Did Gov. Romney give relief supplies to supporters to donate to his relief effort?

Williebee · Oct 31, 2012

Wonder how real this one is.

According to the Atlantic Wire:

Mitt Romney was really concerned that his "Storm Relief Event" in Kettering, Ohio yesterday would look like a dud, so he and his team stocked their donation tables with $5,000 worth of supplies at Walmart. ..

And apparently, the event was so manufactured that they allowed supporters to use the donations which were bought by the campaign, to donate back to the campaign.

Is the story accurate? Or a partisan hack job? Or both?

I know next to nothing about the Atlantic Wire. But I'm going to be finding out.

Either way, the tide of politics based stupidity seems to get higher by the hour.

rugcat · Oct 31, 2012

From Slate:

The plan was for supporters to bring hurricane relief supplies to the event, and then deliver the bags of canned goods, packages of diapers, and cases of water bottles to the candidate, who would be perched behind a table along with a slew of volunteers and his Ohio right-hand man, Senator Rob Portman. To complete the project and photo-op, Romney would lead his crew in carrying the goods out of the gymnasium and into the Penske rental truck parked outside.

But the last-minute nature of the call for donations left some in the campaign concerned that they would end up with an empty truck. So the night before the event, campaign aides went to a local Wal Mart and spent $5,000 on granola bars, canned food, and diapers to put on display while they waited for donations to come in, according to one staffer. (The campaign confirmed that it "did donate supplies to the relief effort," but would not specify how much it spent.)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox...rm_relief_events_just_send_money_instead.html

I don't see this as a big deal -- just more idiotic political ineptitude and posturing.

But there is this:

This is not only phony but—more importantly—teaches a really bad lesson about how to help people in need. As I wrote in last column's December on food drives, in-kind donations to charitable organizations are extraordinarily inefficient.

The Red Cross, for example neither solicits goods nor accepts them. They need cash and blood, not jars of peanut butter.

whistlelock · Oct 31, 2012

Hilarious!

Alessandra Kelley · Nov 1, 2012

rugcat said:
From Slate:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox...rm_relief_events_just_send_money_instead.html

I don't see this as a big deal -- just more idiotic political ineptitude and posturing.

But there is this:The Red Cross, for example neither solicits goods nor accepts them. They need cash and blood, not jars of peanut butter.

It sounds like manipulation of iconography to promote an imaginary and inaccurate view of reality, something which as a visual artist I find offensive no matter who is doing it.

The point about goods is well made. Years back one of our grocery co-ops stopped taking food donations for charity and switched to cash only. It was a difficult transition -- giving actual food items feels viscerally more satisfying -- but it makes sense.

If you are relying on food donations, you tend to have a random assortment of small amounts of many different foods, not all of which are healthy or still fresh, which must be distributed equitably to the needy.

With cash donations the charities can efficiently buy large quantities of the most needed foods.

It's less feelgood for the donors, but then in all of this the feelings of the donors are the least important part.

Or should be, anyway.

Don · Nov 1, 2012

"granola bars, canned food, and diapers to put on display while they waited for donations to come in"

Anybody who's ever rung a bell knows you don't start off with an empty kettle. The donation plate is always seeded before it's carried down the aisle. I see this as a typical marketing ploy for charity collections.

Did Gov. Romney give relief supplies to supporters to donate to his relief effort?

Williebee

Capeless, wingless, & yet I fly.

rugcat

Lost in the Fog

whistlelock

Whiskey Rebel

Alessandra Kelley

Sophipygian

Don

All Living is Local