Reporter Dennis Domrzalski’s terrific scoop deserves to be read in full, so I won’t quote much of it here.
The short version, however: New Mexico’s ABC field producer and KKOB afternoon drive news reporter, Laura MacCallum, a 32-year news veteran, has quit her job after her stories on an alleged vote-buying scheme by Republican Rep. Heather Wilson at the recent delegate nominating convention in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, were scrubbed from her station’s website hourly news cycle by the News Director, after alleged pressure from Rep. Wilson.
The sitting Congresswoman is angling for an upgrade, as she hopes to be the state’s Republican nominee to fill the Senate seat being vacated by outgoing Republican Pete Domenici. MacCallum’s report, sourced by at least three different people, including herself, said that voters showed up to the delegate convention and claimed they were being “paid $35-an-hour (for two hours)” by Wilson’s senate campaign and the congressional campaign of Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, “and that the campaigns had also paid their $30 registration fees.”
I just spoke with Domrzalski, and he underscored again, as he did in his story, that “Wilson’s spokeswoman flat out refused to answer the question” when asked if he asked her if the reports were true.
Such a scheme, if true, would be a fourth-degree felony, according to New Mexico law. But as remarkable as those charges are, even if having the ring of truth, given what we already know about Wilson, the response, including the memo sent from KKOB News Director Pat Allen to MacCallum, is almost as remarkable…
Allen reportedly received complaints from Wilson’s campaign after the report was filed. And then, after scrubbing the story from their website on-air news rotation, he sent a memo to MacCallum (included in full in Domrzalski’s report) explaining, incredibly, that “unless there is an official investigation of criminal wrongdoing related to these meetings then the story is going nowhere”; that it was “very inside politics…that i don’t think has much importance to our listeners”; and last but not least “if there was anything to it the bloggers would have picked this up, let alone other news agencies.”
You’ll also recall that both Wilson and Domenici have a standing record of inappropriately applying pressure. They each are alleged to have done the same in the case of NM’s former Republican U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, who was fired as part of the U.S. Attorney Purge Scandal after refusing to bring phony “voter fraud” indictments just prior to the 2006 Election, despite inappropriate phone calls calls from both Wilson and Domenici.
Wilson was named the winner of an exceptionally close race to retain her 1st Congressional District seat in 2006, in her run against her Democratic opponent, former NM Attorney General Patricia Madrid.
Memo in return for KKOB’s News Director, Pat Allen: The bloggers have now picked up the story. Nice going.
UPDATE 3/6/08, 1:15am: Considerably more details now posted here, including news from my extensive interviews with NM’s former Republican Governor David Cargo, who says SoS and AG investigations are now under way, and that he confronted Wilson with the allegations, as well as a new reason that Pat Allen tells me he spiked the story, and the scripts of the original pulled stories. All now here…
CORRECTION: We had originally reported that the Wilson vote-buying story had been scrubbed from the KKOB’s website. News Director Pat Allen, to whom we just spoke, says it had never been on the site to his knowledge, but rather the story had been removed from the day’s airplay after it’s first airing. It would have otherwise run throughout the day on the station. MacCallum had done two stories on the issue, and after the second one ran, according to Allen, he pulled it after receiving a call from a Wilson campaign representative complaining about the story. We hope to have more on this story soon, including more comments from Allen, MacCallum and the other interested parties, as well as the audio of the original stories that were pulled, if we can obtain them.
(Hat-tip Nicole Belle at C&L for picking it up, BRAD BLOG moderator Agent 99 for letting us know about it, and Domrzalski for his terrific original report which deserves, and now will hopefully get, many eyeballs.)
I just got back home from our Texas caucus. What a pleasant experience, compared to this story about a congressional campaign for sale … or so it would seem.
Anyway, I wanted to point out a benefit of a caucus AFTER a primary that uses electronic voting machines.
The caucus should match the vote, and so, since everyone must say in public who they voted for, it is even better than an exit poll perhaps.
Other than that they are useless when they follow a primary.
