Starting tomorrow the organization Vet Voice will run its first ad “Introducting Jon Powers” in support of the candidate here in NY-26. Their goal is to raise $10,000 in 10 days for the campaign.
Unfortunately I missed Jon Powers appearance on the Bob Lonsberry radio show last Friday but I have read a quick recap on The Buffalo Bean and listened to the radio personalities own assessment of the appearance yesterday afternoon.
LONSBERRY: How has Nancy Pelosi done as Speaker of the House?
POWERS: You know she’s been uh… (long pause) the Democrats have accomplished some, you know, pretty interesting things since they’ve been in there, it’s been a challenge Washington has definitely not done enough, we don’t have a policy to really secure our energy right now…
LONSBERRY: Should we drill off the coast of the United States?
POWERS: Well, before we talk about doing that let’s look at the 70 million already leased, environmentally approved…
LONSBERRY: See that’s what the Speaker said, is that a no then? No offshore drilling until… what do you mean look at the current leases? What do you mean look at those?
POWERS: I mean let’s use those up first before we go make that next step…
LONSBERRY: Drill, pump those out before we drill off the coast of the US?
POWERS: We’re all for going to drill in areas like that we’re seeing it right now along the southern tier, I mean there’s the northern part of Pennsylvania has been a huge economic boom coming in there to try and tap them for more oil but we also gotta look at the opportunity that we have in Western NY to be on the front end of this energy…
During his recap Lonsberry was pretty frank about Powers’ inability to “think on his feet” noting that when asked about his abilities the candidate cited countless meetings held with leaders in Iraq and across the U.S. but offered little in substance to define his abilities. “I didn’t ask about your social calendar,” was Lonsberry’s response.
The outcome of the appearance doesn’t surprise me considering the candidate’s continued inability to answer questions that don’t conform to talking points; a shortcoming I have witnessed is shared by his entire campaign. For example campaign communications director Victoria Dillion has refused to answer queries I have made about Powers’ much-hyped charity War Kids Relief pointing me instead to the campaign Web site containing letters and talking points. A review of the site only lead me to more questions that were ignored by Dillion. I have received a good deal of e-mail from others who claim that they too have been ignored.
A few months ago when asked about domestic drilling, a topic touched on by Lonsberry, campaign manager John Gerken simply responded that their energy policy was forthcoming leaving me with no idea where the candidate stood on the issue. To this day I cannot correctly identify Powers position on domestic drilling or a number of issues.
The few issues he has taken a stand on will take more political might than a first term Representative from the 26th of New York’s Congressional districts could muster. Promises of “ending the Iraq War” will not be fulfilled without a Commander in Chief who is ready to begin the pullout and will only take place on his timetable, not Mr. Powers. Likewise the promise of bringing “green jobs” to the area is shared by almost every Democratic Congressional candidate in the country this year. That means such an economic revolution will be very difficult to achieve even for the most politically astute player in Congress. If massive funding could be secured for this area the campaign provides no information on what “green jobs” or how they will be created, what parts of the District will benefit or any other specifics.
Simply put, after a year of campaigning voters are just leaning who Jon Powers is as a person while after a year they have almost no insight on who Mr. Powers intends to be as a legislator.
The Davis campaign has dropped some interesting information revealing that in 2004 rival Jon Powers was cited for disorderly conduct. Found via Buffalo Bean:
The flurry of charges and countercharges began when the Davis campaign produced documents showing that Powers, a graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, was cited by a Cleveland Heights, Ohio, police officer on Oct. 23, 2004, for disorderly conduct. In his citation, the officer accused Powers of directing obscene comments at him.
“People need to know this is the real Jon Powers,” Davis spokesman Luke Vaughn said. “He flagrantly disrespects a police officer, is found guilty of disorderly conduct and never tells anyone. After 10 years of scandal and embarrassing headlines, we don’t need more of the same — we deserve a congressman who will tell the truth.”
