Decision Virginia

Tonight Democratic consultant Adam Sharp tweeted that he received an automated call at home from someone claiming to be Sarah Palin asking him to vote for Bob McDonnell.  Sharp asked his fellow Democrats to spread the word about Palin’s 11th hour support for the Republican.

Sharp spoke to the liberal blog Blue Virginia about the call, but then stopped taking phone calls on the topic.

Sharp, wasn’t the only voter to get a similar call tonight. NBC12 producer Michelle Jackson talked a Republican voter in Fauquier County who received call from someone who claimed to be Sarah Palin, but this voter told us, that it “Didn’t really sound like her.”  She hung up when she realized that the call was a series of many automated calls that she had received during the campaign, so she didn’t learn who paid for the call, or for that matter who “Palin” was asking her to vote for.

What she did do was notice was that the number that the phone call came from was saved in her caller id. The number came from a phone registered to Paul Rohrer, from Chesterfield. A search of the number, finds people complaining about similar calls coming to their phones. I tried to call the number tonight, there was no answer and the voice mail said the inbox was full.

Both the Republican Party of Virginia and the Bob McDonnell campaign said they had nothing to do with the call. I have also put a press inquiry in to SarahPAC, Governor Palin’s current political arm for a comment.

There are any number of scenarios, that could’ve led to these calls going out, very few of which could be connected to Sarah Palin or Bob McDonnell. Aside from the fact that the McDonnell campaign has worked very hard to distance himself from the controversial former Governor, Palin herself has been a vocal critic of Robo-Call politics. At one point during the presidential election Palin called on her own campaign to stop the practice. Lending her voice to this type of effort, would be a direct about-face from her prior statements.

I am continuing to look into this situation and am hoping to learn more in the morning. If you received the call, and happened to record it, please e-mail me at rnobles@nbc12.com

***UPDATE***

I have now received a full recording of the phone call that is going out across the Commonwealth tonight from someone claiming to be Sarah Palin. Now that I have heard the full call, some of the questions surrounding it have been answered.

First- The call is not in support of Bob McDonnell or any of the Republican candidates for statewide office. The voice on the phone just asks you to “Vote for Sarah Principles” on Tuesday. No specific candidate is mentioned.

Second- The call is paid for by the “Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition”, which may be is connected to this group that has a website that espouses Conservative beliefs and features pictures of the organization’s members with Bob McDonnell.

What we still don’t know for sure is if the person on the phone is actually Sarah Palin. The caller displays a distinct accent, which Palin and/or Tina Fey have made famous, but to say the individual is unequivocally Sarah Palin is impossible.

Judge for yourself:

Here is the transcript:

Woman’s voice: “Virginia! Hello, this is Sarah Palin, calling to urge you to go to the polls Tuesday to vote for Sarah principles. The eyes of America will be on Virginia and make no mistake about it, every vote counts. Don’t take anything for granted, Vote your values on Tuesday and urge your friends and family to vote too. (inaudible)

Man’s voice: “Paid for by the Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition”

The call was provided to me by Gary Reinhardt, an independent candidate for Delegate in the 65th District. He told me that when he first heard the call, he had no doubt that it was Palin, but after listening back a few times, he was now starting to question the call’s validity.

In the morning, I plan to reach out to the Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition and I hope to learn something definitive from the Palin camp as well.

**UPDATE #2**

It is indeed Sarah Palin. Her spokesperson, Meg Stapelton confirmed as much to the Washington Post and CNN.

Ryan Nobles – bio | email

I am pleased to announce that two of Virginia’s most prolific partisan bloggers will join NBC12 for our extensive election coverage this coming Tuesday night.  Ben Tribbett, author of the popular left leaning blog “NotLarrySabato” and Norm Leahy of the right leaning “Tertium Quids” will offer their unvarnished analysis live on NBC12-TV and   NBC12.com.

While Tribbett and Leahy both blog from a partisan perspective, both are not afraid to give an honest and sometimes harsh perspective of politicians and parties from both sides.

Ben Tribbett currently serves as the Executive Director of Accountability Now and Political Director of Firedoglake. His blog “NotLarrySabato” has earned the reputation as “America’s Most Popular State-Level Blogger”. Many Democratic candidates and campaigns have turned to his popular blog as a vehicle to get out their message out through the use of viral video or information.

Tribbett’s work has been featured on such national blogs as the Huffington Post and he recently made news during the Democratic primary when Terry McAuliffe accepted his endorsement via YouTube video.  You can follow Ben on Twitter at @NotLarrySabato

Norman Leahy serves as the vice president for public affairs at Tertium Quids. In this role, he develops public outreach and messaging strategies to help advance conservative and free market principles in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

He is one of Virginia’s most seasoned and respected political bloggers. From 2002-07, Norman published “One Man’s Trash,” a blog devoted to Virginia politics and media criticism. Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Jeff Schapiro called the blog “a hoot,” while Daily Progress reporter Bob Gibson dubbed it “feisty.” Today, he is a regular contributor to Freedom & Prosperity Radio, which is
heard in Charlottesville, Roanoke, Blacksburg and Martinsville in the very near future.

A graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and the Colorado College, he was a 2006 fellow at the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. Norman and his family live in Henrico County. You can follow Norm on twitter at @Tertiumquids

I will have a full preview of what to expect on Election night on NBC12-TV and NBC12.com coming up tomorrow on Decision Virginia.