Yep, it is a felony to vote twice except in Texas 😉 …
I hope the allegations in this thread are wrong and the eye witnesses are mistaken, but if true the House must expel her forthwith!
There are enough criminals in the government already.
I hate this woman cuz she was instrumental in silencing Howard Stern from the free airwave with her power and tears.
Common sense should justify rolling back corrupt legislation by Oath Breakers.
Via number cruncher TruthIsAll
OLD RELIABLE OHIO DOES ITS MAGIC FOR HILLARY
Same shit, different day.
Yep GWN, different day, and different results. I voted twice yesterday, as I pointed out in post #1, and sure enough when I got up this morning the caucus results are different from the election machine results.
Reprehensible Wilson should be ashamed of herself, as Hillary should be. Last night she could have had a decent victory speech, but she chose instead, evidently like R. Wilson, to corrupt our process.
Hillary said she “won Florida”. What a corrupt state of
floridamind to say that when she was the only one on the ballot because the other dem candidates were not on the ballot by choice because the rules of the party did not recognize the Florida primary.She is very bushie. And now she thinks Florida and Ohio are her big wins. In my book those states are contaminated and so is her state of mind unfortunately.
All of the candidates were on the ballot in Florida, they made a deal that they wouldn’t campaign here tho.
Hillary won Florida by name recognition because of the New York factor.
In Michigan, everyone agreed to remove their names from the ballot except one and we know who that is, it’s the same one that wants them delegates counted now.
Floridiot #6
How can one win a game everyone agreed not to play? Sounds like bushie justice to me.
Speaking of bushie justice, Brad’s thread about the 60 minutes blackout in Alabama (Siegelman story) has new legs because the FCC is going to investigate … evidently because of 20 or so complaints.
PS. Speaking of bushie elections, there are some stories out there that Ohio results do not match the exit polls:
(HuffPo). Deja vu all over again?
I know Dredd, messed up.
The only state that seems to have their shit together is Vermont.
The last hold out until 1790(ish) and Bush Cheney are now outlaws there, he-he
Wow, DREDD/ FLORIDIOT!~ Fascinating. I wasn’t sure until now where the DREDD does reside–always thought it must be some, undisclosed, mysterious location. I was right. TEXAS.
So Hillary wins the TEXAS PRIMARY by 3%(?), but once again OBAMA wins the caucus? How does that split shake down the delegates, Dredd?
FLORIDIOT~super stats. Wow, again. Five’ll get you ten that FLORIDA/ MICHIGAN will be the tide that turns this for Hillary somehow. FL. STATE DEM CHAIR KAREN THURMAN (officially on the payroll for the STATE REPUB CHAIR) managed to keep the DEM DELAGATES DOWN with her own posturing/ did not object to new PRIMARY DATE despite the DNC bylaws which could not have been more clear.
As a result of this incompetance (?), an attempt to remove THURMAN by George Maurer from her post at the FDP convention was shouted down, ridiculed, lamb-basted by STATE PARTY DEMS calling themselves “the NEW, REALITY-BASED PROGRESSIVE WING of the Democratic Party…”
Funny, I call them “sell outs”.
I posted that disgusting video is right here:
http://video.google.com/videopl...14782801924976
Funny, even though that gross DISNEYWORLD convention was a CANDIDATE-LESS affair this year,
THURMAN and buddies still found time and money to throw a GINORMOUS birthday party for Hillary, in absentia. Cake the size of a football field.
Everyone had buttons that read, “SCREW HOWARD DEAN” and kept honking on mightily about the importance of PARTY UNITY. REPUBS were often used as a shining example of party protocol.
It was damn creepy.
Isn’t it amazing in these primaries how Hillary keeps “coming back” just in time to save her campaign?
FLORIDIOT–do you think we’ll throw another primary for them to rig? If so, wanna get together for another round of citizen exit polling and some late-night hooch?
Jeannie, if Howard was smart he would just divide the delegates for Mich. and Fl. up 50/50 and walk away.
