Update: Feb. 13:NH Republican leaders are blaming their phone-bank scandal on Allen Raymond’s company, saying GOPMarketplace owes them $15,000 . Democrats ask, “Who paid for it? Who authorized it? Who knew about?” Republican leaders, ignoring those questions, would rather talk about a brand-new eight-point ethical pledge they all plan to sign.
GOPMarketplace, the firm that paid Idaho telemarketers to jam NH phones, may also be the moving force behind more deceptive phone tactics there and elsewhere. Commenting on the Republican phone-blocking scandal in Plastic.com, one NH voter describes another telephone dirty trick by Republicans :
“I can attest to another deceptive practice in the last campaign. I got a call from someone who said they were conducting a survey (pretty common occurrence here in election years) and asking for whom I would be voting. When I responded that I would be voting for the Democratic candidate, I was then treated to the caller reading a diatribe listing various reasons I should vote against that candidate. “
This twist on fake-grassrootery is called a “push poll.” It may or may not be one of the services offered by GOPMarketplace.com, whose list of services promises:
We are experienced in program design, targeting and script design for outbound telemarketing using both live callers and automated messaging.
A recent online article, “Consultant with N.J. ties implicated as New Hampshire campaign trickster” , dishes the New Jersey dirt on phone bank scandals. The article singles out Allen Raymond, head of GOP Marketplace, as a likely suspect.
The NJ Attorney General handed down a 20-count indictment against 2002 Senate candidate James Treffinger for a scheme to deceive Jersey voters with false negative phone calls about his opponents. Speculation abounds that Raymond, who was working for Treffinger at the time, is the “consultant” mentioned in the indictment.
Josh Marshall is looking into the NH phone scandal and its connection with Allen Raymond, so check out his blog for more details and news.