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Issue 1207 April 10, 2011
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TOXIC TELEMARKETING: Bay City Back in Immigrant Spotlight After 64 Years

Newt Gingrich Scare Tactic Defies Calming Approach by City, Lutherans

August 31, 2014       1 Comments
By: Dave Rogers

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Migrant Workers in the Field
 

What goes around . . . as the saying goes . . . comes around.

Sixty-four years ago, as U.S. troops who had won World War II were preparing for the Korean Conflict, Bay City hit national headlines over mistreatment of migrant workers.

Poor housing conditions for Puerto Rican workers here alarmed social service officials and good-hearted folks everywhere.

Bay City in the 1940s and 1950s had a heavy migrant influx working sugar beets. The widespread use of herbicides like Roundup has put them in the history books. Only rarely are they used on farms near here now since the crops have few weeds to be chopped as a result.

In fact a national scandal involving poor housing conditions for migrant farm workers here was created in 1950 when a Bay City Times reporter, Leonard Jackson, won the prestigious Heywood Broun Award for his expose.

Things were different then since the migrant farm workers returned to Mexico, or in this case Puerto Rico, at the end of the harvest. Jackson's reports, actually opinion pieces, in The Times, helped initiate change. As the years went on more and more migrants began to stay and establish permanent residency.

Now it seems, almost unbelievably, after all that time Bay City is again the national media focus over Hispanic immigrants -- this time two dozen immigrant children from Central America supposedly headed here for temporary housing in a Lutheran facility.

Despite the City of Bay City's even-handed, and humanitarian approach, outside forces are intruding to inflame the situation.

Many of the protesters outside city hall a couple of weeks ago were outside trouble-seekers looking to stir the pot.

Politically motivated? No doubt.

Tea Party radicals? Who knows?

Now another voice has been added to the mix: get this . . . the infamous Newt Gingrich is conducting a telemarketing campaign in Bay City apparently designed to scam money from unsuspecting and gullible ordinary folks.

This columnist got one of the calls: after a frightening recitation of how President Obama is opening the borders to dangerous illegal immigrants came the bottom line: How much would you like to pledge?

According to many media reports, former Speaker of the House Gingrich uses toxic topics to raise funds. Very little of the money ever gets to the stated target. One Republican candidate Newt "helped" got only about 1 percent of the take, according to the report.

Telemarketing isn't the only avenue Newt uses to make a spurious living cheating mainly Republicans and conservatives.

Freethoughtblog.com charges: "Add Newt Gingrich to the long list of conservatives who use their mailing list to make big money by selling access to it to hucksters, conspiracy mongers and cranks of all types."

Liberal lawyer/MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow is not the only public figure to put the finger on Newt. Ultra-conservative Phyllis Schafly, in her noted Eagle Forum, stated nine years ago after receiving a Newt scam call on immigrants: "He talked about the threat this poses to our national security in an era of terrorism, the high costs to U.S. taxpayers, the follies of multiculturalism, and the urgent need for everyone in our country to be able to speak our English language.

It seems Newt has not changed tactics in nearly a decade. Ms. Schafly's blog was entitled: "What's Behind a Phone Call From Newt Gingrich?" She explained:

"The message was skillfully designed to appeal to Americans who are outraged at our government's failure to protect us from the invasion of illegals. But slyly buried in the middle of Newt's message was an endorsement of a "guest worker" plan to invite even more aliens to take U.S. jobs."

Huffington Post and other media have exposed Gingrich's America's Next Generation Political Action Committee, a so-called superPAC. Of millions raised purportedly for the Mitt Romney campaign for President, only a pittance was actually delivered.

Romney's campaign, therefore, seems to have been seriously undercut by unprincipled profiteers of his own party.

The main vehicle for Gingrich may be Akron, Ohio, based InfoCision telemarketing concern.

If any of America's Next Generation's donors are concerned about where their dollars will go, however, experts say they should keep in mind a crucial fact about super PACs: They are largely unregulated.

"Super PACs are the Wild West frontier of money in politics," said Paul S. Ryan, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, which advocates for stronger campaign finance laws.

"Just about anything goes, so long as the super PAC isn't contributing to candidates or coordinating expenditures with candidates," Ryan said. He had two words of advice for anyone giving to a super PAC: "donor beware."

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican, reached a $75,000 settlement with InfoCision over alleged violations of charity solicitation rules. The company did not admit to any wrongdoing.

Huffington's Matt Sledge has reported: "America's Next Generation spent more than $1 million in the 2012 election cycle, much of which went toward appealing to donors for more money, via phone calls and national television ads, according to a review of Federal Election Commission records.

"The majority of the spending disclosed so far has gone to a single telemarketing firm, InfoCision Management Corporation, which has personal ties to Newt's super PAC. By the end of June, according to yearly and quarterly FEC reports, America's Next Generation had spent $546,453 -- 97 percent of which went to InfoCision."

So, Conservatives and older folks with traditional values appear to be the main targets of so-called Conservative Newt Gingrich. Every time fundraising falls off, Newt revitalizes his base by announcing he may run for President.

Don't scoff, or laugh. He's done it several times since leaving Congress in disgrace in 1999.

What a country!

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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

grmmkthln Says:       On September 03, 2014 at 01:03 PM
What's worse in our country today? Most things.
What's better in our country today? Shining the light in dark corners.
Thanks, Mr. Rogers
Agree? or Disagree?


Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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