But Powers spokeswoman Victoria Dillon saw the incident differently. She said Powers was with college friends and fellow veterans in the area, and denied at the time and denies now that he ever used obscene language in addressing the officer. She also offered to produce witnesses to back up Powers.“At a time when he’s under investigation and running from revelations of election fraud and bribery, the Davis campaign is practicing the lowest form of politics by distorting simple facts,” Dillon said. “Jon was written a ticket for jaywalking, never arrested and never showed any disrespect to law enforcement.”
But a spokeswoman for the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court said Powers changed his plea of not guilty to the original Class 4 misdemeanor charge to “no contest” in connection with a minor misdemeanor on Jan. 11, 2005, and that there was no mention of jaywalking in the final disposition of the case.
Worse for the Powers campaign, which claims their candidate was written a ticket for jaywalking and never used disrespectful language, is the following document reported to be the actual citation for disorderly conduct in which the office claims Mr. Powers said, “What are you f**king looking at you motherf**king cop!”
Found via The Buffalo Bean:
For Immediate Release: Jim Domagalski
Tuesday, August 13, 2008
MEDIA ADVISORY
GOP Chairs Address Recent Questions Surrounding Congressional
Candidate Jon Powers’ Nonprofit Organization, War Kids Relief
When: Thursday, August 14, 2008 4:00 pm
Where: Erie County Republican Headquarters
107 Delaware Avenue, Suite 17
Buffalo, NY 14202
Who: Western New York Republican Chairman
Confirmed Participants:
Erie County Republican Chairman Jim Domagalski
Niagara County Republican Chairman Henry Wojtaszek
Orleans County Republican Chairman Ed Morgan
What: Press Conference
Filmmaker Michael Tucker has written a response to a Buffalo News Aug. 5th editorial and a defense of Jon Powers charity work. The original editorial painted Powers’ War Kids Relief charity as a failure, suggesting Powers himself was the major benefitiary of donated money.
While the candidate has admitted the charity accomplished little, not much has been said as to why or what was actually tried. Tucker’s editorial offers the latest spin on the story saying, “When Jon went to Baghdad in 2005, getting around as a civilian wasn’t easy and the city was tense. It was impossible to move without your own security detail or a military escort, but Jon managed to secure meetings with key officials and commanders who were keen to see his program succeed.”
Unfortunetly for Powers the editorial serves as only more evidence that the charity was unable to accomplish anything beyond talk and fundraising, leaving open questions of where that money actually went and why a veteran of the War who had fundraising help from powerful officials like Senator John Kerry could not account for the security difficulties. Tucker says in the editorial, “In my estimation, the major reason federal funds were not secured was because it was impossible for the military to provide security in Iraq for humanitarian efforts after 2006.”
While this may be true, in the last year of campaigning the issue has not, to my knowledge, been suggested as a reason for the charities shortcomings. Instead there was no suggested in the beginning of the campaign that the charity had major shortcomings at all. War Kids Relief was touted as a central componenet of the candidate’s experience. While Tucker describes the current debate over this organization as an attempt to “Swift Boat” the candidate, his editorial is a recognition that those questioning just what was accomplished by War Kids have valid concerns.
In 2005-2006 it was easy to discern the situation in Iraq was not stable, hence the need to provide for children through charitable means. It was not so easy to discern from the campaign or Powers’ continued defense throughout the campaign that War Kids was unable to accomplished its goals. There is no question pursuing humanitarian work in a War Zone is difficult or that Powers was noble for attempting to make a difference, there is a question over the reality of what was accomplished over the campaigns representation.
The seeming admission by Tucker that the charity was unable to launch major efforts, regardless of why, is further evidence that the representation was different from the reality. It also runs counter to the statement by Tucker that:
The Jon Powers I know today is the same guy I met in Baghdad, who, like thousands of other service members, saw people in need and figured out ways to help them, often in the face of bureaucratic indifference.
If Powers had found a way to use War Kids to solve problems on the ground, despite “bureaucratic indifference” there has been no evidence given. Tucker only provides that Powers was able to have meetings with politicians, community leaders and beurocrats but in his defense provides no evidence of actions that were taken. The campaign itself has provided no evidence to the contrary nor has Powers himself, leaving us with no other conclusion to reach than the charity was unable to accomplish its goals.