If he runs the primaries over again and lets say H loses this time, all hell would break loose IMO.
Or not seat them at all would be what I would do.
Mr. Maurer is right.
O.T. Kerry Presses FCC on 60 Minutes Siegelman Blackout
Good on ya John… Good on ya TPM
NutBreakeroops Muckraker . . .Jeanie #9
The primary alone chooses the delegates as far as I know. The caucus is suplerflous, and I can’t see it being much more than a waste of time … except …
The only useful purpose a subsequent (following) caucus would have in my estimation is to verify the voting machines.
The caucus is done in the open and who you vote for is spoken out in the open.
So, if it conflicts with the results the machine spits out, Houston, we have a problem.
It is sorta like an exit poll, only the results are spoken in public instead of a pollster.
And when there is a conflict I doubt the machines not what the people say out in the open in front of everyone.
Floridiot #8
Yep.
Responding to #12.
Sorry, the post-primary caucuses in Texas are NOT meaningless. The primary chooses 55% of Texas delegates. The caucuses choose 29% of Texas delegates. (The rest are superdelegates.)
It is a hybrid system. Turnout in Houston at the caucuses was AMAZING — 200, 500, 600 people came out, compared to a few dozen in recent history.
The caucus process is sort of a winding road — those chosen at the caucus for Obama and Clinton then go to regional Dem conventions, which then choose people to go to the state convention, which then chooses people to go to the national Dem convention. But, the caucuses are definitely a source of almost 1/3 of Texas’ delegates.
And, because of the way the districts and delegates work, with the Dems awarding the most delegates to the DFW Metroplex (Dallas Ft Worth) and Houston area (26 each), and less to rural areas where Clinton happened to be stronger, Obama may ultimately not do badly at all in Texas.
Were Texas and Ohio counted by machine? and does anyone have a source for the “unmodified” exit polls?
ARIZONA PRESS NO BETTER!!
As a recognized election integrity activist in Arizona I’ve had numerous interactions with the press following actions we’ve taken at the State Legislature, with the Maricopa County Elections Dept., the Secretary of State, during elections, etc. On three separate occasions by separate reporters from local affiliates for ABC, CBS, and NBC (while I was special advisor to the democratic candidate for Secretary of State) I was approached and interviewed.
Each was very excited because we gave over facts, evidence, verifiable and corroborated information they could trust. One reporter even went so far as to swear me to exclusivity because she wanted to do a series of articles for “Sweeps Week.” They took notes, we exchanged contact information and emails, and I forwarded information with websites they could check for themselves.
I NEVER HEARD FROM THEM EVER AGAIN! I believe their station managers killed the stories.
And, it happened again just last month. At a press conference at the State Senate to announce findings regarding issues with the Sequoia Elections Systems, their BPS software, and the Maricopa County Elections Dept. less than competent practices; a local radio reporter queried us (all available on YouTube btw) carefully, she took a serious interest in what we were exposing, we exchanged contact information. Like I said, that was over a month ago and we haven’t heard a word!
Still wonder why we continue to scratch and fight for every bit of realization by the voters that they are being, or at the very least in danger of, being hosed!?!
What happens to Edwards 26 delegates?
Pokey Anderson #14
Thanks for clearing that up, no need to be sorry. 😉 I placed my vote, voted for precinct chair, secretary, and then left.
It was my first time and 90% of the people there were first timers too! At least I voted as I was supposed to, even tho I did not really understand what was going on.
About half stayed after the candidate votes … to select people to be the delegates.
There was a very good cross section of the community, young, middle aged, and older folk. Everyone was quite friendly.
The turnout everywhere seemed quite amazing for Texas …
I still think a caucus may be a good way to verify … or not … the election machines.
If done right it could raise flags about the results reported by the machines.
At the primary I put my paper ballot thru the scanner and it said my vote had been recorded, but it did not tell me who it thought I voted for … so like I say … it is a faith thang.
