Repeat Calls Spur a Debate Over Tactics

REPEAT CALLS SPUR A DEBATE OVER TACTICS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Christopher Dew & Carl Hulse]
Telephone calls are part of a telephone blitz that the Republican Party has unleashed in several dozen races that are likely to determine control of the House in Tuesday’s elections. And these repeat, automated calls to the same homes have set off a new furor over campaign tactics, with the Democrats claiming the calls violate federal communications rules and are tantamount to harassment. Democrats say they have been flooded with complaints from irritated voters who think that the calls are coming from the candidates themselves. Many of the voters had hung up before the message was over, and never heard that it was produced by the Republican Party. Democratic leaders contend that the messages violate federal rules that require groups making automated calls to identify themselves at the outset. And the National Republican Congressional Committee, which has financed the calls, agreed on Sunday to quit making some of them in New Hampshire, where a state law limits who can receive computerized phone messages.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/07/us/politics/07robo.html
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