Law-Breaking RNC? MSNBC Insists McCain 'Robo-Calls' Might Be Illegal

In the latest wave of defensive fervor against connecting Obama and bomber Bill Ayers, some journalists are emphasizing that "robo-calls" from the RNC could be "illegal," despite the fact that in most federal and state jurisdictions, laws against recorded telephone soliticitations carve out an exception for political or non-commercial messages. Often required is an up-front acknowledgement of who is calling. A colleague caught this line at the top of the 11am hour on Friday on MSNBC, with anchor Tamron Hall breezing through a quick campaign update (en route to cooing over Colin Powell’s expected declaration that he’s an Obama-supporting Code Pink liberal):

HALL: So it's no secret both men have been hitting each other hard on the campaign trail, with McCain, though, recently hitting Obama on his ties to '60s radical Bill Ayers. Now McCain’s following up with possibly illegal robo-calls being placed to voters in key states.

CALLER: Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC. You need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.

Notice how MSNBC singles out the Republicans. Are they suggesting that the DNC and the Obama campaign have not used "robo-calls" in this election cycle?

For some legal counsel, one source you could consider is an FAQ site of Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon – a Democrat, now running for governor. The law isn't exactly ironclad:

The word robo-call is not defined in federal or state law...Many, but not all, robo-calls are illegal under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). However, robo-calls made for non-commercial purposes typically are allowed subject to certain technical requirements. For all permitted robo-calls, the TCPA requires the individual or entity responsible for the call to be identified at the beginning of the message.

One question asks if all candidates have to follow the TCPA, Nixon's site reports:

Candidates for federal elections, as well as entities seeking to influence federal elections, face regulation by the Federal Election Commission. Various federal laws govern the manner in which political speech is communicated in those races. While the TCPA may not be one of those laws, you have the right to expect that all candidates and entities participating in the political process at any level provide you with a meaningful opportunity to decline to receive their calls.

With this much in doubt, it's worth suggesting that MSNBC is using this language to imply to the viewer that the Republicans are especially, uniquely eager to bend or break election laws to win.