Jason R. Latham - Sunbelt Digital Media
Outraged with robo-calls deemed "scummy" by Democratic leaders, Barack Obama's campaign is fighting back with... robo-calls.
The Nevada Campaign for Change announced Thursday that it will embrace the controversial tactic to set the record straight for Latino voters who may have been deceived by phone calls telling them not to go to the polls.
"We are putting Republicans on notice," said Nevada Communications Director Kirsten Searer. The robo-calls will be circulated to Latino households in English and Spanish, a portion of the script reads: "Some voters have received incorrect phone calls offering to help vote over the phone. Voting over the phone is not possible!"
The campaign has also sent a letter to Secretary of State Ross Miller and Attorney General Catherine Cortez-Masto, describing "bogus" calls made to Latino voters in Northern Nevada. Voters say they were asked personal information, and upon confirming they would vote for Obama, they were told to cast their ballot by phone.
As it has in the past, the Latino vote will be critical for both campaigns this year, but recent Gallup polls found McCain losing massive support among the Latino community, specifically around Nevada and the Southwest. The Arizona senator's campaign was dealt another blow Thursday when several Hispanic media outlets announced a press conference in Las Vegas to show their support for Obama.
Turning up the volume
Despite the attempt to clear the air over confusing phone calls, it's unlikely either side will call for an end to the nasty rhetoric that has been getting louder in the campaign's final weeks.
Democrats have used words like "shameless" and "scummy" when describing what they say are Republican attempts to keep voters from going to the polls. The GOP is focused on accusations of voter registration fraud and improprieties in Nevada and other battleground states.
Recently Democrats scored a victory when Secretary of State Ross Miller rejected one such claim, ruling that state law allows voters to cast their ballots early even if their registration forms aren't completely filled out. The Nevada Republican Party had argued that voters should not be allowed to complete or correct forms during early voting.
House Republican leader John Boehner on Wednesday called for President Bush to block federal funding for the community group ACORN, claiming the group is incapable of using the money "in a manner that is consistent with the law." ACORN members are accused of filling out phony voter registration cards in several states, including Nevada.
In the third and final presidential debate, Sen. John McCain said the group may have committed "one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and went so far as to say it might "destroy the fabric of democracy." ACORN itself has not been charged with any fraud. Democrats point out that employees who committed fraud were only cheating their employer, and there is no evidence that any of the phony registrations would be used by phony voters at the polls.
