Sometimes, what happens in the blogosphere is akin to the old telephone game.  What begins as reasonable reporting gets distorted by one partisan, then another, until the end result is a complete breakdown of truth and misrepresentation of the facts.  That is what Bob Johnson has done for us, in his most recent diary, here.

According to the other-Bob (my evil twin?):

Clinton backers are trying to disenfranchise black voters

The source for this was the following, as originally reported:

The call's suggestion that they're not registered has caused widespread confusion and drawn hundreds of complaints, including many from African-American voters who received the calls.

So, is the list actually targetting African Americans, as Bob Johnson says?  Or do we have a list that just happens to have some African Americans on it, some of whom have complained?  Well, the original piece at Facing South has the answer: "Wildly inaccurate mailing lists, supposedly aimed at 'unregistered single women,' but in reality reaching many registered voters as well as families, deceased persons and pets."  

For anyone to whom journalistic integrity were important, we would certainly need more information before fielding wild and inflammatory accusation that Hillary Clinton is attempting an evil scheme to disenfranchise Blacks.  Bob Johnson left his standards at the door.  And so, he took the liberty of morphing "wildly inaccurate" into "targeting Blacks."

In fact, here's the kicker!  The individual breaking the story?  The one that provided audio of the robo-call?  Yeah, he's white.  He also happens to be a Chair of the North Carolina DNC.  As he is a partisan player, it would be interesting to know which candidate, if any, he supports.

But this is the sort of information you only learn if you are concerned with the truth, rather than baseless drama-making.

As for whether this organization is being directed by Hillary, or anyone at her campaign?  That sure seems flimsy.  The evidence Bob Johnson offers us is as follows.  Exhibit A: Several people in this organization have ties to the former Clinton administration!  Debunk: so do most of the members of Obama's campaign.  Exhibit B: One of the women involved in this project donated money to Hillary's campaign.  Debunk: so have I.  That doesn't mean Hillary directs my action, nor does it mean that I speak for her campaign.  (The article also notes that another prominent member of this group has donated to both candidates.)

And this brings us to the ultimate litmus test: common sense.  How exactly does this scheme work?  According to Bob Johnson, we target people who have already registered to vote, and ask them to go register to vote.  This disenfranchises them because, apparently, they become so confused that they simply forget to vote (or are too depressed to vote?) on election night.

I'll be honest: I don't get it.

So folks, when the Obama campaign has a bad day, expect drama, expect distractions, and you can even expect a healthy dose of race-baiting (think of it as the salt and pepper sprinkled on top).  Rather than get angry, try to remain level-headed, focus on the facts, and find out what's really going on.

As for Women's Voice, Women's Votes, let me be crystal clear.  If they have done anything in violation of the letter or spirit of any law, they must stop at once, and they should be punished as appropriate.  If they have done anything deliberate to attempt to stop people from voting, they are to be condemned by all of us - Hillary and Barack supporters - alike.  From what I have read, it seems that what they are most guilty of is having terrible quality control and inaccurate calling lists.  The group was established in 2006, before either Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama had announced their candidacies.

Putting it another way, if this group is intent on interfering with the Democratic process, if that is their objective, then I will join hands with the most rabid Obamite in the blogosphere in an attempt to bring them down.  But we aren't there yet - what we know for sure is that this group is very disorganized.  Could it be more than that?  Yes.  But that's why we ask questions and seek answers before we reach for our pitchforks.  To suggest that Hillary is trying to disenfranchise Black voters is insulting, baseless, tabloid-style writing, nothing more.  Hillary has devoted her entire public life, preceding even her years in the White House, to increasing voter turnout and fighting against forms of voter suppression.  To borrow a phrase from her opponent, it is simply not in her DNA.

Update 1: "Bob Hall tells us that Women's Voices is now cooperating and trying to stop the North Carolina mailing." (source)

Update 2:

"There are some arguing that this was a pro-Clinton conspiracy, rather than a disruptive mistake, as the group claims; those suggestions are based in part on the fact that Maggie Williams used to be on the group's board, and that it's staffed with other former Clinton types. This seems, so far, unconvincing to me. Also on the board, for instance, is William McNary, the president of the progressive coalition USAction and a leader of Illinois Citizen Action who has been, reportedly, a vigorous Obama supporters since his 2004 Senate race.

(source)

Update 3: WVWV is registering voters for the general election, not for primaries. Therefore it is impossible that this activity has anything to do with the battle for nomination between Hillary and Barack. Learn more here, thanks to debcoop's excellent work.