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Push Polls Highlighting Mitt Romney as a Mormon Being Conducted in Iowa and New Hampshire – Part Two
*****Scroll down for Updates*****
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters following a ‘Town Hall’ meeting as the Republican presidential hopeful campaigns in Burbank, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007.
Remember the Flap last night about the anti-Romney and anti-Mormon Push Polls being conducted in New Hampshire and Iowa.
Now, the Attorney General of New Hampshire is investigating the matter since it is illegal in New Hampshire to conduct such surveys over the telephone without disclosing the identity on whose behalf the call is made or who the phone survey/caller is opposing.
Deputy Attorney General Bud Fitch said New Hampshire has never prosecuted a case involving such calls but was moving forward. He cautioned against expecting an immediate resolution.
“Generally, these investigations can take at least several days and sometimes several weeks,” Fitch said.
Among the questions the caller asked was whether the person receiving the call knew Romney was a Mormon, that he received military deferments when he served as a Mormon missionary in France, that his five sons did not serve in the military, that Romney’s faith did not accept blacks as bishops into the 1970s and that Mormons believe the Book of Mormon is superior to the Bible.
“It started out like all the other calls. … Then all of the sudden it got very unsettling and very negative,” said Anne Baker, an independent voter who was called in Hollis, N.H.
Flap asked last night which campaign made the calls?
The obvious choices are John McCain who was favorably profiled in the push poll itself and Rudy Giuliani, the front running GOP candidate.
Both of these choices are unlikely.
Now, Liz Mair does some interesting research on Mitt Romney.
David Freddoso raises something interesting at NRO:
Western Wats, the company making the calls, is based in Orem, Utah. One of its dialers, Amanda Earnshaw, has maxed out to Romney for the primary. The company’s founder, Ron Lindorf (he sold it years ago), is noted here as a founder of the BYU Business School.
Does it strike anyone else as strange that this would be the firm hired to make anti-Mormon phone calls?
In short, yes. It also strikes me as strange that when I just ran an FEC search for the name “Welch, Jeffrey” (the name of a Senior VP at Western Wats, I came up with this:
WELCH, JEFFREY MR.
CEDARA HILLS, UT 84062
WESTERN WATS INC./BUSINESS MANAGEROMNEY, MITT
VIA ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT INC.09/30/2007 500.00 27931366119
I don’t want to turn into a conspiracy theorist here, but is it too much for me to ask, what the hell is up, here?
Flap’s bet is on the Democrats or third party folks (maybe working for Ron Paul or some other NUTTER). In today’s internet world, the discovery will be coming soon.
By the way, Mitt Romney’s weak attempt this morning at blaming the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law and backhandedly casting aspersions on John McCain is pretty lame. As far as this “HIT” being un-American, it is TYPICAL American politics.
Now, whether it is BIGOTED that is another story and should not be condoned.
Stay tuned………
Update:
Soren Dayton has the poop on MItt Romney and his relationship to the company, Western Wats who made the anti-Mormon and anti-Romney “push poll” phone calls:
The woman in the picture is Teena Lindorf, sister-in-law of Ron Lindorf, the Founder and Chairman of Western Wats. According to the blog, the photo was taken by Paul Lindorf, her husband and Ron Lindorf’s brother
Soren asks:
If someone is trying to slime Mitt Romney with his religion, do they really go to a Utah-based call center run by people in Romney’s world? Wouldn’t they know that it would get out? What does it tell us if it doesn’t?
So let’s get this straight. Mitt Romney is friends with the family of the Founder and Chairman of the company that is placing anti-Mormon and anti-Romney phone calls?
Flap believes this coincidence is too cute by half and AGAIN. The Romney Campaign and Mitt Romney himself have some questions to answer.
Will the New Hampshire Attorney General ask them?
Update #2:
Given the point about leaking, using this firm would be risky for any entity except the Romney campaign itself. Mitt strikes me as an honest broker, though, and his candidacy would be fatally damaged if it turned out to be him. I can’t believe his team would have done it.
Soren Dayton makes an excellent point. Why would an Iowa state representative known to be a longstanding supporter of Mitt have been placed on the call list? That would guarantee that word of the polling would get back to the campaign and become publicized.
Others Blogging:
- Riehl World View
- Blogs For Fred Thompson
- Blog-o-Fascists
- Stop The ACLU » Blog Archive » Friday Free For All
Previous:
Push Polls Highlighting Mitt Romney as a Mormon Being Conducted in Iowa and New Hampshire
Why Mitt Romney Did NOT Receive the Right to Life Endorsement
Mitt Romney Slip Sliding Away to Mike Huckabee in Iowa
California Republican Assembly Endorses Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee a Threat to Mitt Romney in Iowa?
Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney
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Michael Ramirez on the Las Vegas Democrat Presidential Debate
Last night’s CNN Democrat Presidential debate was good for the first ten minutes or so when John Edwards and Barack Obama questioned Hillary Clinton’s record. Although the media reports there was no clearcut winner, Hillary Clinton certainly benefited.
But, did she reverse her slide in the polls?
Probably. But she was up, by what 20 plus points anyway.
Barack Obama the past two weeks since the Philadelphia – Tim Russert dust-up debate was delivered an opening. He could not or did not walk through last night.
Hillary will now move forward toward the nomination unchallenged and untested in a “REAL” debate.
The winner last night: The GOP candidate for President
Let the campaign begin…….Previous:
Hillary Clinton Watch: Hillary Now Says NO to Illegal Alien Driver’s Licenses
Hillary Clinton Watch: Slip – Sliding Away
New York Congressional Democrats Fear Governor’s Illegal Alien Driver’s Licenses Proposal
Rudy Giuliani – NO Illegal Alien Driver’s Licenses
Hillary Clinton Watch: ‘I Broadly Support What Governors Like Elliot Spitzer Are Trying To Do’
Technorati Tags:Hillary Clinton
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Anti-Defamation League to Ask Ron Paul to Distance Himself from Neo-Nazi Groups
When will Ron Paul have an answer to his Neo-Nazi problem?
The latest is that the Anti-Defamation League is asking Ron Paul to distance himself from the Neo-Nazi and White Supremacist groups that have donated and are supporting his candidacy for President.
The Anti-Defamation League plans to ask Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul to distance himself from extremist groups.Paul, a U.S. congressman from Texas, has come under fire for the support his campaign has enjoyed from leading white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.His campaign reportedly has accepted a donation from Don Black, the owner of the white supremacist Web site Stormfront. Sites for several extremist groups also feature prominent links supporting Paul’s candidacy.ADL’s assistant director of civil rights, Steven Freeman, told JTA his organization planned to communicate with Paul privately and urge him to distance himself from those groups.”If he doesn’t do that, then we will decide what we’re going to say publicly about it,” Freeman said.
So far Paul’s campaign has taken the “We Don’t Judge Who Climbs Aboard the Love Train†approach. But, will this fly under increasing criticism outside the blogosphere?
Paul thus far has refused to return the campaign contribution from Black. In response to a question from a reporter for Reason magazine, a campaign spokesperson said, “If people who hold views that the candidate doesn’t agree with, and they give to us, that’s their loss.”The ADL previously has taken candidates to task for their ties to supremacist groups. Last year the organization slammed Larry Darby, a Democratic candidate for attorney general in Alabama, after he attended a meeting of the National Vanguard, a splinter group of the National Alliance. Darby was defeated.
Will the Anti-Defamation League picket Ron Paul events? Will they run their own ads in Iowa and New Hampshire?
Might the Anti-Defamation League picket and demonstrate outside his Texas based Congressional District office? A Texas Congressional District where Ron Paul may be having some trouble ahead should he decide to run for re-election.
Stay tuned……..
Graphic Courtesy of the Lone Star TimesPrevious:
Ron Paul Watch: The Neo-Nazi Problem
Ron Paul = Ralph Nader of 2008 Presidential Race?
Ron Paul Raises More than $4 Million Yesterday
Technorati Tags: Ron Paul
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Giuliani Florida Poll Watch: Rudy with 18 Point Lead Over Thompson and McCain
Republican presidential candidate, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, speaks to residents of a retirement community during a campaign visit to The Villages, Fla., Thursday Nov. 15, 2007.
Strategic Vision Florida GOP Poll:
- Rudy – 31%
- Thompson – 13%
- McCain – 13%
- Romney -12%
- Huckabee – 9%
In what is considered the FIREWALL state for Giuliani, Rudy continues to lead with double digits. Let’s look at the Real Clear Politics chart and graph for Florida:
The Mayor continues to “OWN” Florida and unlike Mitt Romney has not aired one television commercial in Florida.
Stay tuned…..
Update:
The direct poll link is now available.Â
Previous:
Giuliani California Campaign Watch: Call Out for Telephone Volunteers
Rudy Giuliani Watch: “TESTED†On Air In New Hampshire
Video: Rudy Giuliani Addresses California Campaign Volunteers
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Visiting California Campaign Headquarters
Rudy Giuliani Watch: The Big State Strategy
Giuliani Florida Poll Watch: Rudy Leads Romney by 17 Points While Thompson Collapses
Technorati Tags: Rudy Giuliani
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Day By Day by Chris Muir November 16, 2007