RNC declares URBAN LEGEND -- RNC OUTSOURCING TO INDIA -- is FALSE and DEFAMATORY

Republican National Committee ^ | September | RNC

[PhiKapMom]

URBAN LEGEND -- RNC OUTSOURCING to INDIA is FALSE and DEFAMATORY (RNC Email)

Recently, an article published on two web sites in January is being again circulated among some independent "news" sites and bloggers. The article contains incorrect information about the "US Republican Party" using call centers in India to solicit contributions. It is becoming an urban myth perpetuated by these bloggers and too often making it into some real news sources. Below you will find the letter sent from our Legal office to one of the sites asking them to pull the article.

Please feel free to share/forward this letter to anyone that may ask about this situation.

-----Original Message-----

From: Charles Spies - Legal
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2003 1:23 PM
To: 'shishirb@rediff.co.in'
Subject: REQUEST TO CEASE AND DESIST

Mr. Shishir Bhaee
Editor
Rediff.com

Via E-mail: shishirb@rediff.co.in

Dear Mr. Bhaee:

It has come to the attention of the Republican National Committee ("RNC") that you have posted on your website an article entitled "Bush's party to raise funds via Noida, Gurgaon" with the byline "Bipin Chandran in New Delhi | January 31, 2003 11:59 IST."

That article contains false information that is defamatory to the RNC, and we hereby demand that you remove the article from your website and cease and desist from publishing this false information. Specifically, the article states:

"HCL eServe, the business process outsourcing arm of the Shiv Nadar-promoted HCL Technologies, has bagged a project to undertake a fund-raising campaign for the US Republican Party over the telephone."

The term "US Republican Party" can only be interpreted as referring to the RNC, and the RNC has never contracted with the referenced companies. In fact, all vendors for the RNC are contractually obligated to have their phone calls originate from the United States. If the author of the article had bothered to check with the RNC, we would have been happy to confirm this for him or her.

Although the referenced article is now six months old and discredited, the unfortunate fact is that individuals in the United States are continuing to cite to it in an attempt to make cheap political attacks against the RNC and President Bush.

Through this letter Rediff.com and you personally are now on notice that you are publishing false information. The RNC takes these matters very seriously and we trust that you will do the right thing and immediately pull the article from your website. If this false publication does not immediately cease, the RNC will pursue all available legal remedies. Please call me at (202) xxx-xxxx if you have any questions regarding this matter.

Cordially,

Charles R. Spies
Election Law Counsel
Republican National Committee

[dighton]

You nailed it.

Leftists Outsource Propaganda Machine Operations to India

[YaYa123]

I hope the RNC didn't wait till now to go after this lie full bore. I've got my fingers crossed that this time around, the RNC, Republican office holders, and the Bush Campaign will jump on dirty trick crap immediately.

Like that truck dragging ad...our guys never did attack that like they should have. I think the hesitation was we were afraid of looking unkind to Mr. Byrd's daughter who narrated it...but this time...damn the torpedos and full speed ahead! Like the dems did with Trent Lott.

[VRWCmember]

If they find it defamatory, then why are they letting US businesses do it?

1. The RNC does not have the power to regulate staffing policies of US businesses.

2. To be falsely accused of doing something unsavory is defamatory even if the activity itself is completely legal.

[vetvetdoug]

Is this part of Al Franken's book?

[G.Mason]

"This statement leaps to an unsubstantiated conclusion. It may easily be any organization working to raise funds for the Republican cause. The RNC was never specifically identified. Why not come clean and simply say that The RNC is contracted with USA based organization Z and that it has no knowledge of any Republican fundraising effort using the India or other foreign based company?"

The jury will disregard that remark.

[Mr. Jeeves]

This is pretty close to legitimate political satire. We of FR used to make up things like this about the DNC and the Lippo Group all the time a few short years ago. A simple denial by the RNC should be sufficient.

[PhiKapMom]

This has now been made public once again because the DemocRATs are sending this everywhere and websites are posting it even though it was debunked by RNC when it first came out.

