College Republicans Executive Director Backtracks on Claim that "B" Hoaxer was a Volunteer
On Friday, October 24, it was reported widely that "B" hoaxer Ashley Todd was a volunteer for the McCain campaign, working for the College Republicans:
Ethan Eilon, executive director of the College Republicans National Committee, told FOX News that Todd was volunteering as a field representative through his organization and that she had taken a year off from her studies at Blinn College to work on the campaign.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/24/mccain-campaign-volunteer-admits-alleged-attack-hoax/
Ethan Eilon has now changed his story, stating that Ashley Todd was, in fact, a paid employee of the College Republicans:
Today it was confirmed by Ethan Eioln of the CRNC (College Republican National Committee) that she was contracted to be paid $3,600 for her August to election day work.
This of course begs the question, why did the McCain campaign and the College Republicans insist throughout the weekend that Todd was just a volunteer?
The Buzzflash story includes an interesting bit of information on the CRNC:
The CRNC separated from the Republican National Committee in 2001, becoming a Section 527 organization. But as recent experience with 527s shows, that doesn't mean that significant ties were cut. The Center for Public Integrity called it one of the most successful youth-oriented fundraisers in the country, noting the more than $10.6 million it raised in a span of two years. The CRNC is clearly a major player for the Republican National Committee, receiving $25,000 from the RNC in 2002. The Center for Public Integrity also notes that most of the money raised by the group is spent on direct mail efforts and paying field representatives such as Todd.
I find this to be important primarily because of the McCain campaign's regional communications director for Pennsylvania, Peter Feldman, who was involved with pushing the early, false aspects of the hoax story to the media, was also involved with the Jewish-smear email that was renounced over the weekend.
The hoax incident is still receiving attention in the media. Huffington Post has two entries today addressing the issue, both of which are derived in part from much of the coverage the incident received here at Talking Points Memo:
Marty Kaplan's "Move Over Willie Horton",
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/move-over-willie-horton_b_138196.html
and Karen Russell's "Ashley the Liar: Another Moment in 'The Black Kid Did It' History":
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-russell/ashley-the-liar-another-m_b_137876.html
Check out the video here. This discrepancy appears to be a general problem with them.
http://the-uptake.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1050/
"By Sam Mayfield
"If there's one thing both the McCain and Obama campaigns agree on it's that the election will be close in Florida. The McCain campaign says it has more volunteers than the Democrats and that ultimately gives them the edge. McCain's Central Florida Campaign Manger says ACORN and the Democrats have to rely on paid workers.
"However, the McCain campaign is hiring paid workers who sometimes also call themselves volunteers. The UpTake's Sam Mayfield talked to a few of them... and that's when one McCain campaign worker decided you shouldn't see what is going on and threatened to have her arrested."
October 28, 2008 12:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
I believe this story should be further investigated because, based on everything I have read, Ashley Todd did not work alone on this hoax. My suspicion is that it was planned by the Pennsylvania Republican Committee and probably had the approval of McCain himself. With all the mud he has come up with recently, it wouldn't surprise me if he stooped to this level of desperation. And McCain said Obama would say anything to get elected? McCain would DO anything to get elected at this point.
October 28, 2008 3:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not that I hold them in the highest regard, I think that if this had been planned by the PA Republican Committee, they would have done a better job—like at least getting the B oriented correctly.
October 28, 2008 8:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Republicans do have people working for the campaign that they refer to as "paid volunteers". Their language skills could use a little polishing...
October 28, 2008 9:08 AM | Reply | Permalink