How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative

[kpete]

Phone-jammistas Behold!
12.18.07 -- 4:28PMBy Josh Marshall

...................

The guy close to the center of the whole scam was the media operative/consultant hired to run the operation, Allen Raymond. And he's written a new tell-all book, How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative.

Now, as you probably know, most tell-all books are more like tell-little or tell-nothing books. We've still got one reader still sulking because he was hounding us for days about why we weren't giving more attention to the Scott McClellan memoir non-bombshell. But I got word yesterday that Raymond's offering is the real deal. Our copy arrived at the office today. And upon a limited initial perusal the normally low-key and laconic Paul Kiel concludes that it is "awesome." So that's saying a lot.

As it happens, this is not surprising from what we've seen thus far of Raymond. Of all the phone-jam scammers, he was the only one who not only took his criminal justice lumps but seemed genuinely to want to wash his hands of the whole rotten business. The rest, as you'd expect, are back on the GOP payroll in most cases after a short pitstop in the can.

Raymond on his sojourn in the slammer: "After 10 full years inside the GOP, 90 days among honest criminals wasn't really any great ordeal."

Anyway, check out the book and we're working on getting Mr. Raymond over here to TPM to discuss the book and perhaps answer your questions.

more at:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/061356.php

[IndyOp]

1. Check out the book cover!

Here is book description from Amazon.com -->

Fresh out of grad school, Allen Raymond joined the GOP for one reason: rumor had it that there was big money to be made on the Republican side of the aisle.

From the earliest days of the Republican Revolution through its culmination in the second Bush White House, Raymond played a key role in helping GOP candidates twist the truth beyond recognition during a decade of crucial and bitterly fought campaigns. His career took him from the nastiest of local elections in New Jersey backwaters through runs for Congress and the Senate and right up to a top management position in a bid for the presidency itself.

It also took him to prison.

Full of wit and candor, Raymond's account offers an astonishingly frank look at the black art of campaigning and the vagaries of the Republican establishment. Unlike many "architects" of the political scene, the author takes full responsibility for his actions -- even as he never misses a trick.

A completely original tale of the disillusioning of a man who enters politics with no illusions, How to Rig an Election is a brilliant and hilarious exposé of how the contemporary political game is really played.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Rig-Election-Confessions-Republican/dp/1416552227

[Flabbergasted]

2. Damn looks great. Watching it all unravel.

[mod mom]

10. I was glad to read that TPM's Paul Kiel said it was "AWESOME"! but hilarious?

I don't think subverting the will of the American people can be called hilarious.

[loudsue]

36. I hope by "hilarious", he means it was written in such a way as to

keep people reading because of the humor and wit. As long as it's an easy-read, more people will read it and recommend it to others.

I think that is a good thing.

[yowzayowzayowza]

20. Mmmmmm.... Yummy! n/t

[Twist_U_Up]

21. Google : Clint Curtis

Can you say Banana Republic ?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Clint+Curtis

http://www.iwilltryit.com/fixed1.htm

http://www.bradblog.com/?page_id=4454

[IndyOp]

3. Okay, folks - this has been up for 7 minutes - it should be on Greatest Page already! (n/t)

[Jack Bone]

4. I Rec'd it a few minutes ago...

Here goes a :kick:

[IndyOp]

6. You did it! That last kick got it the recs it needed. :-) (n/t)

[Richard Steele]

5. Makes a great gift! K&R

[Land Shark]

7. K&R nt

[bleever]

8. K&R. May there be more like this to come.

:kick:

[Kurovski]

9. K&R. (nt)

[Beetwasher]

11. This Book SHOULD Be A Friggin' Anvil To The Already Sinking GOP

Let's see what sort of coverage this gets. I won't hold my breath for the traditional media to report it properly.

[LiberalFighter]

13. What we need is a book on how the media rig the elections.

[harmonicon]

15. Why?

That would be like having a book on how to take a dump - it's already completely apparent, and if you need someone to tell you how it's done.... well, geez.... I don't know.

