On the afternoon of the 2000 Presidential election the DNC, through the Martin Agency contracted a telemarketing firm called Telequest in Wichita Falls, TX . (Reference New York Times 11-11-200 David Firestone-Party mobilized…)
The DNC wanted to plant the story in the minds of Palm Beach County voters that the butterfly ballot confused them and they used Telequest to carry this out.
These were not machine calls, they were personal interviews (Reference New York Times-5,000 calls made with 2400 people telling callers they may have made a mistake).
Three days after the election, out of the blue, an Indian multinational named Essar Group made their first ever acquisition in the U.S.. The Essar Group bought a tiny telemarketing firm in Wichita Falls called Telequest.
Essar is closely connected to Hutchison Whampoa, in fact, Hutchison-Essar Telecom is one of the major Telecom corporations in the Pacific region.
After the acquisition of Telequest, press reports about the incredible activities that occurred in the offices at Telequest election night ceased. Later, Telequest was liquidated. Essar changed their mind about entering the U.S. telemarketing market.
I wonder if we'd be so quick to sell Hutchison Whampoa a US airline. And this is at least as sensitive.