House Scrutinizes Fake Letters Sent To Congress

House Scrutinizes Fake Letters Sent To Congress

www.npr.org

Over the summer, as the House prepared to consider sweeping climate change legislation, several lawmakers received letters on seemingly official stationery from the NAACP and the American Association of University Women. The letters warned lawmakers that the organizations had serious doubts about the bill Democrats were bringing to the floor.

But the letters turned out to be fakes.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This was brought to my attention by a fellow ATSr who shall remain nameless unless they wish to make their presence known.

Either way, this generated a huge WOW from me. And it's rather methodical.

Evidently these fake letters came at a key time in the voting process, and could very well have changed the vote and the outcome.

When tracked back they led to a Lobbyist office, the owner of which took immediate responsibility and summarily fired the offender who was described as "A rogue temp employee".

Sounds like a great Alibi doesn't it...

Honestly... Lobbying has come to this.

Where did Lobbying even come from? Well President Grant loved to take a walk each evening to a local hotel, where he would enjoy his Brandy while sitting in the lobby. Folks who wanted the Presidents ear would show up and discuss matters of importance to them... hence the Lobbyist.

Making our concerns made clear to our elected representatives is the right of every constituent... and when money gets involved it becomes imbalanced... but when the lobbyists resort to tactics such as these... it simply becomes immoral.



www.npr.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, whether Special Interests should be allowed to Lobby Congress is another matter altogether, that hopefully will be addressed in the not-to-distant future...Fraud is absolutely another thing.

Fraud is illegal. Plain and simple. It's nice to know that the Lobby found a convenient scape-goat to blame it on, but it is doubtful that this was an isolated incident or that the "rogue" did this of their own volition without the idea having been suggested to them by co-workers or administration.

However, even if they weren't a Lobby group, they could and probably would do the same, posing as concerned citizens or citizen groups.

In this day and age Identity Theft is so commonplace, especially in Politics, that one would hope that our elected Officials would be as incredulous as the rest of the people have become. Just because it is on the Internet (or Wikipedia) doesn't mean it's true. Just because something comes from what appears to be the e-mail address of the NAACP or on "official" looking letterhead doesn't mean that it is genuine. I would like to think that our elected Officials (or at least their Staff Members) are savvy enough to realize this and to verify sources, just as a Journalist would (or at least should). I always thought that was the reason you got "Courtesy Replies" whenever you wrote your Representative or Senator...to verify that you really were the person who sent the letter/e-mail.

reply to post by fraterormus


Yep it's amazing because it makes these lobbyists appear to be in the pocket of the GOP.

Whoa watch the blanket statements such as 'appear to be in the pocket of the GOP'. Each party has their own. They are both culpable in this so trying to pin it on one party is being ignorant to the many lobbyist and special interest groups (i.e. trial lawyers to name one) that the Dems have wrapped themselves around.

Each has their pet favorites, I just don't like it when people blanket a statement to try and wash the other side clean.

If you are talking about the letter from the lobbyist and who they are trying to influence directly i.e. the GOP or Republican representative, then I think you should clarify that rather than toss in the whole party while the other party stays dry

**Edit to fix quote and explain I understand you said 'appear'

[edit on 30-10-2009 by ownbestenemy]

reply to post by ownbestenemy


The thing is that lobbyists are typically trying to persuade a representative directly...

But in this situation, they side stepped the entire process and merely sent fake letters to democrats.

Which means that these lobbyists appear to be in the pocket of the GOP.

I don't understand how that is a blanket statement.

I understand that lobbyists are "bi partisan"... but these specific lobbyists who sent FAKE LETTERS (i.e. committed fraud) are not.

[edit on 30-10-2009 by HunkaHunka]

reply to post by HunkaHunka

He's drawing unfair, unfounded conclusions - as usual. Hunka, Grover and a few others on this site go to great lengths to bash the GOP - even when it requires stretching the truth and not backing their accusations up with facts.

I sincerely doubt those letters were of any importance to Congress, fake or not.

I'm sure Congress does much of its business face to face (show me the money) while the lower staff attends to the common response given to the letters received.

Maybe a few presidents down the road will regurgitate Obama's words "Total transparency". If he meant it as a joke, he sucks at telling jokes - a lot of people believed him.

Anyway, if some president down the line does repeat the original blatant lie, he might actually back it up. So Obama did set a precedent in promising such a novel idea. So at least that's out of the way.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
reply to post by HunkaHunka

 

I read the article and didn't see the Republican party mentioned.
Only business concerns.

Did I miss something or are you drawing unfair conclusions?

Who got defrauded?

Was it the Republican offices?

Originally posted by sos37
He's drawing unfair, unfounded conclusions - as usual. Hunka, Grover and a few others on this site go to great lengths to bash the GOP - even when it requires stretching the truth and not backing their accusations up with facts.

You must be joking right?

Just look at the lengths YOU go to in order to bash Liberals and Progressives..