[LiberalFighter]

31. Because it's not apparent to the general public.

And it would put the media on notice.

[harmonicon]

42. since when did the general public read?

and as for the media noticing.... well.... they would just ignore it - that's the problem here, right?

[LiberalFighter]

49. Eventually it gets out. And with your attitude it doesn't make it easy.

[harmonicon]

50. no way

these books are 90% preaching to the converted, and the other 10% make up such a small number it just doesn't matter. The number of people who read even a very popular book is much smaller than the number watching almost any television program at any one time.

[Arugula Latte]

37. But, Beetwasher. You can't expect the media to cut back covering Britney's possible pregnancy!!

I mean, come on. Where are your priorities?

[Patiod]

38. Only to cover her sister's preganancy

and her mother's loss of a book contract on "Christian Parenting"

[Kurovski]

12. Kick. (nt)

[AikidoSoul]

14. K & R N/T

:kick:

[shugah]

16. looks like a very interesting read

i'm a little skeptical

"Fresh out of grad school, Allen Raymond joined the GOP for one reason: rumor had it that there was big money to be made on the Republican side of the aisle."

there is also a rumor that there is big money in writing books for the loony liberal left - that rumor, of course, is based on what some people say, that the "loony liberal lefties actually really do read books."

zOMG! ;-)

k&r

[ElsewheresDaughter]

19. ^5 what shugah said+

[Lugnut]

17. K&R n/t

[HuffleClaw]

18. oh, i've gotta read that

i'll put in a request for it at our library

[HamdenRice]

22. But, but, but, but election theft is a conspiracy theory!

and everyone knows they can't be true, even when a participant has confessed!

:sarcasm:

[OnTheOtherHand]

23. something you might think about

Many people who deride "conspiracy theories" believe in the existence of particular conspiracies.

Are they contradicting themselves? or are they saying something that you refuse to hear? :shrug:

[pjt7]

24. Looks like a must read

.

[Arugula Latte]

35. Welcome to DU, pjt7!

:hi: :toast:

[HamdenRice]

25. No, they are engaging in Orwellian word play

So let me get this straight. There are people who deride "conspiracy theories," but who believe in certain theories about conspiracies. And those two things are different.

Yeah, right, now I get it!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Sorry, but the entire construct of "conspiracy theory" as something other than a theory about a conspiracy, is Orwellian double talk.

Or is that something you refuse to hear?

[Echo In Light]

27. This refers to the transitional mode for moderates and "in-denialers"

Who up until recently reveled in cracking wise about those "crazy, tinfoiler conspiracy theorists" as they suck up the harsh reality that {drum roll please...} criminal conspiracies DO exist!

Yet their deep seated indoctrination still holds sway over their thought process, so when finally faced with facts they cannot deny as usual {meaning, the facts have finally gained some mainstream "acceptance," so weak minded people can feel better about themselves in accepting it as well}, they only want to concede the smallest margin possible, yet still take what they perceive to be the 'high brow road' by slavishly clinging to the denial required to allow one's self to fully assimilate to and be "successful" within the prevailing ideologies.

[HamdenRice]

28. They also need to hold on to their defense mechanism -- the "conspiracy theory" label

It goes something like this: "The outline of the criminal conspiracies that I have finally learned actually exist can be labelled a theory about a conspiracy; but those weirdos over there who have learned of criminal conspiracies that, because of my cognitive dissonance, I cannot accept, fall into a catch-all category of 'conspiracy theories.'"

[Echo In Light]

29. Yes...and nevermind what it alludes to re: the overarching systems of control in our "open" society

[OnTheOtherHand]

44. you're dead wrong

and rather obviously so.

[HamdenRice]

46. Because you say so?

Wow, that's one of the lamest posts I've seen in a long time. How about a little reasoning?

[OnTheOtherHand]

47. don't play dumb

Surely you have noticed that in common discourse, "conspiracy theory" does not merely refer to any theory about any conspiracy.

