Monday, September 22, 2008

Democrats' Hypocrisy On Use Of Nonprofits

WISH-TV's Jim Shella says that Democratic blogger Chris Worden is raising a stink over the appearance of a not-for-profit employee in one of Gov. Mitch Daniels' campaign ads. Shella writes at his blog:

The latest television ad about protecting children from Governor Mitch Daniels is under fire from a public defender in CHINS (Child in Need of Services) cases.

Chris Worden wrote a letter to Sharon Pierce of The Villages (she appears in the ad.) Worden says Pierce violates IRS rules by appearing in the ad because she works for a not-for-profit. He asks Pierce to call on Daniels to pull the ad.

The letter is being distributed by the Jill Long Thompson campaign. When asked about it the Daniels campaign had no comment.

It's funny that Marion County Democrats didn't see anything wrong with Andre Carson's campaign using Forest Manor Multi-Service Center to stage press conferences to promote his campaign at the center. And didn't one or more not-for-profit employees appear in ads for Carson's campaign?

Note to Carson campaign: Your campaign financial disclosure statements didn't disclose any reimbursement to Forest Manor for the use of their facilities for your political event.

11 comments:

Wilson46201 said...

Did Republican Campo pay the City Market for her announcement rally? They didn't even know beforehand she was going to use their facilities for her political event!

Gary R. Welsh said...

Gee, Wilson, I didn't know that bothered you. I didn't attend her announcement, but your YouTube clip suggested her announcement was outside on the public plaza.

artfuggins said...

Shame on Mitch....he seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth. This is the same Mitch who has mini billboards on Meridian Street but has the city Of Indianpolis send an elderly Center Township woman a letter threatening her if she does not remove her Obama and Carson sign. Have they no shame!!

POPA said...

My response to this post is on my blog, as I feel it is too lengthy to be appropriate for your comment section. I hope you will post my link so that I can tell my side of the story, as you arguably called me a hypocrite.

www.ipopa.blogspot.com

indyernie said...

Wilson If you don’t like what Campo did then file a complaint or shut the hell up. Campo being in a public space didn't violate any laws and your cry baby antics won’t change it.
The Carson camp has for years used public funds, city and county employees and city and county owned buildings and equipment to promote the least qualified candidates.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Chris, Nowhere in my post do I say that employees of Forest Manor were in a Carson ad. Please reread my post. Your post is a flat out misrepresentation on that point. Jill Long Thompson's campaign is touting your letter as noted by Jim Shella. The post does not identify you as the hypocrite, but rather the Democratic Party generally.This blog was roundly criticized and scoffed at by a paid blogger for the state Democratic Party for suggesting something was wrong with Andre Carson holding a press conference at Forest Manor, a nonprofit agency which receives government grant money, and for Sheriff Anderson and his chief deputy participating in it in full uniform. I don't recall you expressing any disapproval of Carson's actions at the time. Indeed, you were busy defending Carson.

POPA said...

AI:

I just reread your post, and this is what it said:

"And didn't one or more not-for-profit employees appear in ads for Carson's campaign?"

I made a rational assumption that you meant Forest Manor employees because you were talking about Forest Manor in the sentence before it. I think maybe you were being Fast Eddie Feigenbaum-type tongue-in-cheek when you called the Sheriff and his chief deputy "not-for-profit employees." In the future, you might just want to say it for all of us who might not get the "wink, wink."

Also, I suppose I could say have engaged in a flat out mispresentation when you say I was busy defending Carson. Maybe I was defending him on the fact that being Muslim isn't a basis for him to be disqualified from serving in Congress. I certainly wasn't defending him on this Forest Manor deal because, like I said, I didn't know anything about it.

My suggestion is to match apples with apples in the future, and people will understand you better. Thanks for posting my link.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Again, you misinterpret, Chris. Anderson and his chief deputy aren't represented as the nonprofit employees. That was an entirely different issue. And again, you deliberately misrepresent my views by claiming that I suggested Carson was unqualified because he is Muslim. That is a flatout lie and you know it. My point on his experience related to Carson only holding government jobs his grandmother helped him get, noting that he finished 88th out of 89 in his law enforcement academy class and the controversy surrounding the hiring of him and his cousin as excise police officers over more qualified candidates. Questioning Carson's decision to allow Louis Farrakhan to eulogize his grandmother and questioning him for relying on the support of an organization under scrutiny for terrorist ties to raise money for his campaign is not questioning his experience because he's Muslim. As a result of my reporting on the subject, Carson returned contributions from questionable individuals, notwithstanding the complete lack of coverage on this subject by the media. Carson must have agreed with my reporting or he wouldn't have returned the money.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Sen. Jeane Breaux, though, I might add has been quite an active campaigner for other candidates, including herself:

"Breaux is employed at the Forest Manor Multi-Service Center , a not-for-profit center based in Indianapolis , that offers homelessness prevention, workforce development, mental health, family counseling and youth and after school programs."

POPA said...

AI:

I'm not trying to misrepresent. Your writing on this one is just somewhat confusing, so let's get clarity. You say:

"And didn't one or more not-for-profit employees appear in ads for Carson's campaign?"

If this isn't a Forest Manor employee or the Sheriff and his Chief Deputy, who SPECIFICALLY are you talking about?

You said I was "busy defending Carson." Did you mean to imply that I was busy defending Carson TO YOU specifically? If so, you can understand why someone might think you meant on the Forest Manor issue, right? But if you meant I was defending him just in general (meaning as a proponent), then me saying I was defending him against charges that he couldn't serve as a Muslim wouldn't have been directed TO YOU then, would it?












the "not-for-profit employees" are NOT

Gary R. Welsh said...

Figure it out yourself, Chris.