bodypilot90 0 #1 June 24, 2004 Felons Paid in Voter Registration Drive Wednesday, June 23, 2004 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — 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. 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 of the felons lived in halfway houses, and at least four returned to prison. 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. Felons on probation or parole are ineligible to vote in many states. Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center, which represents election officials, said he is unaware of any laws against felons registering other people to vote. A review of federal campaign finance and state criminal records by The Associated Press revealed that the names and hometowns of dozens of ACT employees in Missouri, Florida and Ohio matched those of people convicted of crimes such as burglary, forgery, drug dealing, assault and sex offenses. Although it works against the re-election of President Bush, ACT is an independent group not affiliated with the Kerry campaign — federal law forbids such coordination. Yet ACT is stocked with veteran Democratic political operatives, many with past ties to Kerry and his advisers. ACT plans to spend about $100 million on initiatives to get out the vote for the presidential election, which likely will turn on how well Kerry and Bush can get their supporters to the polls. ACT does not believe the felons it sends door to door pose a threat to the public, said Mo Elleithee, a Washington-based spokesman for the group. "We believe it's important to give people a second chance," Elleithee said. "The fact that they are willing to do this work is a fairly serious indication that they want to become productive members of society." Although ACT asks job applicants to cite their criminal history and hires some felons and not others, Elleithee would not reveal how many felons ACT has hired to canvass neighborhoods and register voters. They earn $8 to $12 per hour. Elleithee confirmed that felons have been hired in Missouri, Florida and Ohio and said it is possible that felons have been hired in the other 14 states in which it's conducting its drive: Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Ed Gillespie, the chairman of the Republican Party, issued a statement calling the policy "disturbing" and questioned the group "proudly hiring felons convicted of sex offenses, assault and burglary to go house to house and handle sensitive personal information." Citing security concerns for the public and for the felons, the Missouri Department of Corrections in April banished ACT from its pool of potential employers for parolees in its halfway houses in Kansas City and St. Louis, department spokesman John Fougere said. Five ACT employees lived at the Kansas City Community Release Center and two others at the St. Louis Community Release Center earlier this year. "From a public safety standpoint, we didn't want offenders to be in a situation where they would be handling that information," Fougere said. Officials also were concerned the door-to-door campaign would put felons at greater risk of false accusations, he said. Among the ACT employees in Ohio was a woman convicted of gross sexual imposition. She completed her parole 12 years ago. "If she was still on parole that job wouldn't have been approved," said Andrea Dean, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Correction. "People who have been out of prison and haven't had any other problems with law enforcement, they should be given that second chance to be viable citizens." In Florida, most felons released from prison are not on parole or probation. "If they're released from our custody and there is no other supervision ... we can't prohibit them from taking a job like this," said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Corrections. ACT adopted a policy against employing violent felons this spring, Elleithee said, but he declined to release the policy or to describe what the group considered violent. "We're constantly looking internally to better our hiring practices," he said. "But the bottom line is we would never hire anyone who we felt was a threat to anyone else." At least two felons who were stationed at a Missouri halfway house have since moved into the community and are again employed by ACT "and are a tremendous part of our team," Elleithee said. Four of ACT's former employees living at a Missouri halfway house have since been returned to prison - two for drug violations, one for endangering the welfare of a child and another for walking away from the facility. None of the incidents was related to their work for ACT, Fougere said. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,174 #2 June 24, 2004 It's a travesty when criminals get mixed up in politics. Magruder, Mitchell, Erlichmann, Halderman, Agnew, Liddy, Hunt, North (got off on a technicality), Poindexter...... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #3 June 24, 2004 Next thing you know, convicted criminals will be in the White House!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #4 June 24, 2004 Or in the Senate.... Ted Kennedy Chris ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #5 June 24, 2004 QuoteOr in the Senate.... Ted Kennedy Chris I didn't vote for him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #6 June 24, 2004 How could you have? You live in PA right? ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #7 June 24, 2004 Ok, wouldn't have voted for him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennedy 0 #8 June 24, 2004 Yet you're one step shy of campaigning for his protege (and political clone, minus a murder here and there) What gives?witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #9 June 24, 2004 QuoteA 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. Although it works against the re-election of President Bush, ACT is an independent group not affiliated with the Kerry campaign — federal law forbids such coordination. Yet ACT is stocked with veteran Democratic political operatives, many with past ties to Kerry and his advisers. To me it says TONS about a cannidate that is pandering to FELONS for votes. Also ACT is wrong to allow felons to gather personal information on people."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markd_nscr986 0 #10 June 24, 2004 Jeez, K, there you go.....picking on my role models againMarc SCR 6046 SCS 3004 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #11 June 24, 2004 QuoteTo me it says TONS about a cannidate that is pandering to FELONS for votes. But aren't POLITICIANS felons too?....where's the surprise?__________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennedy 0 #12 June 24, 2004 Only a few are actually felons, most have just been convicted of misdemeanors (if anything). The funny thing is, it's a felony for any convicted felon to have armed security personnel. I wonder if Ted Kennedy's bodyguards are packing...witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #13 June 24, 2004 QuoteI wonder if Ted Kennedy's bodyguards are packing... Yes they are...FLASKS __________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,174 #14 June 24, 2004 QuoteJeez, K, there you go.....picking on my role models again June 21, 2004 "HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) -- Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland will announce his resignation Monday night, amid a federal corruption investigation and a growing move to impeach him, two sources told The Associated Press. The governor was planning to announce his resignation on a live television address to the state at 6 p.m., an administration official and another source familiar with the situation told the AP on Monday. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity. The governor's plans to resign were first reported Monday morning by WTNH-TV. Rowland's resignation would elevate Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell to governor. Rowland, 47, a Republican easily re-elected to a third term in 2002, admitted late last year that he lied about accepting gifts and favors from friends, state contractors and state employees."... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #15 June 24, 2004 QuoteYet you're one step shy of campaigning for his protege (and political clone, minus a murder here and there) What gives? He's not running against Bush. If he were, he'd have my vote. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markd_nscr986 0 #16 June 24, 2004 So I guess Neil Goldschmidt's(secretary of transportation under Carter and former mayor of Portland)sex with a 13 yr old could be one for the Democrat side of things?I think I see a pattern here.....republicans go for the payoffs,kickbacks, cronyism,nepotism and shakedowns and the democrats go for payoffs kickbacks cronyism,nepotism,shakedowns and sex with minors!!!Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunaplanet 0 #17 June 24, 2004 What's wrong with giving felons who have paid their debt to society a chance? Forty-two Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennedy 0 #18 June 24, 2004 With some of these guys, it's like asking a serial rapist to chaperone your daughter's sweet sixteen. Sure, he's 'paid his debt' but would you want to be the one to do it? I have no problem with them getting a second (or even third) chance, but hiring them to handle sensitive information and canvas neighborhoods door to door, that's just not right.witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunaplanet 0 #19 June 24, 2004 Quotebut hiring them to handle sensitive information and canvas neighborhoods door to door, that's just not right. They have every right you do...including going door to door. You thinking it's "not right" is your opinion. Bottom line, they are legally allowed to do this...just like you and I. Personally, I have respect for a group allowing these guys to perform this important task. Too many narrow-minded people in this world want to never forgive people for mistakes they have made. Forty-two Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,174 #20 June 24, 2004 QuoteSo I guess Neil Goldschmidt's(secretary of transportation under Carter and former mayor of Portland)sex with a 13 yr old could be one for the Democrat side of things?I think I see a pattern here.....republicans go for the payoffs,kickbacks, cronyism,nepotism and shakedowns and the democrats go for payoffs kickbacks cronyism,nepotism,shakedowns and sex with minors!!! You forgot lying to Congress and burglary on the Republican side and possession of crack for the Dems.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #21 June 24, 2004 QuoteYou forgot lying to Congress and burglary on the Republican side and possession of crack for the Dems. Can I get a shout out for soliciting prostitution all around? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peacefuljeffrey 0 #22 June 24, 2004 QuoteQuotebut hiring them to handle sensitive information and canvas neighborhoods door to door, that's just not right. They have every right you do...including going door to door. You thinking it's "not right" is your opinion. Bottom line, they are legally allowed to do this...just like you and I. Personally, I have respect for a group allowing these guys to perform this important task. Too many narrow-minded people in this world want to never forgive people for mistakes they have made. You don't seem to draw any distinction between it being their right to have this job, and it not being a particularly good thing to have them in this job. I'm not saying (and I don't think anyone else is saying) that felons whose sentences have been served should be barred from this job, but I certainly think that there is no benefit to striving to get them employed this way. Just like a child rapist might be released from prison and have the "right" to any job he wants. Does that mean we should relish him going to work at a day-care center? Should we bar him from such employment? Debatable. Should we encourage him into such employment? NO. Why the hell would we?! There are lots of things that various segments of the population are legally entitled to do, but I would prefer they did not bother doing. I would go so far as to say I'm particularly glad when felons don't care to be involved in the political process and piss away their right to vote because they don't value it. I'd rather that anyone who has demonstrated a disregard for the law keep his views out of the public arena, and waste his right to affect who gets elected. I'm very happy when felons don't bother to vote. A felon wasting his vote is nothing to cry over, and certainly it is not worth spending valuable time working to remedy, when there are far more worthy social ills to address. It certainly does say a lot about someone when they take a vested interest in getting felons to vote. Let's not pretend that these Democrats are "getting out the felon vote" because they believe that once re-enfranchised, felons will vote a 50-50 split Democrat and Republican! No, they realize that felons are keen on putting soft-on-crime Democrats into power so that after their next arrest, they won't do as much time. The public should chastise Democrats for attempting to pour so much felonious criminal opinion into national election politics. The media certainly are not questioning the great mandate to bring as many felons as possible to the polls. No newspaper editorials I've read lately question the wisdom or the benefit of having those who've proven themselves untrustworthy and antisocial taking as large a role as they can in forming our government. As far as the legality of felons doing this door-to-door work, there are plenty of jobs that felons are not allowed to have. What would be so wrong with this job (dealing with sensitive information/dealing with people in their homes after being a rapist or burglar) being off-limits to convicted felons? Blue skies, --Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunaplanet 0 #23 June 24, 2004 QuoteYou don't seem to draw any distinction between it being their right to have this job, and it not being a particularly good thing to have them in this job. It is their right and it's a good thing. Just because you discriminate in your life doesn't mean we all have to. It's great that there are those unlike you that give people chances and strive for a better tomorrow. Forty-two Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bodypilot90 0 #24 June 25, 2004 QuoteIt is their right and it's a good thing. Just because you discriminate in your life doesn't mean we all have to. It's great that there are those unlike you that give people chances and strive for a better tomorrow. call it what you will but i call it being smart. If I had a beer and wine store I would NOT want a drunk, ex or current to work there. I would not hire a child molester to work as a school bus driver or a gym teacher. Would you let Hannibal Lecter take care of your aging mother? I can not believe how blind people can be just to be PC Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #25 June 25, 2004 That is not true!!!!!!!!!!!! A convicted Child Molester can NOT get a Job in a daycare even if he has served his time. Not in the state of MA, and CT anyway. Your record must be clean. Chris ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