Of course, I suppose you might believe that Orwellian machinations account for that fact. In that case, I can offer you no succor, and certainly nothing you would recognize as "reasoning."

ETA: Here is a test: do you understand the joke?

[HamdenRice]

51. I'm not playing dumb, but apparently you actually are being dumb if you don't know Orwell

Your profile says that you are a college professor, of politics no less, and yet you don't seem to know what Orwell actually said, nor why, in discussing politics, we use the term "Orwellian." That's disgraceful, but I suppose it represents a broader problem with our nation's increasingly irrelevant academy.

Orwell's beliefs about, and critiques of, the use of language in politics, which he made most explicitly in his famous essay, "Politics and the English Language," is what most educated people are referring to when they use the term, "Orwellian," not the science fiction plot points of 1984.

Orwell believed that the English language was being systematically bebased through its manipulation in politics. That's the real metaphorical point of 1984 and Animal Farm -- not that evil governments would put rats up to our faces or that pigs could talk.

Orwell believed that sloppy, manipulative language was being used to prevent people from thinking clearly about politics. That's why the term "conspiracy theory" is Orwellian -- not because of "Orwellian machinations" (whatever that "Orwellian" misuse of language means). Your use of language is, indeed, Orwellian because you use it sloppily and in a way that makes having a discussion based on evidence, logic and reason almost impossible.

The phrase in your post, "'conspiracy theory' does not merely refer to any theory about any conspiracy," is a classic Orwellian phrase -- almost a perfect distillation of what Orwell railed against. In fact, if we want language to mean what it says, indeed, "conspiracy theory" does refer to any theory about any criminal conspiracy.

In your use, however -- and the use of other gullible there-are-no-criminal-conspiracies types -- "conspiracy theory" is a pejorative term that does not mean what its words ostensibly mean. It means "an alleged criminal conspiracy that I simply won't entertain the possible existence of, for reasons of my own cognitive dissonance, or for the purpose of maintaining the political legitimacy of certain institutions. If, on the other hand, evidence of such a conspiracy becomes overwhelming, then a 'conspiracy theory' could become a 'theory about an alleged criminal conspiracy.'"

In other words, what is "Orwellian" about the term "conspiracy theory" is that it is designed to prevent discussion of the alleged conspiracy before evidence, reason and logic are brought to bear on the problem. It also has no stable, truthful meaning, because the same alleged criminal conspiracy could be a "conspiracy theory" today and a "theory about a conspiracy" tomorrow. Moreover, one person's "conspiracy theory" (say, the election theft in Ohio, or the CIA's attempts to assassinate Castro) is another person's theory about a criminal conspiracy. Again, there is no stable meaning -- it's just an insult thrown around to say, "I don't believe and won't seriously discuss your allegations." It's little more than a two second hate.

Holy doublethink, OTOH! And while we are at it, "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." And, "no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." It would be doubleplusgood if you have now come to understand what "Orwellian" actually means, particularly if you are teaching young American minds about politics.

Are you getting a bellyfeel yet for what "Orwellian" actually means and why "conspiracy theory" might be an Orwellian misuse of language?

[OnTheOtherHand]

52. no, it isn't

You managed to jabber at length, based on an unfounded premise about my prior knowledge, and without ever engaging the substance of a short post. I'm just marking that for the record, and offering one more short post.

It isn't my fault if you don't understand why the cartoon is funny. Or, for that matter, why your post is funny.

If you actually believe that "the term 'conspiracy theory'... is designed to prevent discussion of the alleged conspiracy," then do you have any evidence of how the term was "designed" in that way? Or does your apparent deep need to believe it suffice, for you? I am running out of irony meters.

Certainly the term is often used for political ends, but that doesn't make it inherently Orwellian.

[HamdenRice]

53. unfounded premise ?

Your own posts amply demonstates that you didn't know what "Orwellian" actually means. Hopefully, if you've carefully studied my post, now you do!

[OnTheOtherHand]

54. you don't really register substantive disagreement, do you?

Good luck with that.