No matter how hard you try, you can’t stop us now
{from “Renegades Of Funk” performed by Rage Against the Machine}
This is a message out to all the astroturfers who have been filling the internet with bull about Bev Harris, BradBlog, RawStory, and any other people and domains dedicated to truth and justice. I am not a BevBot or a Bevamite or whatever your ilk have come up with lately to make a mockery out of free speech concerning the lack of election integrity in America.
The following is probably mostly old news to a the majority of readers here, but I do believe it is very important for newbies and fence sitters to understand that there has been a convoluted, organised effort to destroy the election reform movement.
I am not trying to overshadow this important story about Heather Wilson alleged to have been buying votes. But I do think it’s important that we help out newbies and fence-sitters for when they eventually will come across the disinfo whitewashing the election fraud. Yes, it’s fraud. There can be just so many anomalies before one cannot deny that much of our electoral system is rigged.
Why Archives Need To Be Maintained
http://allaircraftarenotinvolve...t160.html#1407
{excerpts}
David Allen Shilling for Steven Hertzberg:
Mod Mom tried to get him to stop trolling.
Nothing to see here, move along. Or check out that grifter Bev Harris. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
[/sarcasm]
My New Mexico friends tell me Wilson is a real piece of work. I hope the good people of that state who are dying to dump her will get behind this reporter and take this fight all the way home.
So…where is the New Mexico Attorney General on this? Shouldn’t there be an investigation at this point?
Good job Brad… I’ve sent a link to this page to the Albuquerque Journal’s tipline site.
I hope they pick up on this story!
Has there been ONE discrepancy yet, where the exit poll favored Hillary, but “the count” favored Obama?
Brad and Bradblog: Thank you for this story of a failed democracy in action and another example of criminal pirates in power using their corporate mass media effectively to eliminate the truth to portray “their damage control fantasy” as reality.
As long as electronic computer voting is used, you can count on ALL future Federal elections to be fake elitist shows paid for by multi-national corporations and the military industrial complex.
There are no bigger loser murderous criminals than the bushit adminstration and their accomplices. The Republicans and Democrats are 1 party that act like they have different agendas.
We are still at war.
There is no talk of criminal prosecution for the numerous crimes against, people and other species by the bushit administration. A quick example:Bush administration officials removed the wolf off the Federal Endangered Species Protection list last week and armed 2 airplanes to carry out airial killings to slaughter 900 wolves. A policy move against the will of the majority of people who expressed their opinion not to during the open comment period. This is important to note since this is the only way Americans can voice their opinion on these kinds of issues after bush changed the rules of US forestry in December 2004. Only 1 month after bush stole election Presidential election #2.
The bushies around Yellowstone have also been busy using taxpayers money to kill the American buffalo setting traps in Yellowstone at the only place they survive. The bushit part of the story is they are claim local cattle could catch desease from wild buffalo bison that there is no evidence of let alone even 1 case in which this occured. The story bigger that this simplification but the bushit isn’t.
These fcking aceholes liars and their anti-environmental agenda thinks they got it made. They better hope their plan for a US police state prior to the next election goes unhitched and happens real soon because otherwise these fcking loser inbred pirates are all going to jail. Guantanamo’s finest will appreciate the removal of habius corpus once the bushit administration arrive.
Hey cheney-bushit and accomplices: Have you been fighting terrorism by given the nuclear bomb to any other contries lately since Pakistan and in turn North Korea got it from you? Or have you just been doing the US corporate mass media blackout to cover your disgraceful treasonous actions? Remove your US flag pins so I can stick through your eyes.
It looks like Ohio and Florida are just bad. How do they say bad in Texas. Just plain old ugly. Keep up the good work. Hillary is looking a lot like Bush these days. How sad. Heather Wilson and New Mexico politics need a sound investigation all the way around. Richardson looked relaxed after having surrendered to the Ugly Beast they call the Machine. Funny how when they step out of the machine, the politicians with any serious respect for counrty go on to do great things. Good luck. I’ll keep reading.