Comments on Advance Indiana™: Carson Aid Recounts Her AIPAC Experience

For the record: no, my name is not Erin.As to the ...

2007-10-01T12:01:00.000-05:00

For the record: no, my name is not Erin.

As to the original post on Daily Kos, it should be noted that the point of the post, again, was not to disparge Rep. Carson, AIPAC, or any other entity.

It was to demostrate the problems with our system, and the influence of special interests as a whole.

Jason: Julia Carson has been elected 14 times. Vot...

2007-10-01T11:18:00.000-05:00

Jason: Julia Carson has been elected 14 times. Voters know her very well. That's why she continuously wins...

Republicans know she cant be defeated on her voting record -- that's why they have to resort to innuendo and personal cracks. Sadly.

I know Julia's been in congress a long time but I ...

2007-10-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

I know Julia's been in congress a long time but I think it had more to do with good-natured ignorance than anything else.

This reminds me of people on the left who think George Bush is a complete and total idiot, but also think he was able to orchestrate 9/11 and pull off the greatest government hoax in world history. People on the left, you can't have it both ways. People on the right, if you really think she's that far off, you've got to give her a margin of error when it comes to connecting the political dots. Even back then it wouldn't surprise me if she was having problems. After all Reagan had Alzheimers for half his presidency right?

The 1996 congressional election was not won on mon...

2007-09-30T21:03:00.000-05:00

The 1996 congressional election was not won on money alone. If they do not come out to vote you don't win. It does not matter how much money you have, you MUST get them out to vote. This is what was one in 1996 and continued throughout her campaign. The GET OUT TO VOTE is key

Wilson, I thought it was Pat Buchanan would penned...

2007-09-30T19:57:00.000-05:00

Wilson, I thought it was Pat Buchanan would penned the quote for Agnew.

Informed folk know that memorable phrase was actua...

2007-09-30T15:28:00.000-05:00

Informed folk know that memorable phrase was actually written by speechwriter Bill Safire - quite a wordsmith!

btw, I made a paraphrase, not a quote.

2007-09-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

2007-09-30T15:19:00.000-05:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

Quoting from Spiro Agnew now, Wilson? How far can ...

2007-09-30T14:55:00.000-05:00

Quoting from Spiro Agnew now, Wilson? How far can you sink?

If the writer had wanted you to know his identity,...

2007-09-30T14:51:00.000-05:00

If the writer had wanted you to know his identity, he would have used his name. Instead, he adopted a pseudonym which is one step up from AdvanceIndiana's multitudinous nattering anonymous nobodies of negativity.

Well then, Wilson, why don't you tell us who "she"...

2007-09-30T14:32:00.000-05:00

Well then, Wilson, why don't you tell us who "she" is?

It took me halfway through the original article to...

2007-09-30T14:04:00.000-05:00

It took me halfway through the original article to deduce who the author was - it's not Erin!

AdvanceIndiana seems to forget that Julia Carson w...

2007-09-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

AdvanceIndiana seems to forget that Julia Carson was elected to the Legislature in 1972 after 16 years of union and congressional staff work. When elected to Congress in 1996 she was no naive newcomer to campaigns, legislating, fundraising or lobbyists. Her ex-staffer was. She knew how to handle constituents and donors - she was not surprised at the pressures of satisfying many competing interests.

I just find it naive the Carson was shocked to fi...

2007-09-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

I just find it naive the Carson was shocked to find out a doner would want her to vote in their direction.

Pike voter

Gary Welsh said: "I thought you were working full-...

2007-09-30T13:41:00.000-05:00

Gary Welsh said: "I thought you were working full-time for the Trustee's office as a clerk? I guess now we know you were spending your time working on Julia's congressional campaign."

Of course I was! Many people volunteered - there were very few paid staffers. Lawyers aren't necessarily good at arithmetic. There are 168 hours in a week but 40 hours in government job. That leaves plenty of time to volunteer. Life is not all "billable hours" - sheesh!

Duh, 10 being that it is 2007. Again, not me.

2007-09-30T13:32:00.000-05:00

Duh, 10 being that it is 2007. Again, not me.

Gary, you are correct and I apologise for my accus...

2007-09-30T13:31:00.000-05:00

Gary, you are correct and I apologise for my accusation. The cache I looked at collapses posts over a period of time making your multiple February posts look like the earlier one about Dickerson contained a sentence about AIPAC which was, as you point, out from a later post in the same month. Again, I apologise.

I actually don't see any problem with Dickerson appealing to AIPAC for monetary support based on his position on Israel vs. the Congresswoman's voting record. I don't know if he tried, but that would have been perfectly acceptable in my opinion. I believe Brose McVey did try to do just that, though I don't think he got much traction.

