http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-vozzella-ehrlich-henson-robocal20101110,0,5617757.story

Mount Rushmore and the robocall
Political operative Julius Henson has lots of tricks up his sleeve, all of them named for great American presidents

By Laura Vozzella, The Baltimore Sun

9:15 p.m. EST, November 10, 2010


Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich had lots of options when he hired Julius Henson, the bad-boy political operative behind the robocall that urged Baltimore voters to "relax" and stay home from the polls on Election Day.

Henson's Universal Elections offers a range of campaign packages, all named for U.S. presidents. The faces of our nation's greatest leaders are arrayed on Universal's website like an expanded Mount Rushmore, each one paired with a list of goods and services named in his honor. And what an honor it is.

Henson's cut-rate Washington Package provides 20,000 robocalls, 5,000 pieces of campaign literature, 500 door hangers and 1,000 lapel stickers. It goes for a low, low $4,999.99. The deluxe McKinley Package, for $124,999.99, gets you 400,000 robocalls, 500,000 pieces of literature, 20,000 door hangers, 6,000 lapel stickers and other goodies, such as key rings and pens.

It's not clear which package Ehrlich picked. His campaign paid more than $97,000 to two companies affiliated with Henson, Universal and Politics Today.

I can't imagine the misleading calls came as part of the Washington package, given the whole "cannot tell a lie" thing. There's no Nixon Package on the website; maybe Ehrlich special-ordered?

"Do you think Ehrlich got the Lincoln package or the McKinley package?" tweeted Steve Lebowitz, an Annapolis-based Democratic activist and Daily Kos blogger whose Twitter name is justdafacts.

That robocall wasn't quite worthy of the White House. Or Government House. More like the Big Top, Lebowitz figured.

"I think Bob Ehrlich got the P.T. Barnum Package — 50,000 robocalls giving relaxation and TV viewing tips to voters in your opponent's best precincts two hours before polls close, 5,000 packs of Wrigley's chewing gum delivered to your opponent's phone banks the night before, and sound trucks simulating crashing thunder and heavy rain Election Day morning, authority line optional."

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/Md-AG-Files-Complaint-About-Election-Day-Robocall-107088274.html

Md. AG Files Complaint About Election Day Robocall
By BRIAN WITTE

Maryland's attorney general has filed a complaint in federal court against a political operative for a robocall sent on Election Day that allegedly aimed to dissuade Democratic voters from going to the polls.

Attorney General Doug Gansler filed the complaint against Julius Henson, his company Universal Elections Inc., and Rhonda Russell, an employee of the company.

The complaint alleges more than 112,000 calls of a prerecorded telephone message were made. The complaint said the calls failed to identify who was responsible for sending them and a phone number for reaching the sender. Gansler said that violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The defendants could be fined $500 for each violation.

Do you know that the people in O'Malley's radio and TV ads were all state employees?

It wouldn't surprise me.

Are you fine with the Ehrlich campaign paying these people to do these robocalls on election day?

No I don't think it's appropriate. I never liked Ehrlich and I didn't vote for him in either the primary or the general election.

I was furious when I found out he was going to run again.

Oh, Robocalls. I thought it said Robocop. I figured it was probably one of the later models, as Murphy would never do that.




"Your vote, creep."

They should makke MD revote on that one.......that is terrible and he should ne removed from office for it

They should makke MD revote on that one.......that is terrible and he should ne removed from office for it

That's classic.

Yeah they are both turds............

I love it when the gloves come off during the campaigns.

Uh, ehrlich isn't in office.

Yeah I know but they should still do it because it was unfair if people were called and stayed home....revote just to make it a fair counting.....its about fairness not result...how would those people have voted if they hadn't stayed home....that's the point

A re-vote even though it was republicans who did the robocalls and the democrats won anyway? Uh huh. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense to give the candidate who did something illegal another shot.

Ha ha, I had the same thought!

There weren't any independents and in the aftermath people could change their minds? There r other parties u know.......

Yep there were other candidates. Are you proposing to have everyone vote again on everyone except the republican candidate in light of what he did? Go for it. Let us know the outcome!

Yeah I think that would be fair to those who's right to vote was manipulated and interfered with....jmo....that if their right to vote had not been manipulated and interfered with they may have exercised their right to vote...my opinion wasn't about the outcome nor the fact that the interfering party lost the vote but the right to exercise your right to vote without manipulation or interference....

Ah, so you really just want those who were unable to vote because of this to be able to cast their votes. So, are you going to find out who did not vote because of this?

Emily quit being quarrelsome u and I both know the only fair way without a lot of research on who might have or might not have voted would to allow MD to do a revote on it then no one could say their rights were interfered with.......if they want to hold erlich accountable for his actions and not allow him to run...then so be it.....how annoying can anyone be......they should revote bcs peoples right to vote was interfered with.....geesh....its my opinion if u don't like my opinion drop it......all ia m saying is that when a persons right to vote is interfered with or manipulated than the votes aren't fair......don't you feel that the peoples rights of the State of Maryland were interfered with and manipulated?