Sleazy election tactics
I just got word of Republican efforts to mess up Democratic phone banks. Here’s the story as it was told to me:
Pittsford/Brighton Democratic Committees were conducting get out the vote phone banks out of Cooper Vision (on 370 Woodcliff Drive Fairport) yesterday, and were also scheduled for this evening. Cooper Vision allegedly got phone calls from Maggie’s office both yesterday and today pressuring them to shut down the phone banks. The back story is that the county granted Cooper Vision money in order to start up their manufacturing facility. The county allegedly threatened future money and assistance to Cooper Vision if they did not put an end to the calls. Unfortunately, out of fear of county retaliation Cooper Vision has allegedly caved in to their demands.
We will try to follow up on this story later.
But I thought Minarik scoffed at the idea that people might face retribution for expressing ideas counter to his own, when he debated Morelle on CW-16?
How very New Hampshire of them. Dirty tricks indeed.
If this event did indeed occur, is it legal for a political party to blackmail a company in this way?
Speaking for myself, I have personal knowledge of this and can say as best I can tel from up close inspection it did happen. People were threatened. The company was concerned and withdrew its permission for us to make calls. But we have moved on to alternaste locatiohns with a vengence and a new message. I have heard from people with first hand knowledge of many of these threats. It will be hard to prove as plausible deniability is always hard to overcome. If you were management in the company would you assist in verifying this? Your fear is likely ‘what’s in it for me but more grief’. I won’t blame them if they don’t. This is people’s jobs, careers and more. This is the sleaziest of the sleaziest. It shows these reugs know the dark side of human nature all too well and are not hesitant to expoit it. We are looking into ways this might be proved. It went so far as to have prominnent law firms involved in tossing threats to thecompany over the phone of course. These are not Maggie’s or Steve’s or Republican tax exemptions, they are from the County of Monroe taxpayers. I can only hope an investigation into this by the new Democratic majority of the CoLeg will resolve this and the proper sanctions administered. Thanks for letting me blow off this steam.
Maggie will do anything to squash democracy. People really need to fear Maggie and the Republicans. This tactic to suppress voting is inexcusable.
America under George Bush and Monroe County under the rule of Maggie and Steve is seeming more and more like Nazi Germany….
I can’t confirm why, but I can confirm that I was turned away at coopervision. I’m home now doing calls from here. Just stopped in to use your polling place link. Thanks.
This action is absolutely disgusting.
As disgusting as this action is, this changes nothing. The phone banking continues as if Maggie didn’t even exist.
OMG…doesn’t this have legal issues that can be charged to Maggie??
Yes, it’s illegal for sure.
[...] We have more on the controversy over the shut down of the phone bank operation at Cooper Vision: [...]
[...] on the story of the Democratic phone bank that Maggie’s minions shut down.ÂÂ We broke the earlier this week.ÂÂ Here’s more from Channel 10: Monroe County Democrats say something strange happened to [...]
[...] guess this what Minarik was holding over their heads when he got them to cancel the Democratic phone bank the day before the election (via the D&C): CooperVision Inc. will receive a sales tax [...]