Romney's Fake Disaster Response Trumps Ryan's Fake Photo Op

A couple of weeks ago Paul Ryan showed up unannounced at a soup kitchen in Youngstown, Ohio for a photo op. In a suit and tie, he pretended to wash pots and pans (most were already clean). Note the spotless apron. I once worked as a dishwasher. I did NOT have a spotless apron. Ever. Nor would I have worn a wristwatch, as it would have immediately gotten soaked. I pronounce this picture a fakerooni.

And so did Bryan J. Antal, President of the Mahoning County St. Vincent de Paul Society:

The head of a northeast Ohio charity says that the Romney campaign last week “ramrodded their way” into the group’s Youngstown soup kitchen so that GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan could get his picture taken washing dishes in the dining hall. 

Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University. 

“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations,” Antal said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.” 

I thought Ryan had trumped his running mate, but Romney one-upped him with a fake response to Hurricane Sandy.

Both events were pulled off with calculated cynicism.

Yesterday, Romney's campaign – facing the challenge of a president in command of natural disaster relief – converted an Ohio political rally into a political rally disguised as providing voluntary charitable contributions to help hurricane victims on the East Coast. The problem was that collecting canned goods and other items is not what agencies such as the Red Cross want. In fact, attempting to process such relatively small donations hinders massive assistance efforts, according to non-governmental organizations.

Loading donated cans of Campbell's Soup and jars of peanuts into a rental truck makes for a nice photo-op, but it won't help any hurricane victims. Nine will get you ten that the donations will be dropped off at some pantry in Ohio, far away from the damage from Sandy.

On top of that, BuzzFeed reports that allegedly $5,000 was spent at Walmart by the Romney campaign so that Mitt could be photographed amidst an abundant supply of granola bars and diapers.

This last-minute "relief effort," of course, is consistent with the Romney/Ryan belief that individual charitable contributions can somehow take care of areas with billions of dollars in damage. Did anyone bring a house, bridge or subway to the Romney "compassion" charade? Doubt it, wouldn't fit in the rental truck.

Romney's notion of non-governmental resolution of natural disasters is as fecklessly quaint as his "horses and bayonets" notion of our military needs. Since Romney refuses to repeat his promise to dismantle FEMA since Hurricane Sandy struck, he can only offer a feeble photo showing him accepting a six pack of Gatorade. It was so Disneyesque!

The Ohio stunt provides a one-two punch of opportunistic displays of ambition disguised as compassion. Just last week Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, practically broke into a soup kitchen in Youngstown in order to get a photo of him washing pans with his wife. But don't think the Ayn Rand acolyte was going soft. It was all for show.

-- Karlin, 2012 

Sources

Karlin, Mark. (2012, 31 October). Romney's hurricane "relief effort" was as fake as Paul Ryan's soup kitchen photo op. Buzzflash. Read it here.

Philip, Abby. (2012, 31 October). Aid organizations prefer cash to canned food. ABC News. Read it here.

Sonmez, Felicia. (2012, 15 October). Charity president unhappy about Paul Ryan soup kitchen "photo op." Washington Post. Read it here.