Story here
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Democratic group crucial to John Kerry's presidential campaign has paid felons - some convicted of sex offenses, assault and burglary - to conduct door-to-door voter registration drives in at least three election swing states.
How does this work, exactly? "Vote for Kerry, or I'll sexually molest your daughter! And I know where you live..."?
America Coming Together, contending that convicted criminals deserve a second chance in society, employs felons as voter canvassers in major metropolitan areas in Missouri, Florida, Ohio and perhaps in other states among the 17 it is targeting in its drive. Some lived in halfway houses, and at least four returned to prison.
It appears the Kerry camp is so desperate for victory that it is utilizing known criminals to elicit support in swing states. Pathetic.
ACT canvassers ask residents which issues are important to them and, if they are not registered, sign them up as voters. They gather telephone numbers and other personal information, such as driver's license numbers or partial Social Security numbers, depending on what a state requires for voter registration.
That's a good idea. Give dangerous law-breakers your personal information. One supposes only a Kerry supporter would be stupid enough to go along with this.
Although it works against the re-election of President Bush, ACT is an independent group not affiliated with Kerry's campaign - federal law forbids such coordination. Yet ACT is stocked with veteran Democratic political operatives, many with past ties to Kerry and his advisers.
Why am I not surprised that an "independent" pro-felon group is shilling for the Democrats?
Ed Gillespie, the chairman of the Republican Party, issued a statement calling the policy "disturbing" and questioned the use of felons "to go house to house and handle sensitive personal information."In response, Elleithee cited Bush's speech Monday in Ohio, in which he applauded government, religious and community-based programs that give a helping hand to felons after they are released from prison.
"It seems to me that the president seems to agree with our philosophy that people deserve a second chance and deserve the right to re-enter society," Elleithee said.
If you like what the President is saying so much, why are you trying so hard to get him kicked out of office?
ACT adopted a policy against employing violent felons this spring, Elleithee said, but he declined to release it or describe what the group considered violent.
So, one assumes axe-murderers are no longer employed, but perhaps the occasional armed-robber or crack-dealer is okay...
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Jim Carruthers
Y'know I never thought somebody would smash "ass" and "hat" together so hard they could form a new element.
Taking quotes completely out of context and hoping nobody would notice, please tell me that the Scouting Wing of the US Fascist Keg Party isn't that desperate or slack-jawed.
2 - Ms. Tek
"Scouting Wing of the US Fascist Keg Party"
Sorry, that got a giggle out of me.
3 - RJ Elliott
Out of context? The link to the story is posted. I took nothing out of context (hell, I probably quoted half the story).
Do you have nothing to add re: the Kerry camp using felons for its re-election campaign?
4 - Jim Carruthers
What part of serving your debt to society do you not understand?
In a country where more than 1 per cent of your entire population is incarcerated every year, it will become almost impossible to find anybody 18 to 50 who hasn't served time.
Again, you're still pushing the boundaries of materials engineering developing dumbassonium.
5 - RJ Elliott
Jim:
It's mostly the same criminal types who are incarcerated each year. (The problem lies in their being released too soon.) The vast majority of Americans (myself included) have never been incarcerated.
You're simply ignorant here.
6 - bhw
The article says that ACT is an independent organization. Kerry's camp denies having anything to do with their efforts.
Then the article claims, "Yet ACT is stocked with veteran Democratic political operatives, many with past ties to Kerry and his advisers."
But it offers no names or other evidence to support this claim.
So you don't know that "the Kerry camp is so desperate for victory that it is utilizing known criminals to elicit support in swing states."
7 - Mac Diva
First, slicing up the full news story with one-line comments, but printing the bulk of it, does not make you any less guilty of copyright violation, RJ Elliott. Some of the things you do, thinking they are smart, are incredibly not.
Second, the article is poorly written. To know if this is really a problem, we would need much more information. How many ACT canvassers were there? What proportion of workers were they? Were they partnered with people without legal problems? Were many of them convicted of major felonies, or, were most moderate level offenders? Do most ACT workers complete their projects successfully?
Bingo, bhw! Reading the piece, I wondered if a summer intern wrote it. It never should have gotten past the copy desk the way it is.
Furthermore, if one has done much of anything, including order from catalogs or businesses, there is a good chance one dealt, unknowingly, with inmates or people under supervision. Phone farms are sometimes prison industries. (And some of them are now Internet, instead of phone.) The idea that felons are 'over there' is naive. They are chatting with you on the phone, next door, down the street, and sometimes right in the family. I'll wager that if RJ Elliott doesn't have a criminal record, his relatively close kinsman does.
8 - Hugh G. Rection
Jim: In a country where more than 1 per cent of your entire population is incarcerated every year, it will become almost impossible to find anybody 18 to 50 who hasn't served time.
RJ: The vast majority of Americans (myself included) have never been incarcerated.
MD: I'll wager that if RJ Elliott doesn't have a criminal record, his relatively close kinsman does.
You each have made quite a statement about the kinds of families you come from, for better or worse. Interesting to note the political affiliation in each case.
9 - Jim Carruthers
So, it's Thugs for Life, is it? Even if you serve the time for doing the crime, you are outcast. Yep, that's a "free" society I will keep away from.
I've had friends of mine do time in prison. They made mistakes, they paid their obligation.
This smug hypocrisy lets me know that you just haven't been caught yet. Repent!
10 - RJ Elliott
Not just jail, but prison? Nice...
