Tx Atty Gen's voice promoting homophobic amendment

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

I don't know if it's illegal or unethical for a state attorney general to take a position on a constitutional amendment, but it sure doesn't pass the smell test. A voice that claims to be Texas Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott is autodialing voters to vote yes on Prop. 2. His office has enough shame to claim it's an imposter, but leaders of the homophobic right are promoting him and the message.

Some of the emails I've received:

I received a phone call from someone claiming to be the attorney general and asking me to vote for prop 2.

I was shocked by this and called the AG office to complain.

I was told that it's someone impersonating the AG and it's a crime and will be pursued.

I asked the person I spoke to, Katherine Wood if the AG would please have a press conference to be carried by TV and radio to inform people of this crime before the election.

I told her that even if the perpetrators are caught, if that takes place after the election, the damage will have been done on election day at the polls.

She was extremely sympathetic and said that what had happened was frightening.

If you agree, can you please call the AG's office to ask for a public statement/press conference on this. It's not enough to have it on his web site, which I'm told he's done.

Robocalls are going out supporting prop 2, in the name of Attorney General Greg Abbott. His office says they are fraudulent and not actually recorded by him.

I’m confident that the Patriot Act empowers government authorities to track these calls in the telephone network and to quickly identify their source.

To be sure, we should encourage the OAG to take action. As of Thursday morning at 8:18 am, I am unable to find any statement on the web site about these fraudulent calls.

http://www.oag.state.tx.us

Attorney General Greg Abbott: [email protected]
Katherine Wood: [email protected]

By telephone:
Main agency switchboard [phone]
Public Information & Assistance [phone] or [phone] (in Austin)
Press Office [phone]

You skeptical types who think the Attorney General is really behind these calls may want to contact the Ethics Commission:
www.ethics.state.tx.us/tec/sworn.html

And finally, this email was sent to supporters by the Christo-Fascist organization, Texas Eagle Forum.

Friends,
These 2 links from Tina Benkiser, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas AND Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott set the record straight about Proposition 2, the Defense of Marriage Act constitutional amendment. Please share it far and wide. Click on the horizontal triangle to hear the 2 separate messages.
Blessings,
Cathie Adams

The audio links she refers to did not attach to the email forward I got, but this is supposed to be it: www.freemarket.org/portal/audio/abbott.wav.

[sonias]

1. Good catch on the wav file TexasThoughtCriminal!

I've sent that to David Van Os and NNN. They need to get on this ASAP while the trail is still hot.

Sonia

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

3. Thanks a lot, but I can't take credit for finding that wav.

I just compiled information from various emails. The audio link came from someone on our local NNIN Yahoo email list.;-)

[Gman]

2. Actually the USA Patriot Act only permits

tracking of absentee Texas legislators.


Not.

[acmejack]

4. I emailed both the the Ms. Wood and the AG

Ms. Wood replied and didn't answer that the message was fraudulent. She replied "I am curious just how you got my name and personal
email address."

[acmejack]

5. Another e mail ellicited this response from the TAG.

I pressed for an answer to the initial question and received this reply.

Thank you for contacting us again. The difficulty for us, in trying answer your question, is that we are not sure what phone call you are referring to. You may not be aware that there has been more than one round of phone calls. It is my understanding that the first was bogus but not the second. However, I cannot really clarify the situation, because neither call was a function of this agency, and (incidentally) neither was paid for by taxpayer funds.

In his official capacity, the Attorney General advises state agencies and officials about the law. In this role, General Abbott wrote
the letter that is posted on our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinopen/prop2letter.pdf, advising the Legislature (at their
request) on the likely legal interpretation of the proposition as drafted by the sponsors.

I am sorry for the confusion surrounding the phone calls. The best information I can give you is that this agency had no role in any of
them. My staff (including Katherine Wood) is happy to take comments and pass them forward, but we are not aware of any plans for
response and would not be informed about that because it is not state agency business. I hope this helps.



Elizabeth Buhmann, Director
Public Information and Assistance
Office of the Texas Attorney General