GOP Jams Econo
The company that was implicated in the GOP phone jamming scheme of 2002 turns out to have been funded by Mississippi Governor Hailey Barbour. The Republican Governor arranged for a quarter-million dollar loan to the company, GOP Marketplace, in 2000 and later hailed it as a potential money maker for the party that would, "'give Republicans an edge' by using the Internet to buy and sell telemarketing services." The loan makes Barbour and his business partners part owners of the company.
In 2002, GOP Marketplace was engaged in jamming Democratic phone banks in New Jersey and New Hampshire. Company president Allen Raymond is serving a three month prison sentence after pleading guilty in the New Hampshire case.
According to MSNBC, "President Bush's former campaign chairman for New England has been convicted in the New Hampshire case and The Associated Press reported April 10 that key figures in the phone jamming had regular contact with the White House _ and Republican officials _ as the scheme unfolded." And not just ANY Republican official, but former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman.
Barbour has not been implicated in any of the company's wrong doing, but the stench of corruption surrounding the case can't sit well with the otherwise popular Governor. Someone should give him a ring (or a few thousand) and console the poor fella.
