From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
The presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday dumped a firm it hired to make automated phone calls to Wisconsin voters - after it learned the calls were routed through Canada. The action came quickly, following criticism earlier in the day that the Kerry calling effort was exporting American jobs.Though the jobs involved in such an effort would likely be relatively few, the issue apparently struck a nerve with Kerry's campaign because foreign trade and the export of American jobs has become a key campaign issue, particularly for Democrats and union workers.
It may be an especially touchy issue for Kerry because his votes in the Senate for North American and world trade agreements have drawn criticism from some of his Democratic presidential rivals. Also, Kerry has been criticizing President Bush for the loss of American manufacturing jobs overseas, a raw-nerve issue in Wisconsin as well.
The calls drew criticism from the campaign of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who is striving to make inroads against front-runner Kerry in Wisconsin. Local talk radio also faulted Kerry on the calls Tuesday.
A number of Milwaukee residents called Charlie Sykes' radio show on Tuesday morning, I then was the first to write about it, which then got picked up by a number of bloggers (thanks everybody!) and then the Mother-Of-All-Bloggers, the veritable Instapundit. What a day!
Always swing hard, in case you hit it . . .
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