Do not do your good deeds in front of people to
be seen by them, Do not sound a trumpet before you go as the hypocrites do.
The
"compassionate conservative" part of Paul Ryan's campaign hit a snag
last week, but the chief casualty may be the soup kitchen featured in his
attempt at a phony photo op:
Crooks and Liars :
In the wake of Rep. Paul Ryan's embarrassing soup
kitchen photo-op last week,
the organization that runs the facility tells The Huffington Post that donors
have begun pulling their money out of the Youngstown, Ohio charity.
Ryan may have suffered a
few late-night jokes, but the fallout for the soup kitchen appears to be
far more bruising. Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent
De Paul Society, confirmed that donors have begun an exodus in protest over
Ryan's embarrassment. The monetary losses have been big. "It appears to be
a substantial amount," Antal said. "You can rest assured there has
been a substantial backlash."[..]
Antal's charity represents the kind of organization that conservative
Republicans might champion. But that was before the Ryan incident went viral a
few days ago. [..]
The hollowness of the incident was further exacerbated with the knowledge that
the brief exchanges between Ryan and the few (possibly) homeless people still
at the kitchen were not open to reporters.
"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." said Brian Antal. And for
that statement, the head of the St. Vincent De Paul Society got flack from the
Right as well:
"Ryan supporters have now targeted Antal and his soup
kitchen, Antal said, including making hundreds of angry phone calls. Some
members of Antal's volunteer staff have had to endure the barrage as well, he
said. "The sad part is a lot of [the callers] want to hide behind
anonymity," he said, adding that if someone leaves their name and number
he has tried to return their call. In addition to phone calls, people have
posted a few choice words on the charity's Facebook wall, including statements
like "I hope you lose your tax [sic] exempt status," Anyone who is
thinking about donations to you should think twice" and "Shame on you
Brian Antal!"
American Bridge's latest video shows just how much Ryan's budget cuts would
effect soup kitchens like St. Vincent De Paul's in Youngstown.
The Efficacy of Campaign (In)Competence.
Amidst all of the hoots and laughter, the soup kitchen debacle should point out
the incompetence of the Romney-Ryan campaign: after all, it followed "I'm
Not Concerned About The Poor", "47%", "We Shop
Costco", "Unemployed Big Bird", "Paul Ryan's Work
Out", and "Binders Of Women". The incident might even be seen as
a slap-in-the-face to any rational voter who knows that the Ryan budget has
shown disdain for the poor and elderly.
But this is far from a rational race, and dealing with a country that has been
consistently dumbed down in regards to the nation's political, economical and
social issue goals, the Right has fared better than it has deserved: a nation
that voted for George Bush twice will not be held accountable for its
stupidity, so Romney and Ryan get a free pass in regards to the ineptness of
their campaigns.
Casualties from the campaign may result in the poor and their charities
becoming poorer, so maybe Ryan got a head start in Youngstown.
And since Ryan will definitely not reimburse St. Vincent's for the damage his
publicity caused, maybe we should leave it to people who really care:
Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, P.O. Box 224, Youngstown, Ohio
44501. Or you can donate
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