Reid: Robo Calls Make Legislative Hit List

[LiviaOlivia]

Reid: Robo Calls Make Legislative Hit List
By Paul Kiel - November 16, 2006
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002005.php

From Salon:

Remember those abusive Republican robo-calls and the sample ballots that suggested -- falsely -- that Michael Steele is a Democrat? The soon-to-be Senate majority leader does, and he's prepared to do something about them.

In a breakfast meeting sponsored by the American Prospect, Harry Reid told reporters today that the calls and the phony campaign literature were "absolutely wrong," and that one of the first 10 bills he introduces in the next Senate will deal with such abuses. "We need to make these criminal penalties," Reid said, saying that civil liability was apparently not enough to deter what happened in the run-up to last week's election.

Reid's legislation seems like it will be targeted against harrassing robo calls like the ones the NRCC deployed...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At The State Level

The End of The Robo Call?
By Paul Kiel - November 15, 2006, 1:34 PM

~snip~

In addition to calls for Congressional hearings on the use of robo calls, the robo call phenomenon has sparked state-level movements to pass legislation that would stifle the practice in future elections.

Today, the Missouri Attorney General announced that he's urging the state legislature to pass a law that would protect voters on the state's "No Call" list from automated political calls. In that, the state is emulating New Hampshire, where voters on the federal "Do Not Call" registry are protected for robo calls -- a protection that saved them from the NRCC's robo call onslaught after the state Attorney General stepped in to enforce the law.

Missouri wasn't hit by the NRCC's robo call harrassment campaign -- although voters did get the nasty push poll from the Common Sense group -- but things were bad enough there to prompt the AG to take immediate action.

This year's election no doubt left many citizens envious of states like Indiana (where automated calls are completely banned) and New Hampshire, where voters were spared a glut of calls. So it'll be interesting to see how many take action....

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001994.php

[bluestateguy]

1. Those calls probably cost Lois Murphy her race against Jim Gerlach in PA

Many of the recipients of those calls in that district took it out on her and did not vote for her.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

2. And rumors here, Tammy Duckworth too! I hate them and since

I have cell phone only now, I had peace and quiet this year!

[Trillo]

3. Is it heresy to say that maybe the "Do Not Call"

list should really mean "Do Not Call" with no exceptions?

Myself, I've been considering taking the action William Forrester took in regards to his phones.