Mosque Madness : Anderson Cooper confronts anti-Muslim candidate…

On Friday night, Anderson Cooper conducted a must-see interview with congressional candidate Renee Ellmers, the North Carolina Republican who is running the most baldly anti-Muslim advertisement of the year. This was the ad we told you about last week that refers to the organizers of Park51, “the Muslims,” and “terrorists” interchangeably.

In the interview (via TPM’s Eric Kleefeld), Cooper challenges Ellmers on her conflation of Muslims and terrorists. She responds: “[T]hat is certainly not what I’m intending to say. I am not intending to say that all Muslims are terrorists.”

She floats the idea that the organizers of Park51 are terrorists before acknowledging that she doesn’t know much about Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.

During an exchange about whether Park51 is a “victory mosque,” a frustrated Cooper exclaims: “That’s like the lowest response I have ever heard from a candidate, I have got to tell you.”

The Democratic Party Brings Web Cloud based Innovation to Volunteer-ism….. “Virtual Volunteer”

The Democratic Party has brought new innovation to the electoral process.

A new web cloud -based calling system allows Users to “Virtually Volunteer”  from the comfort of their own home, using a computer with internet access.

Prospective voters can be contacted by a “Virtual Volunteer” in their state, using data provided by the DNC database via an Internet Web browser.   This information is sent directly to the volunteers home computer over a secure internet connection .

Volunteers can then call  prospective voters using the contact name and  phone number provided,  in addition to utilizing  a very well written script, which also appears on their monitor via the web based service.

The volunteer will  ask the prospective voter general questions regarding the election, then completes and submits the form accompanying the phone script.

It’s as simple as calling , reading, and clicking… which should encourage many people who otherwise wouldn’t be involved in the electoral process, to finally participate as a volunteer.

The Script goes as follows:

1. Review the script below
2. Dial 2##-6##-4### and ask for MARIA (Not home? Indicate that to the left.)
3. Follow the script and record her responses, then click Save & Continue

Hi. Is ______________ available? [Wait for voter to come to phone].

Hi ____________. My name is _________ and I’m a volunteer with Organizing for America. We are a project of the DNC and the successor organization of President Obama’s 2008 campaign. How are you today?

I’m calling because President Obama needs our help. Since taking office, the President has worked hard to put our economy back on track with the Recovery Act, a bipartisan jobs creation bill, and historic health insurance reform legislation. But there is still a lot of work to do to build long-term growth. With the 2010 midterm elections coming up, President Obama needs us to elect strong allies that will help him continue his fight for change.

Do you support Bill White for Governor?

1 – Strong White
2 – Leans White
3 – Undecided
4 – Leans Against
5 – Strong Against

Do you support the Democrat or the Republican in your local Congressional race?

1: Support Dem
2: Lean Dem
3: Undecided
4: Lean GOP
5: Support GOP
6: Support Other

[IF LEANING OR STRONG AGAINST]

Thanks for your time. Have a good day.

[IF UNDECIDED]

That’s okay, stay tuned to 2010.barackobama.com for more information.

[IF LEANING OR STRONG SUPPORT]

Great! Thanks for standing with the President. President Obama is counting on us to vote this fall to ensure he has strong partners in Congress and in the states.

Will you help the President by committing to vote in your local elections in 2010, including the midterm elections on November 2nd?

Yes
No
Maybe
GOP Supporter

[IF NO OR GOP SUPPORTER]

Thanks, have a nice day.

[IF MAYBE]

To continue fighting for the change we voted for in 2008 and worked so hard for in 2009 it is so important that we elect strong allies of the President. If you need more information you can visit 2010.barackobama.com. Thanks for your time, have a nice day.

[IF YES]

Great!

We also need a lot of help to make sure other voters who supported President Obama and Democrats in 2008 will vote for Democratic allies this fall too. Are you interested in volunteering in your area to help us?

Yes
No
Maybe

[IF WILL NOT VOLUNTEER]

Okay, thanks for your support. Your vote this year is really important.

[IF WILL OR MIGHT VOLUNTEER]

Great! Someone will contact you soon with more information about what you can do to help. Have a nice day.

[FOR ALL VOTERS]

This call was paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee, democrats.org, and is not authorized by any candidate or any candidate’s committee.

For more information, See the original Blog post on the DNC website here.