Anon- that is very funny. I do not write on Daily Koz and am not a trial lawyer. I have also never worked for the Congresswoman in DC. In 1996, I was committed very visibly to State Rep. John Day. I do not know who the author of the Daily Kos post was though after looking at their post they do state that they took a 20 (or possibly 10- don't have it in front of me) year break from politics because of their disappointment in the system. I am not that old.

Erin authored the post on DailyKos. She doesn't li...

2007-09-30T12:59:00.000-05:00

Erin authored the post on DailyKos. She doesn't like the treatment it is being given so she's running around the blogs doing damage control. She is not fooling this reader. Think before you put your thoughts to pen next time Erin.

Wilson said, "I was there and intimately involved ...

2007-09-30T12:48:00.000-05:00

Wilson said, "I was there and intimately involved in the 1996 campaign - I recall no odd or special outreach to "Jewish voters" or AIPAC or "Jewish money". It was a hot national race - both sides received contributions from all over the country from donors supporting the 2 partisan candidates."

I thought you were working full-time for the Trustee's office as a clerk? I guess now we know you were spending your time working on Julia's congressional campaign.

Erin, Your assertion is a flat out lie. My only pr...

2007-09-30T12:46:00.001-05:00

Erin, Your assertion is a flat out lie. My only prior post on AIPAC concerned their opposition to an ethics reform proposal to end lobbyist-funded trips for lawmakers. I haven't deleted any of the old Dickerson posts. Why are you so upset at me? Shouldn't you be directing your anger at this former Carson aide who spilled the beans?

Sorry Gary but erin is more on point then you on t...

2007-09-30T11:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry Gary but erin is more on point then you on this one. This is not about the congresswomen, its about ALL in congress.

Look, Erin. She made a deliberate decision to soli...

2007-09-30T11:19:00.000-05:00

Look, Erin. She made a deliberate decision to solicit contributions from people outside her district who she had never met. She did it because she needed money, and she wanted to win. After she won, those folks expected her to vote a certain way and she acted surprised that they expected anything from her. That's what this story is about. What is wrong with you? Do you not understand? God, get a grip on yourself Erin.

I love it. Gary is upset because a MOC didn't allow their vote to be sold.

Is everything ok with you Gary?

As someone who was around in the 96 campaign, and ...

2007-09-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

As someone who was around in the 96 campaign, and donated heavily to Miss Carson, and attended multiple fund-raising meetings run by Lacy Johnson, held at the upstairs meeting room of Milano Inn, I can tell you:

Gary is more correct than Erin.

But not by much.

The plain and simple truth is, Julia needed to raise a respectable amount of cash. I gave and solicited others because she had paid her dues and deserved the nomination.

All the establishment was behind Ann Delaney. It was vicious. Anyone who thinks Hillary Clinton's folks are mean, have nothing on Ann Delaney and her charges. Downright nasty. To this day, she won't speak to some Julia supporters. (True)

Julia raised some Jewish money, but most of it was tied up, via Marcia Goldstone and friends, by Ann. And, Indy has a disproportionate share of Jewish big donors. So the lists are there for the harvest.

Julia raised enough, in the end, to prevail. She stomped Ann Delaney. Mostly because she had the money to be credible, although she was outspent by Ann.

And every single consultant who came into that race, from DC, New York, or wherever, including some interesitng names who've gone on to fame, said the same thing: hit the Jewish lists. Why? Because they're used to getting hit on for money, and they understand the need for money in politics. Frankly, you'd get a "no" or "yes" without much trouble...unlike almost all other such fund-raising lists.

Doesn't make it right, wrong or indifferent. It just is.

Gary, your Feb. 1, 2006 article on Eric Dickerson ...

2007-09-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

Gary, your Feb. 1, 2006 article on Eric Dickerson has been edited on your site. However, if you google Eric Dickerson + AIPAC it shows a sentence from Advance Indiana that is no longer accessible on your site. Though, just because you delete something doesn't mean it is deleted from web archiving (just so you know my friend!) : )
That wouldn't have been about him doing outreach to "people outside his district" would it?? What did that post originally say Gary?

American Jews tend to vote 3 to 1 for Democrats. T...

2007-09-30T10:53:00.000-05:00

American Jews tend to vote 3 to 1 for Democrats. Their political contributions would tend to the same ratio. Until recently, with GOP total control of Washington DC, AIPAC's activities tended to focus on the Republicans since it was the party in power.

I was there and intimately involved in the 1996 campaign - I recall no odd or special outreach to "Jewish voters" or AIPAC or "Jewish money". It was a hot national race - both sides received contributions from all over the country from donors supporting the 2 partisan candidates.

Senator Carson and then Trustee Carson was involved in a number of activities involved in strengthening Jewish-Black community relations. She was also a leader in local progressive politics. Congressional candidate Julia Carson was thus no stranger to the Indianapolis Jewish community!