Bob Ehrlich Can’t Turn This Vote Fraud Conviction Around

Voter suppression disgusts sensible Democrats and Republicans alike, but will it sell Bob Ehrlich's new book to Red Meat Republicans?

Former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R), who lost his comeback bid last year by 14 points despite the Tea Party tsunami, isn’t the first failed Republican politician to simultaneously cash in on the right wing junk book circuit and the unregistered lobbying racket, but he couldn’t have picked a better moment to launch his national book tour than the day a home state jury found his campaign chief guilty of fraudulent voter suppression.

Here’s how Bob Ehrlich’s campaign committed fraudulent voter suppression: They paid a dirty tricks consultant to robocall 100,000 of their opponent’s voters hours before the polls closed on Election Day with a message pretending to be from their opponent (or their opponent’s supporter) telling them to stay home and not bother voting because they had already won. It was stupid and the voters who received it were too smart to fall for it (plus a local television reporter rushed onto the air to set the record straight), but that’s not the point....

Here’s what the call said (my bold)….

"Hello. I'm calling to let everybody know that Governor O'Malley and President Obama have been successful. Our goals have been met. The polls were correct, and we took it back. We're OK. Relax. Everything's fine. The only thing left is to watch it on TV tonight. Congratulations, and thank you."
They deliberately left out the authority line required by law (“Paid for by Bob Ehrlich for Maryland Committee”) but they used the words “our goals,” “we,” “we’re OK,” and “thank you,” so voters would think Mr. Ehrlich’s opponent, not Mr. Ehrlich, was telling them not to bother voting.

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