Guess they figured it was about time to let Republicans flood the web with the truth about this Urban Legend being sent as fact by the RATs!

[VRWCmember]

This statement leaps to an unsubstantiated conclusion. It may easily be any organization working to raise funds for the Republican cause. The RNC was never specifically identified.

The articles specifically mention President Bush, however, and by extension references to the party would imply the RNC. Thank you for your contribution to the discussion, but the report could not be referring to some independent organization raising funds for the Republican cause.

[VRWCmember]

The jury will disregard that remark.

The jury shouldn't disregard the remark; the jury should RECOGNIZE that the remark is simply incorrect.

[deport]

There was a flurry of them posted and were pulled a few weeks ago, When this article was posted [GOP outsources fund-raising to India: You cannot be more stupid] I finally wrote WND and gave them the info on the denial that I had from UPI back in Feb. 2003. They then took it and went to the RNC and got a formal denial direct from the RNC and then published the following retraction of their article on their web site.... GOP denies outsourcing fund-raising Indian journal reported party using local call centers Posted: September 3, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

[kjam22]

hey mom.... enjoy the game Saturday night?

[HAL9000]

US Republican Party threatens to sue the INQUIRER

[deport]

The WND retraction is posted below for achivial purposes on this thread.........

---

---

---

GOP denies outsourcing fund-raising
Indian journal reported party using local call centers

---

Posted: September 3, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Describing it as a pernicious rumor that presidential Democratic candidates have eagerly gobbled up and run with on the campaign trail, the Republican National Committee denies outsourcing fund-raising to Indian call centers.

WorldNetDaily cited a report by the New Delhi-based Business Standard that a team of at least 75 people were slated to man the phones in call centers set up in Noida and Gurgaon, India, as part of a fund-raising blitz.

The business journal said operators, hired by HCL eServe, a U.S. subsidiary of HCL Technologies, would be required to telephone people in the United States and solicit their support for President George W. Bush and a donation for the Republican cause.

"It's plain not true," RNC spokeswoman Christine Iverson told WorldNetDaily. "It's not us."

A check of Federal Election Commission disclosure reports through July 22 by WorldNetDaily confirm neither HCL Technologies nor eServe received disbursements from the RNC. Answerthink and Computech, two U.S.-based companies that have joint ventures with eServe, are also not listed.

The Business Standard did not name the Republican National Committee and reported only that the "U.S. Republican Party" had contracted with the Indian firm.

Iverson speculated the report, which first surfaced in January and since has been picked up by various news organizations including the Washington Times and, most recently, the London-based newssite Inquirer.com, could be referring to some other Republican Party entity or conservative organization.

There are several other Republican groups that operate nationally but are separate from the RNC, including the Republican Governor's Association.

"We have tried so hard to beat this down," Iverson said, adding that the RNC's legal counsel had sent letters to the Indian magazine but had been unsuccessful in getting them to remove the story from its online archive.

Iverson said she didn't think the RNC even employed call centers within the U.S. for its fund-raising.

According to its website, HCL Technologies is "one of India's leading global IT services and product engineering companies ... with a presence in 14 countries" and a clientele that includes 40 Fortune 500 companies and some 330 others around the world.

---

[rightofrush]

So, enabling is different from participating?

[onyx]

The next time someone post this on Free Republic, please hit abuse immediately. The DemocRATs are posting this everywhere they can knowing full well it is false and defamatory.

Count on it!

[rightofrush]

So, enabling is different from participating?

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

The unspoken public statement here is that in the conscience of the Republican party, they know that outsourcing is wrong for America. Or, at the very least, they know it angers most Americans. I doubt for example, that the RNC would refer to a false compliment as defamatory.
Despite this, outsourcing continues to be ignored or condoned as a business practice of many major American corporations (I mean, many U.S. based multi-national corporations) by most of Congress and the White House.

[G.Mason]

"The jury shouldn't disregard the remark; the jury should RECOGNIZE that the remark is simply incorrect."

Sustained. ;)

[blackie]

The rats and their left-wing toadies in the media will stop at nothing to defame our President and his Party!

[nutmeg]

ping