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GOP Senator Slams McCain Robo Call

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October 17, 2008 8:17 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Rigel Anderson report:  Embattled Republican Sen. Susan Collins is calling on Sen. John McCain to stop paying for automated phone calls which describe Sen. Barack Obama as having "worked closely" with "domestic terrorist Bill Ayers."

"These kind of tactics have no place in Maine politics," said Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley. "Sen. Collins urges the McCain campaign to stop these calls immediately."

Contacted on Friday by ABC News, the McCain campaign would not say if it was going to heed the request of Collins who serves as his campaign's co-chair in Maine.

"Obviously, Sen. McCain has great respect for Sen. Collins. But beyond that," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers, "we don't have any comment."

Ayers is the former leader of the Weather Underground. To protest the Vietnam War, his organization ran a domestic bombing campaign which resulted in fatalities.

Obama, who was 8 years old at the time, has repudiated those acts as "despicable." Friday's statement from the Collins campaign came after Maine's Democratic Party issued a press release earlier in the day challenging the Republican incumbent to denounce what it called "blatantly false phone calls personally attacking" Obama.

Collins' Democratic opponent was not satisfied.

"If she truly feels that strongly about it," said Carol Andrews, communications director to Democratic Rep. Tom Allen, "she should resign as co-chair of McCain's campaign in Maine."

Here is the script of the McCain-RNC robo call about Bill Ayers, which Collins criticized on Friday:

"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500."

Politico has the audio HERE

The Collins criticism of McCain's robo call was first reported by Jessica Alaimo of Politicker-Maine and later confirmed by ABC News.

October 17, 2008 in McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (291)

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Maccain is sinking. He is like a man whose neck is tied to a heavy rock, thrown into the sea of republican exploitation, sinking down the ocean of oblivion.

McCain is done. We should close the book and go elections now. McCain is done. The time is right for a change and lies and desperation will not stop the wind of change. The republicans think that everybody is stupid to see throw the masks of their lies.

The republicans are done. It was a nice try. Good McCain, it is time for you and your wife to start drinking a lot of budweissers for free from your wives's brewery factory. There is enough to make Joe the plumber drunk and when he wakes up from the stupor he can remember to start paying taxes.

Americans will never be fooled again.

The new era has begun.

Everybody get out on November 4th and go to the polling station.

Hubert.

Posted by: Temba | Oct 17, 2008 8:35:03 PM

McCain puts McCain first and his win at any cost, even if it means lies and slander. Imagine what he would be like if ever let loose in the white house with his poor excuse of a lap dog.

Posted by: GBA | Oct 17, 2008 8:38:22 PM

McCain tried negative smears last week, and it cost him 6% in the polls.

So what's he doing now?

More of the same.

McSame. More of the Same.

Posted by: clifton | Oct 17, 2008 8:46:35 PM

This McSlimmy robo calls are desperation at its worst.

These are the last kicks of a dieing horse.

If McCain is going down shouldn't he at least lose like Bob Dole with some dignity.

What is wrong with these Repugs.

Posted by: Steve_NJ | Oct 17, 2008 8:46:48 PM

BHO isn't as rosy as you think either...

Obama falsely claimed all of McCain's ads had been "negative."

Obama: And 100 percent, John, of your ads – 100 percent of them have been negative.

McCain: It's not true.

Obama: It absolutely is true.

It was almost true, for one recent week. Obama was referring to a report by the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin that concluded that “nearly 100 percent of the McCain campaign’s advertisements were negative” during the week of Sept. 28 through Oct. 4. During the same week, 34 percent of the Obama campaign’s ads were negative. The Obama campaign was found to have outspent the McCain campaign in nearly all of the competitive states, in some cases by a margin of more than 3-to-1.

McCain’s ads, however, have not been deemed 100 percent negative in other weeks. In fact, in the week after the Republican National Convention, 77 percent of Obama’s ads were negative, according to the advertising project, while 56 percent of McCain’s were negative.

Posted by: jerilyn | Oct 17, 2008 8:51:17 PM

This is sick! McCain is doing something EXTREMELY dangerous and he needs to be careful.

He is inciting anger, hatred, division and fear...and if he doesn't stop it now, he will regret it later.

As for that Palin woman...she needs to explain her "pro-american" comment. I live in L.A. a big city and I consider myself VERY patriotic! As for you, even questioning that, maybe you should start answering as to why you and your 'first dude' associated yourselves with the AIG? Now who's patriotic?

Posted by: nancy | Oct 17, 2008 8:52:01 PM

THE GOP IS WORKING VERY HARD TO LOSE THIS CAMPAIGN FOR MCCAIUN
KATHLEEN PARKER
BUCKLEY
ETC ETC
THEN THIS IDIOT..

