November 1, 2008 // JOHNSTOWN, PA – William Russell insulted the hard-working and talented people of Western Pennsylvania this morning in the Altoona Mirror, saying that our people lack the “skill sets” and are unqualified for the 20,000 jobs that Congressman Jack Murtha has created. Murtha responded with the following statement:
“William Russell says our workforce is incapable of performing the highly skilled jobs of the future. Russell, who lives in Virginia, thinks the future for Western Pennsylvania is only manual labor.
“I’ve worked tirelessly to bring high-skilled defense, medical and manufacturing jobs to our area, and we have proven time-and-time again that we are more than capable of meeting the demands for today’s and tomorrow’s high-tech jobs.
“These are the jobs of the future, and Russell believes that we’re not qualified for them. Maybe he thinks these jobs are better off in Virginia and not in Western Pennsylvania.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/512858.html?nav=742
Update:
In the same Altoona Mirror interview, Russell confirmed our accounts that he did in fact flunk out of West Point. “It’s true I left after flunking variable calculus,” Russell said. What will he confirm next – that he doesn’t live here? Doesn’t understand the area? And isn’t one of us?
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The Devil is in the details, as they say.
July 24, 2008 // Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin was breathlessly celebrating in yesterday's New York Post about how much money Republican Congressional candidate William Russell has been raising this year.
Never heard of him? You're not alone. Russell is challenging Rep. John Murtha for his Pennsylvania House seat, which is considered among the safest Democratic seats in the country.
Malkin was pointing out Russell's "JAW-dropping political miracle" in campaign fundraising. Indeed, Russel has raised almost $1 million so far this election cycle, a huge pull no doubt.
But guess who helps Russell run his massive, nationwide direct-mail fundraising efforts? Our old friends over at BMW Direct.
Russell is perfect for BMW Direct, which often raises tons of cash for candidates who look good on glossy mailers but ultimately spends nearly all the money raised on expenses related to the fundraising effort itself.
Lt. Col. William Russell is a clean-cut Army veteran who served in Iraq, the Gulf War and at the Pentagon on 9/11, according to a campaign Web site.
Malkin claims there's been a "great media wall of silence around Russell's upstart campaign." OK, let's break that silence and take a close look.
In the most recent quarter Russell raised $669,534, almost all from out-of-state donors who presumably are on BMW Direct's list of self-styled conservatives with a good track record of responding to direct-mail fundraising.
At the same time, he spent $442,990, almost all of it on expenses related to the direct mail effort and paid to BMW Direct and its affiliates (some of which share the same downtown Washington office).
The only expenses that appear to be spent on an actual campaign totaled about $20,000 for Web site design, a low-budget video and a campaign consultant based in Pennsylvania rather than Washington.
He reports having $269,953 in cash on hand. But he also reports debts totaling $242,521 -- almost all for direct mail expenses to BMW Direct and its vendors.
So that leaves him only about $27,431 ahead -- not much for a guy who's raised a total of nearly $1 million this election cycle.
Meanwhile, Malkin suggests that Murtha is in trouble since he only "scraped together a measly $119,000." But Murtha isn't running a direct mail campaign with BMW Direct, so he actually has money left over to spend on things like renting a campaign office back in the 12th District.
What Murtha’s Challenger Doesn’t Want You to Know
Charles A. Morse, a conservative Republican gadfly from Brookline, ran a brief write-in campaign to unseat US Representative Barney Frank in 2006. It fizzled completely when he received just 145 votes in a primary and dropped out two months before the general election.
Yet the political fund-raising firm that ran Morse's campaign finances reported that it raised more than $700,000 for his race, much of it from GOP contributors across the country eager to help defeat a Massachusetts liberal - and some of it donated well after Morse abandoned the race.
A review of campaign reports shows that, rather than spending that money in the Fourth Congressional District, 96 percent of the funds raised in Morse's name were used to pay a politically connected direct-mail firm in Washington, BMW Direct Inc., and a coterie of BMW Direct's affiliates and contractors. The firms specialize in national fund-raising appeals on behalf of conservative Republican candidates and right-wing causes.
The pattern in the Morse campaign of raising big sums from donors yet spending little on that campaign is similar to other fund-raising operations managed by BMW Direct, a private company whose financial statements and executive salaries are not disclosed. The list includes work for Republican Ken Chase's failed 2006 challenge of Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a 2006 congressional candidate in Georgia, and on behalf of Veterans for Victory, a group that sought to raise questions in similar fashion to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth about John F. Kerry's war record when the Massachusetts senator was running for president.
Ultimately, Federal Elections Commission records show, $30,000 was devoted directly to Morse's campaign expenses in the Fourth Congressional District. And Morse said he was shocked when told by the Globe how much BMW Direct had raised and spent in the name of his candidacy.
"That is craziness," he said. "I am really amazed. It is really way above and beyond what I was made aware of."
BMW Direct's chief executive, Kimberly Mellissimo, and other firm members declined requests for interviews. The firm issued a statement saying it stands by its handling of the accounts. Scott B. Mackenzie, a lawyer who served as Morse's treasurer, signed his FEC reports, and who is listed as a staffer for BMW Direct, said in a brief phone conversation that the firm uses most of the money in early stages to compile a donor list for candidates, priming the pump for the rest of the candidate's campaign.
Mackenzie said Morse dropped the ball by not maintaining an aggressive campaign after the initial round of fund-raising and the building of the donor list.
As part of his contract with the firm, Morse turned over control of his campaign accounts to BMW Direct. Morse acknowledged he never checked the contributions and expenditure numbers on the FEC reports sent to him by BMW Direct. Continued...The Russell camp continues their campaign of denial and deception.
As Peg Luksik should know, a complaint filed with the FEC is investigated thoroughly, before the FEC will make any public comment. The FEC is doing their job, refusing to even acknowledge that a complaint has been filed. The truth will, eventually come out, and Russell and Luksik will have egg all over their faces, and the voters of the District will see that Stiles was right, that the Russell campaign has a lot to hide.
