Let's shut down McCain's Push Polling operation in VA

By: StanfordLatino
Published On: 10/19/2008 12:00:38 AM

I just received a presumably McCain push poll on my cell phone.  The push poll was as follows:

      * Push Poll (PP): Are you intending to vote in the 2008 presidential election?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  Do you intend to vote for John McCain?
            o Me:  No
      * PP:  Do you intend to vote for Barack Obama?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  Do you want a strong President who will manage the economy?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  Did you know about Barack Obama's affiliations to Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac and that most of his contributors are Washington lobbyists representing the corrupt firms that caused the financial crisis?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  Does this make you less likely to vote for Barack Obama?
            o Me:  No
     * PP:  Did you know about Barack Obama's affiliation to terrorist Bill Ayers and to the fraudulent voter registration organization Acorn?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  Does this make you less likely to vote for Barack Obama?
            o Me:  No
      * PP:  Are the values of the candidates important for you in this election?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  Did you know that Obama is a muslim?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  Does this make you less likely to vote for Barack Obama?
            o Me:  No
      * PP:  We are going to ask you a series of questions about your demographics.  Is this ok?
            o Me:  Yes
      * PP:  What is your age?
            o Me:  34
      * PP:  (Inaudible)
            o Me:  (Silence)
      * PP:  Thank you ver much for taking time to answer the survey of the Political Action Committee for Change (not sure, if this was the name or not).  This is an independent survey and is not affiliated with the political campaigns of John McCain or Barack Obama. (End of call)

The number was registered on my caller ID as the following:  703-263-2155

Let's call this number and shut it down!  :-)

Thanks,

Yosem

UPDATED NEWS:

You should read the comments on my blog entry in dailykos.com at http://www.dailykos.com/storyo...

   * Someone named NH Flaming Moderate (http://www.dailykos.com/user/uid:154372) claimed to have been called from that number today, but she was unable to answer because she was at a soccer game.
   * Another person named Ballerina X (http://www.dailykos.com/user/uid:97334) claims the caller ID read "Perry Elaine."
   * Another person named jgilhousen (http://www.dailykos.com/user/uid:108731) claimed the location was "Herndon VA" and said that "there are several marketing/political research companies there, any of whom could be the culprit."  Another person says the caller ID read:  PUBSRV 2008.
   * Someone named Msanger (http://www.dailykos.com/user/uid:85832) received the same exact call in Georgia at 4.30 pm Saturday.
   * If you google Elaine Perry, she does voice overs:  http://voice123.com/elaineperry

Also, there have been twelve complaints registered against this phone number online:

   * http://www.callercomplaints.co...

AND

   * http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Nu...

On these lists of complaints, one person who answered the calls said they were repeated calls by the Huckabee campaign.

The Mormons for Obama on Yahoo Groups have organized a concerted effort to call the number en mass.  They said they were initially getting a voice mail but now are actually getting a busy signal.  

Leslie Jackson in the Feminists for Obama Yahoo Group wrote:

Yosem,

All I could find out about that number is that it is a verizon phone and it is in Centerville, VA. If you want to find out the persons name and
address, you have to pay 40 bucks. I tried calling and it just kept ringing. You may want to check with verizon though. Les

A fellow Truman Scholar or Harvard alum named Brett Keller wrote me 15 minutes ago to say:

Yosem,
Based on other comments I've found online, I think this is the organization that pays for those calls:

http://www.americansincontact....

My family (grandmother, mother and aunt) were on the phone via phone conference, while I answered the questions.  So they serve as witnesses.  I could not figure out in the nick of time how to record a cell phone call.


Comments



One thing that could be done (Randy Klear - 10/19/2008 4:39:07 PM)
is to change the law so that the authorization/disclaimer has to come at the beginning of the call. One reason why they get away with it, and why they're hard to stop, is that many people get angry and hang up halfway through. The push poller delivers the imprint he wants without having to take responsibility for it.

This is an even bigger problem with negative persuasion calls. A favorite tactic there is to frame the call so that it sounds like a call from the candidate who is being smeared if you hang up early in the call, which most people do.



If that is the org then here is where the phone calls are coming from (linlu - 10/20/2008 12:58:48 PM)
ccAdvertising
13800 Coppermine Rd.
Herndon, VA 20171
E-mail: info@FreeEats.com
Phone: 703-234-2200
Fax: 703-234-1201

That business is linked from the Americans In Contact site, that put out a press release on Oct 11.

Americans in Contact PAC Launches Nationwide Voter Identification Survey

Washington, DC­ = Today the Americans in Contact Political Action Committee (AIC-PAC) launched nationwide voter identification survey calls which will seek to identify conservative voters and persuade them to vote.   The mission of Americans in Contact PAC (AICPAC) is to identify social and fiscal conservatives throughout America and engage them at the grassroots level in the political process of elections and legislation at all levels of Government (local, county, state and federal)....



Oh and here's the client list from ccAdvertising (linlu - 10/20/2008 1:02:50 PM)
... ccAdvertising has built a name for itself based on quality results. Below is a list of a few of the clients. For a more extensive list of clients, or for more information, please contact us at 703-234-2200.

Congressman Roy Blunt ... Representative Joe Stengel... Answers in Genesis... Americans for Tax Reform... Jim Gilmore for Senate... Congresswoman Kay Granger... Congressman Mike Conaway ... Leadership Institute ... American Family Business Institute ... Common Sense Issues ... Congressman Tom Feeney
Abstinence Clearinghouse ... Affordable Creative Services
Representative Tim Hugo ...Alaska Republican Party