Posted by: TJ, THE CLINTONITE | Oct 17, 2008 8:52:09 PM

I don't think there is any real doubt at this point that Obama will win. We're all working like madmen towards that. Many millions of us. No more Bush. No more McCain. No more Republicans. No more War. No more division.

It just is what it is. And what its going to be.

Posted by: Scott - Fort Worth - TX | Oct 17, 2008 8:54:55 PM

For Palin to be questioning anybody's patriotism, maybe she ought to be spending more time explaining why she was associated with the Alaska Independent Party...an organization that pushed for Alaska to secede from the United States.

Palin, you don't get any more anti-american than that...bimbo!

Posted by: janice | Oct 17, 2008 8:55:30 PM

Cheney ought to take Mccain and Palin hunting!

Posted by: mccainpalinscareme | Oct 17, 2008 8:57:00 PM

Why did McCain call the JFK assassination an "intervention", a CIA term for a covert operation?

Another freudian slip or a veiled warning to Obama?

http://www.infowars.com/?p=5385

Posted by: monitor | Oct 17, 2008 9:01:17 PM

So Steve, you are saying that Obama wasn't right that McCain's ads were 100% negative because if one looked at his whole campaign they weren't. So what you want Obama to actually say is that

"McCain's ads have started out only somewhat negative and now they are 100% negative as I moved ahead in the polls and he desperately sought to get back in it?"

And that leads to his desperate use of dirty robocalls. So dirty that it threatens Susan Collins campaign that she feels she must disclaim them!

And regarding "negative ads" - the Advertising Project simply defined a "negative ad" as one that mentioned the opponent. Many people think that attacking an opponents policy positions is fair...and is quite different from attacking a persons religion, ethnic background, character, honesty, or patriotism.

Posted by: cinnamonape | Oct 17, 2008 9:03:03 PM

G. Gordon Liddy; a man who wanted to shoot ATF agents in the head; a convict.

Good friends with McCain.

McCain has no soul. He's dead inside.

Posted by: RobK | Oct 17, 2008 9:06:21 PM

Your article is somewhat misleading when you say "his organization ran a domestic bombing campaign which resulted in fatalities." The only fatalities were their own members when a bomb blew up early and after that Weather evacuated all buildings in advance and was very careful to avoid the loss of human life. Their actions were certainly misguided, but they in all fairness directed their violence at property, not people.

Posted by: James | Oct 17, 2008 9:08:54 PM

John McCain is a dishonorable coward--a sad bitter old man completely unfit to lead this country.

Posted by: Sportin' Life | Oct 17, 2008 9:10:34 PM

When you thought McCain could sink no lower he does it again... I have voted Republican since I started voting. This will be my first year voting democratic. John McCain is a disgrace to America and Sarah Palin is nothing more than a one-note gimmick.

Posted by: Steve | Oct 17, 2008 9:10:58 PM

monitor - did you miss the winking of McCain too? Those are also code words. A veiled warning to Obama? You need to get out of the house and breathe some fresh air. Its politics. Its not about all the stupid attacks either of them make. Do your own research on their records and don't vote out of fear.

Posted by: arial | Oct 17, 2008 9:14:43 PM

Robocall smears...so THAT'S what McCain meant when he said he'd run an honorable campaign. Meanwhile Palin is out saying some parts of the country are more "pro-America" than others. Jingoistic, xenophobic politics of divisiveness.

WHERE'S THE HONOR, JOHN?

Posted by: jon in maryland | Oct 17, 2008 9:14:50 PM

Sen. McCain is a disgrace and is running a campaign wholly beneath the office he seeks. He has traded his honor for a shot at the job he has wanted for 10 years. It would be sad, but we have too much at stake to waste time pitying him any longer.

He knows what he is doing, he knows the division and anger his campaign and its tactics are sewing, and he does these things anyway. I am officially repulsed. Between this and the Bachmann McCarthyism we witnessed earlier and Palin's repeated vile slime, I am thinking about changing my party id. McCain is clearly going down and wants to take the party with him. Enough is really enough.

Posted by: Florida Republican | Oct 17, 2008 9:16:27 PM

Having received one of these Robocalls exactly 12 hours after the last debate -- you remember, the one in which McCain told us that he's not running a negative campaign -- I can tell you: I was sickened. Has American politics really sunk this low? The mainstream media should be ALL OVER this hypocrisy on McCain's part.

Posted by: Dr. Vic | Oct 17, 2008 9:19:44 PM

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