Do you have any idea what recidivism rates are like? They aren't pretty. That's part of the reason why once-convicted felons tend to be distrusted by most of the rest of society.
Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me...
11 - Mac Diva
About 30 percent of the American population has had some experience with the criminal justice system. (Way too many, because of the way the system works.) Chances of having a felon in one's family or social network are quite high. I know some, and so does everyone else here.
12 - boomcrashbaby
I'd rather have a criminal vote than a criminal in office.
13 - RJ Elliott
"I'd rather have a criminal vote than a criminal in office."
More bumper sticker slogans.
So I'm guessing you disliked the felonious Clinton, Boom?
14 - bhw
I think that the ACT group is doing a fine thing. But can anyone tell me that they would be comfortable giving out their personal information to someone who has been convicted of burglary [possibly a repeat offender]? I'm all for rehabilitation and giving people a second chance, but I damn well expect honesty from a group who sends someone to my door asking for my personal info.
Then again, I wouldn't give any stranger who just shows up uninvited that info, no matter what the reason.
15 - boomcrashbaby
What felony was Clinton charged with? Is a blowjob a felony? Last I heard, he was absolved in white water, absolved in the loan scandal, deposed in the Paula Jones case, absolved in all 11 or 15 whatever charges that Starr threw at him. And the impeachment trial ended in an acquittal. What felony did Clinton commit?
16 - bhw
The Right gets their words mixed up: you say felatio, they say felony.
Technically, though, I think the impeachment was the conviction -- Clinton was found guilty [a.k.a., was impeached] but not removed from office for his "crime."
At least I think that's how it works.
17 - boomcrashbaby
source
No, bhw, Clinton was acquitted. He was NOT found guilty. The impeachment was a trial, not the result of the trial.
18 - boomcrashbaby
I'm not sure what happened to the link. Sorry. Here is the url:
http://pw1.netcom.com/~speaker6/lists/impeach.html
19 - bhw
Gotcha. So the impeachment is like an indictment. Thanks for the clarification, Boom.
20 - Debbie
"What part of serving your debt to society do you not understand?"
I understand all of it, he served his debt to society - hence he is 'free' (out of prision). It does not have anything to do with 'I'm free so everybody has to TRUST me now'. That - is - earned!!!! When someone shows that they have changed, that they have earned the trust of other people, then they will be trusted....not until then. It's really not that hard of a concept to understand, I was able to teach all three of my kids that if you want to be trusted then you don't betray the trust that you have built up, if you do then you have to start all over. (Just like in real life!!!)
I will not knowingly do anything that will make myself a victim, period.
"In a country where more than 1 per cent of your entire population is incarcerated every year, it will become almost impossible to find anybody 18 to 50 who hasn't served time."
This is faulty logic, it does not account for repeat offenders. Not everybody commits felonies.....as a matter of fact, MOST people don't commit felonies.
"So, it's Thugs for Life, is it? Even if you serve the time for doing the crime, you are outcast. Yep, that's a "free" society I will keep away from."
Run, Jimmy, Run!!!
They will be an outcast until they EARN the respect and trust of the people around them. Just because spent time in prison, does not mean that you changed for the better. It does not make you trustworthy. All it means is that you completed the punishment handed down to you - you could still be a rapist planning your next rape, you could still be a murderer planning your next murder, you could still be a robber planning your next robbery, or a burglar planning your next burglary.
21 - Jim Carruthers
Debbie, put down the crack pipe, and come out of the trailer where we can see them.
Stating the proportion of "murricans in prison in a given year (about 1 in 37) isn't an exercise in logic, it is a statistic.
While I have reservations about forcing people who don't really have much choice or opportunity to do a job people with choices don't choose to do (including telemarketing, etc), which would you prefer, they deny ex-cons a means to make an honest living (since incarceration is "supposed" to be about rehabilitating), or that the jobs go to illegal migrants?
After all, it's not like they can tap the pool you seem to come from.
22 - boomcrashbaby
It's interesting to note that those who look down on ex-cons with disdain, or those who support giving ex-cons a chance after they have paid for their crimes, tends to run along party lines. Or conservative vs. liberal.
One of the ways to make society better, is to give an ex-con a chance after he gets out of prison. He is less likely to be a repeat offender. If he is discriminated against after he gets out of prison, for likely being a 'repeat offender', then often he will have no choice but to become one.
23 - Mac Diva
Debbie said:
The problem with making that presumption is that the next felon is likely not a felon yet. He is the person sitting next to you on the train, taking your credit card in a store or asking you on a date. He just hasn't acted. . . sold the drug, extorted the money or stolen your identity . . . yet. It is impossible to avoid untrustworthy people. Assuming crimes will be committed by previous offenders is naive.
24 - Mac Diva
Here is a good statement of the law of impeachment of presidents:
FACT BOX
Impeachment:
Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office; it is only a formal statement of charges, akin to an indictment in criminal law, and is thus only the first step toward removal. Bill Clinton was impeached; he was not removed from office.
Source: WordIQ.com
However, there is a convicted felon in Clinton's family -- Roger.
25 - Jim Carruthers
While in Canada, we only have three more days to go before choosing our next government, there are how many months to go with this bullshit hysteria in the States?
And how soon til we see postings about Spics / Kikes / Niggers / Wops / Hunkies / Chinks ... etc For Kerry panic alarms from the ignorant blind machine?
Look, can you just post this bullshit in PigLatin and spare the rest of the world?