| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Fredric L. Rice" |
| Date: |
26 Dec 2004 12:44:13 PM |
| Object: |
Christians got swingled by the thousands |
I like this. Christains are so gullible when some Republican crooks
invoke the names of the Christian gods. I have to laugh and smile.
-=-
From The Washington Post, 12/26/04:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26026-2004Dec25.html
College Republicans' Fundraising Criticized
Front Organizations Were Used in Direct-Mail Campaign That Collected
Millions
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 26, 2004; Page A05
The College Republican National Committee is under fire for using
front organizations to collect millions of dollars in contributions,
including money from elderly people with dementia.
During the 2004 campaign, the group sent out direct-mail solicitations
under such letterheads as "Republican Headquarters 2004" and
"Republican Election Committee."
One four-page letter asked prospects to send $1,000 together with an
American flag pin for President Bush to wear to "Republican
Headquarters" to ensure that Bush knows "there are millions who are
giving him the shield of God to protect him in the difficult days
ahead."
In small print at the bottom of one page, the letter notes:
"A project of and paid for by College Republican National Committee."
Many donors complained that they thought the money was going directly
to the Republican Party, and not to the college group, which no longer
is affiliated with the GOP.
The controversy over the letters has produced angry responses from
leaders of state College Republican chapters, including those in
Washington state, North Carolina and New York.
The University of Washington College Republicans approved a resolution
calling on Eric Hoplin, chairman of the national committee, "to take
full responsibility for his actions," acknowledge that those actions
have substantially harmed the College Republicans grass-roots
organization and "promptly resign."
Dan Centinello, New York College Republicans chairman, complained that
the national leaders had not taken prompt and decisive action to
correct the situation.
"I don't want to see hard work by all of us be tarnished by a
fundraising scandal," he said.
Internal disputes over fundraising tactics have been brewing among
College Republican groups for at least three years, but they surfaced
in late October, after publication of damaging news reports in the
Seattle Times and the Durham Herald-Sun.
The Times reported that a number of elderly donors gave far more money
than they could afford.
"I don't have any more money," Cecilia Barbier, 90, a retired church
worker in New York who made more than 300 donations totaling nearly
$100,000, told the paper.
"That was all the savings. . . . Now I'm scrounging."
Monda Jo Millsap, 68, of Van Buren, Ark., told the Times that she
emptied a savings account, then got a $5,000 bank loan to give a total
of $59,000.
In the immediate aftermath, Hoplin e-mailed top state officials of the
organization, telling them not to speak to the news media.
"We need the story to go away," he wrote.
"The story is full of lies and distortions written by a well-known
liberal who is out to get us. If the press asks you about it, tell
them you have no comment."
Hoplin declined to be interviewed for this report.
He told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "We've come to discover that
there are a few donors who have been confused, a few donors who have
some form of dementia, who aren't entirely sure of the amount of money
that they're giving -- and how often they're giving."
He said that donors who believe they were misled will have their money
refunded.
Late last month, the College Republican executive board approved a
verbal resolution proposed by Hoplin to review and likely cancel the
organization's direct-mail contract with Virginia-based Response
Dynamics Inc., according to sources who attended.
The College Republicans once were an arm of the Republican National
Committee.
In anticipation of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, it
became independent and formed in April of that year what is known as a
527 organization under the tax code.
Since then, the College Republicans have raised $14.8 million, largely
through the direct-mail program run by Response Dynamics.
Ron Kanfer, who operates Response Dynamics, defended the company's
solicitations.
"When you mail out a million letters and somebody does something
inadvertently and it's pointed out, they get a refund," he said.
He added that all fundraising letters from the College Republicans are
approved by top officials of the group.
Kanfer noted that since Response Dynamics has taken on the account,
"the College Republican budget has increased twenty-five-fold."
The mailings, he said, use "the same lists that every Republican
fundraiser basically mails -- gun owners, pro-life activists,
businessmen who don't like attorneys. It would be absurd to think we
have lists called 'dementia people.' "
---
Stop Elmer Fudd web site: http://www.ElmerFudd.US/
Covert text file server: http://www.notserver.com/
"Rightards... the other other white meat."
"And by the way - about the name you keep calling us --
"rightards". Very nice of your liberal sorry fucked
up ***** to come up with a name that debases mentally
disabled persons." -- Charlie Wolf
.
|
|
| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: Christians got swingled by the thousands |
26 Dec 2004 01:36:28 PM |
|
|
Fredric L. Rice wrote:
I like this. Christains are so gullible when some Republican crooks
invoke the names of the Christian gods. I have to laugh and smile.
-=-
The mailings, he said, use "the same lists that every Republican
fundraiser basically mails -- gun owners, pro-life activists,
businessmen who don't like attorneys. It would be absurd to think we
have lists called 'dementia people.' "
---
not so absurd if they are all part of the same list.
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
