are canvasing the state and challenge Fred’s 100% Pro Life record. This is commonly referred to as push polling, however these calls are done with less tact, but with serious organization.
Huckabee is polling as the frontrunner in South Carolina after his Iowa victory, and must win the state to be considered viable. Huckabee and Thompson share close to the same base and the tension is high. I talked to a Thompson staffer and the overall sentiment I received was general frustration. There is really no debate about Thompson’s record, among even the most unpolitically educated of the Republican base so this tactic seems to capitalize on individual ignorance and apathy with some single-issue voters.
Huckabee is doing little but to say that he doesn’t support the calls. Thompson pointed out that for a man who built his campaign on values, the response or lack thereof seems to be lacking.
McCain is by far taking more fire though. Common Sense Issues, Inc. an organization that really shouldn’t be involved in these type of tactics (and that’s speaking legally) is calling South Carolinians at an alarming rate, including people linked to the McCain campaign!
Here’s some information I was passed along about the substance of these calls.
- Person is asked their voting preference: Democrat or Republican
- Caller suggests that McCain is for Stem Cell Research
- Caller says that McCain is for amnesty
- Callers suggests that McCain is opposed to tax cuts
- The closing issue suggests that McCain is for same sex marriage
- Person is eventually asked their gender
Now, Common Sense Issues was found out when people started calling the number back. Here’s that number: 703-961-1077. 501(c)(4) groups get the privileges they do because they don’t operate like a Political Action Committee. In short, we don’t collect tax dollars from them, we are paying them, to make calls that violate the Federal Election Statue.
“Common Sense Issues, Inc. is a 501(c)(4) qualified non-profit organization made up of grassroots citizens focused on impacting common sense conservative issues. The type of calls that Common Sense Issues, Inc. is making into Iowa and New Hampshire are personalized educational conversations enabled by artificial intelligence. While some have suggested that these personalized conversations are “push polls,” they are not as each one is unique based on the individual.”
I’m encouraging you all to get active. Love McCain hate ‘em, Love Fred hate ‘em, Love Romney hate ‘em… these calls are violating the law and give the actual issues little air time. The Executive Director of Common Sense Issues, Inc. is Patrick Davis. Give him a call at 719-536-9809 and let you know what you think about his “Artificial Intelligence.”
The Attorney General, a McCain supporter, is investigating this fraudulent behavior.
It’s fine to disagree and debate the issues at hand, however these calls are making known lies. McCain has told everyone many times, including me that it is vitle to make the Bush Tax Cuts permanent and introduce more tax credits that encourage innovation. I would encourage you to read McCain’s economic stimulus plan that was released today. It’s very optimistic and encouraging for new growth. All points during the calls are flat false!
Take action! Email me when you do.
Tags: Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Primary, Push Polls, South Carolina
January 17th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Thank you for that information. Like you said, we all have our differences, but none of us should let the law be broken for a phony.
January 19th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Thanks very much for all the above information. I know for a fact all these are lies they are telling about John McCain. While the Senator was here in New Hampshire not long ago, I had the chance to attend several of his town hall meetings, Senator John McCain is the most honest, upfront man I’ve had the great honor of meeting. These types of calls are nothing more then “Nasty” attacks but uninformed idiots trying to dishonor John McCain. All I can say about this group of idiots are they must be total brainless people, and or more important I do believe they are very jealous of all what John McCain has accomplished over the years.
They need to have their heads examined, along with charges being filed against them for false information.