UNBELIEVABLE (some politicians will do anything to win an election) ............
Posted by Felicia Sonmez on the Washington Post, October 15, 2012 at 4:41 pm
"The head of a northeast Ohio charity says that the Romney campaign last week
“ramrodded their way” into the group’s Youngstown soup kitchen so that GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan could
get his picture taken washing dishes in the dining hall.
Brian J. Antal, president of the
Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by
the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped
by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University.
“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of
our funding is from private donations,” Antal said in a phone interview Monday
afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and
they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the
doors.”
He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even
accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the
dining hall.”
Ryan had stopped by the soup kitchen for about 15 minutes on his way to
the airport after his Saturday morning town hall in Youngstown. By the time
he arrived, the food had already been served, the patrons had left, and the hall
had been cleaned.
Upon entering the soup kitchen, Ryan, his wife and three young
children greeted and thanked several volunteers, then donned white aprons and
offered to clean some dishes. Photographers snapped photos and TV cameras shot
footage of Ryan and his family washing pots and pans that did not appear to be
dirty.
According to a Romney aide not authorized to speak publicly about the event,
the campaign followed its usual protocol for impromptu, on-the-road stops by
candidates: A staffer was dispatched to the St. Vincent De Paul Society ahead of
Ryan’s visit Saturday morning and spoke with a woman in charge on site, who said
that it would be fine for the congressman to stop by. The campaign did not
contact Antal ahead of the visit.
The woman on site told the Romney staffer that some of the volunteers
had already left, but that most were happy to remain until Ryan
arrived, according to the aide. After Ryan left the soup kitchen, the
woman approached a campaign staffer and expressed gratitude for Ryan’s visit,
the aide said.
Chris Maloney, Ohio communications director for the Romney campaign,
said that the visit by Ryan had been intended to highlight the work of the
soup kitchen volunteers.
“Our campaign and Congressman Ryan were pleased to bring attention to
the meaningful charitable contributions the St. Vincent De Paul Society makes to
people in need,” Maloney said.
Antal, a self-described independent voter, said that he “can’t fault
my volunteers” for letting the campaign in but said that the campaign
“didn’t go through the proper channels.” "
Read the rest HERE
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