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Thursday, September 27, 2007

FEC Thows Penalty Flag at Bennett's Former Employer

Charlie Dent must have been a very good boy this year. Sam Bennett keeps giving him Christmas presents. Get a load of this press release from the NRCC. If this is what they can make out of her involvement with Americans Coming Together, imagine what's going to happen when they get their hands on the records over at Properties of Merit. She's going down, and my biggest fear is that the tidal wive against her will sweep a few good Dems away, too.


Washington—Early in the election cycle, announced candidate for the 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania Siobhan Bennett has already shown her flaws. First, she filed an outrageously erroneous personal disclosure form, and then she became the center of attention of a scandal involving the non-profit for which she is currently employed. Now, her former employer, Americans Coming Together (ACT), has been hit with a massive fine by the Federal Election Commission for their activities during the 2003-2004 election cycle.

Siobhan Bennett has some real questions to answer about her involvement with ACT and her series of lapses in judgment.

Here are the facts surrounding Siobhan Bennett’s involvement with ACT:

FACT: “The Federal Election Commission announced Wednesday that it had imposed a $775,000 fine on America Coming Together (ACT), a Democratic-allied 527 group that played a major role in the 2004 presidential election.”

FACT: ACT was fined for blatantly ignoring Federal Election Commission contribution guidelines. Bankrolled by a billionaire while pretending to be for the average Joe, America Coming Together acted like it was above the law.

“ACT, which received a significant amount of its funding from billionaire George Soros, paid for much of the Democrats’ voter registration and voter mobilization activities in battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida during the 2004 race…” (The Hill 8/29/2007)
FACT: The FEC found that ACT illegally spent over $100 million to influence the 2004 election. (The Hill 8/29/2007)

FACT: Siobhan Bennett served as the Lehigh Valley Regional Field Director for the group America Coming Together during the 2004 Election Cycle. (Morning Call Newspaper 7/11/2004)

FACT: ACT, as a political nonprofit, is not allowed to actively endorse a candidate. But its state communications director, Rebecca Kirszner calls it a “left-leaning grassroots organization.” Its Web site says one of the national group's goals is to defeat Bush “and his Republican allies” in the fall. (Morning Call Newspaper 7/11/2004)

FACT: The local press also had no misconceptions about ACT’s behavior as directed by Siobhan Bennett
.“Since then she [Siobhan Bennett] . . . served last year as the field director of the Lehigh Valley chapter of America Coming Together, a political organization that supports Democrats.” (Morning Call 1/28/2005)
Certainly the ACT office that Bennett managed sounds like it was overtly political, in violation of its non-profit status.

Siobhan has some questions to answer regarding her employment and work with this “non-profit” organization:

QUESTION: Does Siobhan Bennett feel any guilt having worked for such an obviously illegal and improper entity – America Coming Together?

QUESTION: Did Bennett coordinate improperly in any way with the Kerry campaign, the Joe Driscoll for Congress campaign or any local Democrat committee in contravention of her group’s supposed non-profit status?

QUESTION: On her website, Siobhan writes:

“We have all been disappointed and appalled by continuing reports of corruption in Congress and the Administration. The most insidious effect of widespread corruption is the idea that ‘everybody in Washington does it.’”
“In Congress, I promise to conduct the people’s business fairly, openly and for all my constituents, and not for the benefit of special interests.”

(website)
Why would the voters of the 15th District ever believe any statement Siobhan Bennett makes regarding ethics, given her employment with ACT and her series of lapses in judgment?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Holy Canoli!

Glug, glug, glug...

Down goes the ship.

Anonymous said...

Samd, do the right thing. Drop out. You are only going to hurt other Democrats and take their money.

Greendogdem said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Greendogdem said...

I'm personally so disgusted with Bennett. I'm thinking about running to save the party. from her. I don't know if I can win but I won't keep making a fool out of the party the way she is.

Bernie O'Hare said...

GreenDog, Of course, you'd lose to Dent. But you just might beat bennett. And at least you're sincere.

Anonymous said...

I love to see her correct Siobhan name as she tries to pawn herself off as Sam!

Siobhan/Sam both losers on any ballot against Dent! Joe Long backing her doubles Siobhan chances of losing. larry@kisslinger.com

Dear Maddy said...

Who could Democrats possibly find to run against Dent?
How about Jesus Christ?
wasn't he born in Bethlehem?
He is a man of peace, wants to end all war, and favors equal health care for all, especially children. Though I am sure his alleged affair with Mary Magdalene will be held against him by the "family Values" gang.
And he is way smarter than Sam Bennett, he founded the most powerful "Non-profit" of all time, the Catholic Church! and he has no salary! Vote Jesus in 2008!
Oh wait, do you think the conservatives in the Lehigh Valley can be convinced to vite for a guy named Jesus? He might not be white enough!

Bernie O'Hare said...

Maddy, Jesus loses. But Buddy Christ is another story. Who's your buddy?" He's expected to make an announcement sometime later this year.

Anonymous said...

Thank this is great info.
I never knew! I can really get
behind her now and give her my
full support. I thought she was a real lite weight.

I now know that she has what it takes. Ball to be as corrupt as
Charlie Dent.

You go girl!
You got my vote!
I'm voting for

Tom Foolery said...

Blah,Blahbla,Blahbla...Enough about Sam Bennett already. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, in or out, win or lose, there is no way her campaign will affect other Dem campaigns..Anybody that tells you otherwise needs politics 101 lessons immediately..

Bernie O'Hare said...

Tom Foolery, I spoke to a Dem candidate today who tells me this Bennett drain has already negatively impacted the funds he can expect to draw.

Tom Foolery said...

How? I don't get it. Especially in regard to fund raising. If she, or any candidate for that matter, was a great candidate they will drain funds from others. If not, the opposite is true.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Tom,

I heard it directly from a Democratic nominee this morning. Bennett's candidacy has already hurt his fundraising efforts. As he explained to me, there's only so much money, and everyone is after it. This also includes John Morganelli and Don Cunningham. Bennett is just another drain on very limited resources. Her candidacy is actually helping Republicans right now.

Tom Foolery said...

Again, that is the case no matter who the candidates are. Once again I'll repeat myself for those not paying attention. The stronger the candidates the more the drain. If she is as weak as everyone says, she won't drain anyone's funds. The only way funds aren't drained to some degree is if there is no candidate.

Tom Foolery said...

If either Cunningham or Morganelli were running for Congress then there would be a major drain on everyone. But they are not..

Bernie O'Hare said...

Once again I'll repeat myself for those not paying attention. Oopsie! Hey, some of us are a little slower than others.

Anonymous said...

no actuallly the would be a major benefit