[Echo In Light]

55. Spot on post! I even used the ol "double plus un-good" myself here the other day! lol

[CRH]

39. Do you mean like ...

Do you mean like people that believe in the conspiracy of 19 middle east Muslim fundamentalist hijackers led by a mastermind with a satellite phone from a cave in Afghanistan, but these same people could never believe in a conspiracy that their own government could have intentionally allowed it to happen?

[OnTheOtherHand]

48. you just might be on the wrong board

Especially if you are asserting, without any evidence whatsoever, the existence of a cohort of people who "could never believe in a conspiracy that their own government could have intentionally allowed it to happen." Well, conceded, I'm not sure what that means. But if it means that anyone who disagrees with you about 9/11 is incapable of believing in a government conspiracy, then it would certainly fit better someplace else.

[Echo In Light]

26. Level headed dems and "moderates" will just assume that participant is lying

Of course....

Because in their estimation, as they've been assured by establishment thinking, criminal conspiracies are non existent.

[flashl]

30. K&R n/t

[SpiralHawk]

32. America needs to 'wash its hands' of republicon homelander felons

of which their are a vast, anti-American, anti-democratic horde...

k and r

[ejbr]

33. How to Rig an Election?

Shouldn't it read something like this : How to Squash the Birth Rights of My Fellow Americans While Sending Damian to The White House: Confessions of a Republican Operative?

[The Doctor.]

34. During what time frame was this person an operative?

Is this important to the last few elections?

[L. Coyote]

40. DETAILS: See "Phone Jamming Cover-up at DoJ? Conyers Wants Answers"

From: Phone Jamming Cover-up at DoJ? Conyers Wants Answers
Oct-05-07 - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1982370

Election irregularity investigations are moving forward, and back in time too!

=======================
Phone Jamming Cover-up at DoJ? Conyers Wants Answers
By Paul Kiel - October 5, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004376.php


It happened nearly five years ago, but House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) still has plenty of questions about the New Hampshire phone jamming case.

In a letter Wednesday, he asked Acting Attorney General Peter Keisler a number of questions about the case, focusing in particular on whether the Justice Department has "adequately investigated and prosecuted" the case. You can read the letter here.

On Election Day, 2002, remember, Republicans schemed to jam Democratic get-out-the-vote phone banks (here's our timeline of the scandal). The executive director of the New Hampshire GOP, Charles McGee, who hatched the scheme, subsequently explained that he'd gotten the idea from his time in the Marines, where he was taught to jam the enemy's communications. Both McGee and Allen Raymond, who ran the consulting firm that arranged the jamming, pled guilty and have served their time.

The case moved slowly -- the pleas not occurring until June of 2004. And it wasn't until after the 2004 election that James Tobin, who'd been the Republian National Committee's New England Regional Political Director, was indicted for his role in the conspiracy. He was ultimately convicted,

...........MORE........

=========================
FROM: TPM: NH Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) Pushes for Phone Jamming Investigation
Sep-06-07 - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1750605

NH Rep Pushes for Phone Jamming Investigation
By Paul Kiel - September 6, 2007, 5:11 PM
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004092.php


The New Hampshire phone jamming caper lives on!

In a letter to House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) today, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) asks that the committee investigate. Not only is there evidence that the White House might have been involved in the jamming, Hodes writes, but there's evidence that Justice Department officials interfered in the prosecution. He wants the committee to "determine if a politically motivated plot did in fact obstruct justice in this case, and if so to take such steps as may be reasonable." You can read his letter ..........

A Third-Rate Crank Phone Call = that COST the GOP $3 million

"Gillespie's past work for the Administration may come in very handy."

May 2006 Gillespie Can't Get Story Straight on Legal Bills

...........MORE........

[vanboggie]

41. Can we impeach the unelected thieves now, Nancy? n/t

[MasonJar]

43. Send this to Keith and Dan Abrams.

[progressivebydesign]

45. Is he getting any press coverage? Any interviews?

or is he being frozen out by the corporate media?

[Elspeth]

56. This is the first I've seen it

:kick: