anti-Menendez card sent to Italian-Americans

We're "Vowels", and Got Our Card in Today's Mail (0.00 / 0)

It is pretty ridiculous.  And nutty that they are looking in the phone book for "vowels" to send the card to.

We also received a robo-call today, from the same operation.

My spouse is only a "vowel" by marriage, so it was probably wasted on her.  She's also part-Mexican, so Kean's "be scared of the brown people" ad didn't go over well with her.

As for the "Filangieri Society", if you look up their web address, it was registered about a week ago.  You can also get a phone number for the sender, if you plug the return address on the card into a look-up site like "Whitepages.com".

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by: Cautious Man @ Wed Nov 01, 2006 at 22:19:53 PM CST

I got the same call (0.00 / 0)

No mailer, I feel left out.

The phone number for the call was a 310 area code.  Califoria I think.  They told me Menendez betrayed Italian Americans by voting against Sammy Stripsearch.  Funny, it made no mention of the Sopranos ad.

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by: cynicalgirl @ Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 08:04:29 AM CST

[ Parent ]

definitely CA (0.00 / 0)

310 is west LA (pretty blue), and 559 is central valley (pretty red).

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by: kwilkinson @ Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 23:15:30 PM CST

[ Parent ]

This is always the wackiest week in the annual political calendar (0.00 / 0)

For sheer nuttiness, you can't beat the mailings/commercials/dirty tricks of the final days leading up to E-day.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

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by: thecontrarian @ Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 09:20:30 AM CST

Got my mailer today! (0.00 / 0)

Now my feelings aren't hurt!

It says that Bob Menendez "opposed every major Italian-American orgainization in New Jersey".  I'd love to hear their rationale for that statement!

And I got another call.  This time it sounded like a live person.  I'm not sure, it was on my answering machine.  It was from California again, area code 559.

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by: cynicalgirl @ Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 16:29:17 PM CST

Junior's robo-calls ? (0.00 / 0)

Funny how some obscure little non-profit based in Monmouth Beach is supposedly buying robo-call service in California.  I'd sure like to see the money trail on that.  Judging by past campaigns throughout the country, one thing is true:  repubs will do ANYTHING to win or steal an election.

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by: jfc521 @ Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 19:01:47 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Found the "Organization"s phone number (0.00 / 0)

Andrew Decker in NYC:  212.222.4688.

Just got off the phone with him.  Nice enough guy,  I don't know his connection to the Kean Jr. Campaign.

I essentially told him that just because I am of Italian decent, doesn't mean I automatically support every Italian-American for everything.  Just as I don't support every woman for everything, or a New Yorker over anyone.

Sam Alito does not believe in the Constitutional right to privacy.  This is more important and more fundemental than any other consideration.

So, call him.  And explain that you don't appreciate the cards and robo-calls either.  And maybe you can do what I forgot--ask him who is paying for this.  How is Kean Jr. connected??

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by: the pollster @ Fri Nov 03, 2006 at 17:46:59 PM CST

Address of "Society" (0.00 / 0)

If you look up the tax records, the Monmouth Beach address is owned by someone who does not sound very Italian.  I wonder if other similar "societies" like this have sprouted up and sent cards to other ethnicities.

I could not believe the stupidity of the card. I don't even consider myself a democrat. If the goal was to belittle the intelligence of Italians, they succeeded. 

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by: picsaro @ Fri Nov 03, 2006 at 19:16:33 PM CST

How did this jerk get my address? (0.00 / 0)

I got one of the mailers, too.  As did my mom.  Did they buy a list of registered dems?  Because if they did, they are fighting a losing battle. Or just somehow identify people who have names ending in a vowel? I'm an American first; Italian by ethnicity. I don't support Kean.  I don't support the appointment of Alito.  And why is this jerk even bringing Sam Alito into this? If this guy wants to support Italians, he should be more outraged by Kean's stereotypical and ignorant portrayal of New Jersey Italians in that stupid commercial supporting Kean.

Their website is bogus, can't find a phone number, so I plan to send it back to them with a letter instructing them to never contact me again.

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by: maryannenj @ Sat Nov 04, 2006 at 06:44:01 AM CST

from voter registration lists ? (0.00 / 0)

I suspect the Keaniacs mined voter lists.  Presumably those lists are public information, available from the county clerk's office.  Those GOP chuckleheads think that a knee-jerk tide of ethnic loyalty will trump political party affiliation.  As I wrote up top, they think we are dummies...

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by: jfc521 @ Sat Nov 04, 2006 at 08:03:05 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I left "Mr Decker' a message this morning... (0.00 / 0)

A pretty long winded one about my thoughts on this. 

Imagine someone with a Waspy name like "Andrew Decker" taking on the cause of the "Italians."  I'm going to take a wild guess here.  This is one of Kean's trust fund sleep away camp buddies who made it from the NJ suburbs to the NY city with a cushy gig as an investment banker.  Now he's helping his buddy.

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by: maryannenj @ Sat Nov 04, 2006 at 08:06:57 AM CST

Talk about nuttiness (0.00 / 0)

Yesterday I got a call from Joe Piscopo.  I guess Carrot Top wasn't available.

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by: cynicalgirl @ Sat Nov 04, 2006 at 08:27:04 AM CST

Anti-Menendez card sent to Italian-Americans (0.00 / 0)

We(my partner has a Sicilian name)received a card and two phone calls (traced to: 559-212-3001, which answers "Customer Service" and invites the caller to have their number removed from the list) from "Joe Piscapo" and then "Mario Andretti" both describing Menendez as anti-Italian for his vote against Alito. Strangely, we also got a call from "Mario Cuomo" (which I didn't trace) urging a vote for Menendez. Is there already a "counter-Filangieri" effort working apparently similar lists for our side?
WHLorentz

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by: WHLorentz @ Sat Nov 04, 2006 at 15:30:27 PM CST

anti-Menendez card sent to Italian-Americans (0.00 / 0)

With a vowel at the end of my Italian surname, I have received three canned telephone messages identified as from the Filangieri Society, including calls apparently from Joe Piscopo and Mario Andretti.

I googled and found the following page in Italian

http://www.anfe.it/w...

and translated the web page using Google language tools.

http://translate.goo...

If you try this, note particularly the quote halfway down regarding the plan for "autumn" (presumably this election season).

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by: tv2 @ Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 11:33:28 AM CST

The Filangieri Society (0.00 / 0)

far from being a grassroots Italian-American organization, looks to be an phony astroturf group run by some Wall Street fund manager named Lawrence Auriana, a big backer of GOP pols such as Alfonse D'Amato and Rick Lazio.  Google his name, alone and together with the name of the organization, to see what I mean.

I don't even think the guy lives in N.J.

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by: Rufus T Firefly @ Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 16:23:05 PM CST

Further on this point (0.00 / 0)

Auriana's been flogging the Alito issue since Bush first nominated him.  In addition to Menendez, he's been blasting Lincoln Chaffee, whom I never realized was Italian-American.

It would be interesting to know whether he's been blanketing R.I. with the same junk mail and robo-calls.

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by: Rufus T Firefly @ Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 16:28:08 PM CST

Don't know how they got my contact info (0.00 / 0)

I have an Italian last name, but no home phone listed in any of the directories.  The only phones I have are cells, which are not listed.  I obviously haven't gotten the calls but did get a mailer.  What a desparate bunch of people.

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by: maryannenj @ Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 17:59:32 PM CST

Boy, did THEY get a wrong number :) (0.00 / 0)

I have an Italian surname through marriage, but I'm a nonobservant Jew.  The calls are about Menendez' vote against Alito.  Funny how the Kean campaign wants to have it both ways -- they want to make Menendez look like a gangster by showing obvious Mob stereotypes in their ads, then get all huffy that Menendez is somehow anti-Italian because he voted against a wingnut justice. 

Frankly, I think the subtext of these calls is anti-Latino.

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by: brilliantatbreakfast @ Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 13:51:44 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Still waiting for a call from Floyd Vivino... (0.00 / 0)

I guess they can't find anyone on the A list to do this....

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by: cynicalgirl @ Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 10:48:23 AM CST