GOP longshot: 'No apologies' for racy, moaning robocall David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Tuesday October 28, 2008





Print This Email This The longshot challenger for a California congressional seat is being pilloried for running a moaning, gasping robo-call that sounds more like phone sex than a political message.



"Mike Thompson been a bad boy," the sultry voice begins. "We all said no to the bailout, but Thompson backed Bush, just like he did with the Patriot Act. Uhh! Vote 'Yeesss' for Zane."



The office of incumbent Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) blasted the call, which ran on Sunday, as a "sophomoric and tasteless prank," adding, "It's incredible that someone would waste voters' time with this drivel."



Republican candidate Zane Starkewolf had pulled the call by Monday, but he told CBS13 News in Sacramento, "I make no apologies for it."



"It wasn't really the message exactly that I wanted to state, and the risque-type voice wasn't exactly the tone that I wanted to set," the 27 year old Starkewolf admitted. "The original intent of the message was to be a little risque, you know, so I wrote the script for it and then it got, you know, a little more enthusiasm from the staff person who was reading the script."



"The fact, is that's a good thing," concluded Starkewolf, "because we need enthusiasm back in politics."



Starkewolf, a supporter of Ron Paul, has described the bailout as "devastating for America." In a statement on his campaign website, he further explains, "I acknowledge that the idea behind the ad, and indeed the execution of the call, was not the safe route to take. And if my run for office was simply for personal gain, I would not have taken a risk. But the content and the facts within the message were there and need to be discussed. Hopefully this call opens up the forum for discussion on the issues and on the representation which is so essential to our system."



Robocalls are illegal in California unless introduced by a live person and can incur a fine of $500 per incident. However, the ban is rarely enforced.





This video is from CBS 13, broadcast October 28, 2008.









Download video via RawReplay.com







