Information on GOP "concern trolls": [View All]

[brentspeak]

Here is some info on these vermin, that people should be aware of in the 11 days before Election Day.
Do you see self-styled "Democrats" and "progressives" on these boards brazenly attempt to rally discontent against the Democrats? Make you think that your vote won't count - so why bother voting? Say something so over-the-top ridiculous it sounds like one of Rush Limbaugh's parodies of his stereotypical liberal? Then you may just have encountered a "concern troll".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concern_troll
A concern troll (the name is derived from the concept of an internet troll) posts to an internet forum or newsgroup, claiming to share its goals but actively working against those goals.

Typically, the concern troll expresses "concern" about group goals or plans for productive activity, urging members instead to attempt some activity that would damage the group's credibility, or alternatively to give up on group projects entirely.

Examples

In 2006, political concern trolls were "outed" in New Hampshire and New Jersey, after blog comments claiming to be from supporters of a political candidate were traced to the IP address of paid staffers for that candidate's opponent.

On September 21, 2006, the New York Times reported that Democratic weblog BlueJersey.com had traced multiple comments coming from pseudonyms like "cleanupnj" and "usedtobeblue" to a single IP address in the campaign offices of Republican candidate for the US Senate Thomas Kean Jr. (NJ). Comments from this IP address claimed to come from supporters of Kean's Democratic opponent Robert Menendez but expressed a range of "concerns" about Menendez. <1> Email signed by Kean's campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker also originated from that IP address--as did a later comment to BlueJersey signed "blueforever06" claiming to be from "an ardent democrat who used to enjoy reading this blog" and deploring their accusations of concern trolling against Kean's staff. <2> Questioned about these incidents, Hazelbaker denied involvement and told the New York Times, "It's a blog. You can't believe what's posted on blogs." Hazelbaker told reporters that the IP address in question (70.90.20.85) was not hers. The Newark Star Ledger reported, however, that it is "the same IP address that appears on numerous official campaign e-mails sent by Hazelbaker to The Star-Ledger through the course of the campaign." <3>

On September 25, 2006, Republican Congressman Charlie Bass acknowledged that one of his staffers had been posing as a "concerned" supporter of Bass's opponent Democrat Paul Hodes on several liberal NH blogs. Using the pseudonyms "IndieNH" or "IndyNH," Bass's policy chief Tad Furtado posted from a government computer in Bass's US Congressional office, saying (among other discouraging messages) that Democrats shouldn't waste time or money on Hodes, because Bass is unbeatable. <4> An eight-year veteran staffer in Bass's office, Furtado resigned after his role as "IndieNH" made local news. <5>"