An automated phone-calling concern ("robo-calls") has been using a technique similar to "push-polling" in New Hampshire, reports Jake Tapper for ABC News:

"It was a series of questions that you would associate with a push poll," Campbell said, referring to the negative campaigning technique of pretending to be a pollster gathering information from voters when really the intention is to spread negative information about a rival.

The automated machine, which identified itself as being with Common Sense Issues, threw Campbell questions about whether he'd be less likely to support McCain if he knew the Arizona senator opposed a federal amendment to ban same sex marriage, or that he'd hurt the anti-abortion-rights cause by leading the charge for campaign finance reform.

Campbell said the call ended before he could even find a pen to start taking notes on what was being said, once he realized he was in the midst of some shady campaign tactics.

Earlier this month Common Sense Issues -- which is affiliated with supporters of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- set up an organization called Trust Huckabee, which began making calls in Iowa praising Huckabee and disparaging Huckabee's opponents.

Read the entire story at the link above. Huckabee, naturally, disavows all knowledge of their actions: "As I've said before, our campaign has nothing to do with push polling and I wish they would stop." This does illustrate one of the problems with the Brave New World of Campaign Finance Reform, wherein money which would have gone to the political parties as so-called "soft money" (and for which the spending and advertising the parties would be held directly responsible) now flows to shadowy "527" organizations with far less disclosure of who donates and how money is spent.

Huckabee has also been targeted by a third-party group in Iowa. McCain himself was embarrassed some weeks ago when an independent group began running ads in his favor, and all he could do also was publicly demand they be stopped.

All of which confirms the old wisdom that there are few problems so dire they cannot be made worse with a government "solution" . . .