Small Government News*
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
“The Massachusetts State Teachers Union Has Launched a Boiler Room, Telemarketing Operation to Disqualify Our Ballot Initiative to END the Income Tax In Massachusetts”
Publisher: Carla Howell
Editor: Michael Cloud
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VOTER INTIMIDATION BY BOILER ROOM TELEMARKETERS
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Your phone rings. Your caller ID shows: Ph 617-646-9465.
You answer.
“Hi, I’m with the Committee For Our Communities. Do you realize that your signature is on a petition for a ballot question?” asks the caller.
You search your memory. ‘Which petition? Is this the petition I signed in front of Stop and Shop in September — 3 months ago?’ you think.
“I’m not sure,” you say.
“It’s a petition to eliminate the Income Tax,” says the telemarketer. “Are you sure you signed it?”
“I think I did,” you say – trying to remember.
You’re trying to think – and listen to the caller.
The telemarketer asks whether your signature might have gotten on the petition through “fraud” or “forgery.”
You finally remember signing the petition to END the Income Tax.
“Wait a minute. I signed the petition,” you say.
“Are you sure?” pressures the caller. “Do you realize that your signature supports eliminating the income tax?”
“Yes, I do,” you answer.
“Thank you. Goodbye,” says the caller.
This kind of telephone call is being made to the 76,085 certified voters who signed the Ballot Initiative to End the Income Tax.
Who is the Committee for Our Communities?
Why are they calling certified voters who signed the Ballot Initiative to End the Income Tax in Massachusetts?
What are they trying to accomplish?
What are the consequences if they succeed?
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FRONT GROUP SET UP BY MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS UNION
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“The Committee for Our Communities” – which is making the Boiler Room telephone calls – is a front group created, owned, and operated by the Massachusett State Teachers Union (MTA).
What are front groups? Why are they set up?
“A front group is an organization that purports to represent one agenda while in reality it serves some other party or interest whose sponsorship is hidden or rarely mentioned.” – Center for Media and Democracy
“A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization. Front organizations can act for the parent group without the actions being attributed to the parent group. Front organizations that appear to be independent voluntary or charitable
associations are called front groups.” – Wikipedia
How would signers have responded if the telephone callers identified themselves as representing the Massachusetts State Teachers Union(MTA)?
Here’s the front group:
Committee for Our Communities
20 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA
Organized: 11/20/2007
Filed with: Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance ID
# 95339
Paul Phillips, Chair
31 Dartmouth St
Quincy, MA 02169
617-479-5369
paulunion@aol.com
Kathleen Conway, Treasurer
Phone: 617.878.8309
FAX: 617.248.0194
kconway@massteacher.org
Here’s the address of the Massachusetts Teachers Union:
MTA
20 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA
Paul Phillips is Executive Committee Member of the Teachers Union.
Kathleen Conway is Director of Finance and Accounting of the Teachers Union.
Same office. Same officers.
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BOILER ROOM PHONE PRESSURE AND VOTER INTIMIDATION
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The National “Do NOT Call” Registry was set up to stop Boiler Room Telephone Operations, and Aggressive Telemarketers.
Unlisted, unpublished telephone numbers are chosen to stop unwanted callers.
The Massachusetts Teachers Union’s Telemarketers are telephoning tens of thousands of our END the Income Tax petition signers who have “Do NOT Call” and unlisted, unpublished telephone numbers.
Why? Because lobbyists got them exempted from the law.
But it doesn’t stop with our petition signers being subjected to unwanted and tried-to-block telephone calls.
Some callers try to pressure, interrogate, embarrass, and intimidate our petition signers.
Some of the Teachers Union telemarketers try to put words and phrases into our signers’ mouths. “Fraud.” “Forged your signature.” “Misled by the petitioner.” “Pressured to sign.” “Deceived as to the purpose of the petition.” “Lied to.” “Confused into signing.”
Can you see why the Massachusetts State Teachers Union (MTA) set up a front group to do Voter Intimidation by Phone?
Do you see why they don’t want Massachusetts voters to see the smoking gun in their hands?
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IF YOU SIGNED THE BALLOT INITIATIVE TO END THE INCOME TAX -
HERE’S WHAT TO DO WHEN OUR OPPONENTS TELEPHONE YOU
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When the Massachusetts State Teachers Union’s front group – “Committee for Our Communities” – calls you, please do these things:
Let the caller talk.
Take notes of EVERYTHING he or she says.
Dummy up: try to sound confused or slow to understand.
Ask a few naïve questions: “What did I sign?” “When did I sign it?” “Are you sure it’s my signature?”
Let the caller talk. We need you to tell us what your caller said.
Believe it or not, the boiler room telemarketers phoned Carla Howell to see whether she had signed the petition.
Carla dummied up. Her caller claimed that signing the petition “supported ending the income tax”. Later, the caller weasel-worded it by saying “it supported putting end the income tax to a vote.” But that’s not what the caller said at first.
Please take careful notes – and let us know EXACTLY what was said. We may need this information if we are forced to go to court.
Please email us your notes at: feedback@smallgovernmentact.org
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FIGHT BACK NOW
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Weakness invites aggression. In the animal kingdom. And in the human world.
We believe we have a bullet-proof number of petition signatures. But the teachers’ union is spending as much as $100,000 to see whether they have armor-piercing shells.
So you have to ask yourself one question: Do you want to take the chance?
We don’t. We need your help now. Make sure they can’t stop us.
We may have only days to put together a War Chest to fight the Massachusetts State Teachers Union’s assault on our Ballot Initiative to END the Income Tax.
We may have only days to fight back – and survive.
Without your help now, we do NOT have the money or other resources we may need to fend off and prevent the Teachers Union from disqualifying our END the Income Tax Ballot Initiative.
We may need a $50,000 War Chest to defend ourselves.
If we’re forced to go to court, we’ll need a $50,000 War Chest to survive.
This is the moment of truth. For us. And for you.
Will you please contribute $500 or $250 or $150 right now – so we can END the Income Tax?
Are you one of the prosperous few who could make a substantial donation today? Will you help us defend your right to earn and prosper? Will you please donate $20,000 or $10,000 today? Or $5,000 or $2,500 War Chest donation?
Carla Howell and Michael Cloud need your help. So do the other donors, the volunteers, and the 76,085 certified signers who qualified this Initiative for the ballot.
Will you please donate $250 or $150, $85 or $65, or $45 today?
Help us protect and defend our END the Income Tax Ballot Initiative. Please contribute now by credit card by clicking:
https://secure.bluehost.com/~savyonco/ms/sga/sga2.php
Or please write your check today and mail it to:
The Committee For Small Government
6 Goodman Lane
Wayland, Massachusetts
01778
Thank you for being a hero today.
Sincerely yours,
Carla Howell & Michael Cloud
2007 Copyright Carla Howell and Michael Cloud small government is possible*, small government is beautiful*, Small Government Pledge* and Small Government News* are Service Marks (SM) of Carla Howell and Michael Cloud.