This is not a matter of Swift Boating, but instead an attempt to reach the truth about a part of the candidates life that still remains very much open to interpretation.
Scott Leffler has interviews Jon Powers on his radio show. You can download the audio here. I have yet to listen but am looking forward to grabbing it and listening through my iPod later today. (Hat tip: Buffalo Bean)
Democratic candidate Alice Kryzan will be in the studio next week August 20th.
Rochester station WROC-TV has an article reviewing the Davis/Powers back and forth. Though the article contains little new revelations for readers of this site it does contain the following quote from Rep. Louise Slaughter:
“Frankly what I think they’re doing is pointing out factual things, and that’s allowable.”
As I mentioned the other day Robert J. McCarthy addressed some long-standing questions concerning Jon Powers charity War Kids Relief, specifically what did it accomplish and where did the money go other than into Mr. Powers pocket? The answer now appears to be, very little and almost nowhere else. Late last week an editorial followed in the Buffalo News concerning both the charity and opponent Jack Davis’ problems with “donations” that appear to be bribes.
On the charity front the editorial referred to Powers defense of War Kids “unseemly boasting of charitable work that amounted to far less than he has advertised. ” The editorial was linked from the New York Observer and picked up by the influential Web site Politico where Josh Kraushaar said “these developments are raising GOP optimism of their chances of holding onto this Rochester-area seat.”
The bad news of late surrounding both Powers and rival Davis also caused both the Rothenberg Report and Charlie Cook’s Cook Political Report to move the race from competitive to leaning Republican. It is a bad omen for Democrats who were hoping NY-26 would be snapped up in an election that many believe will seen major Dem Congressional gains.
Democratic rival Alice Kryzan has called for debates between the three candidates before the September primary, though it seems unlikely either of her rivals will accept. Instead it appears that a race in which local Democratic committees were quick to decide for themselves who their nominee should be in order to squash debate and capture an effortless win has instead produced a front-runner and a close second with major albatrosses in a Republican-leaning district that won’t be easy to capture.
War Kids Relief, a charity founded by candidate Jon Powers upon his return from service in Iraq, has been noted throughout the candidates Web site and campaign literature and used as a symbol of his experience, compassion and desire to reform. However questions have been raised for quite awhile over just what the charity accomplished in its existence. The other day I pointed to a quote dug up by a local blogger from Powers that appeared in a 2007 Niagara Gazette article in which he stated, “War Kids has struggled to do much in Iraq on the ground itself.”
Today Robert J. McCarthy writes in the Buffalo News about the charity and is accomplishments. Summing up for commentators he writes:
While War Kids Relief is touted on Powers’ web site under the “Leadership by Example” heading, the effort never really succeeded in leveraging any [sic] the $7 million he originally envisioned. Powers said it did raise between $150,000 and $250,000, with a significant portion heading to him as salary for administering the program.
Powers’ efforts are now part of the congressional race. The campaign of Democratic rival Jack Davis calls Powers’ effort a failure, saying he is creating a false impression of what War Kids Relief accomplished.
Powers, meanwhile, defends his actions and blames the program’s problems on Congress’ refusal to fund it. He says at least he tried, and that awareness of the plight of Iraqi youth has now been increased.
At question is what, if anything, the charity accomplished other than paying Powers a salary.
As for where the charity stands today, according to the article:
According to Powers’ campaign, War Kids Relief’s “mission, name and vision” were transferred to a Minnesota organization, Children’s Culture Connection, run by fashion designer Dina Fesler. She described CCC as an informal network of organizations aiming to foster cultural understanding. War Kids Relief was considering shutting down, she said, but she took over the name because she liked Powers’ vision.
“If War Kids was going to go away and people knew it as a name, we decided to basically take the name and create a cultural exchange program,” she said, explaining that the organization now works to exchange “cultural care packages” containing videos and games.
The Powers Campaign had produced a new ad entitled ‘Bribe Money’ attacking opponent Jack Davis.
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