Rep. Bob Etheridge -- Image Management or Deception?

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According to HomeInHenderson.com Bob Etheridge hosted a jobs conference with hundreds in attendance this past Monday and Tuesday.

It is interesting, though, the amount of information this article leaves out.

Bob Etheridge is quoted twice in the HomeInHenderson article:

“Our government is for the people, and by the people. This two-day job creation and economic development convention provides a great opportunity for me to talk to business leaders about how we can work together to spur job growth,”

and,

“Keeping in touch with community leaders needs to be a bipartisan operation,” said Etheridge. “That is what these two days have been about – keeping in touch with the people we are here to serve.”

Coming from a community "paper" this all sounds very local especially when there is no hint within the article of where Etheridge met these community leaders.

Moreover, the title of this article gives the impression that Etheridge hosted the event and that he had gathered an impressive group of local community leaders to discuss the issue of jobs and find how to corral a few more toward district 2.

A better description of this conference can be found at WWAY, McIntyre to host business and economic develoment summit.

First,
This was not Bob Etheridge's summit and was in reality Rep. Mike McIntyre's event (the 14th such conference). His co-hosts for this particular gathering included G.K. Butterfield, Bob Etheridge, Larry Kissell, Patrick McHenry, Walter Jones, Mel Watt, and Virginia Foxx. That's right, Bob Etheridge was only an honorary co-host.

Secondly, Rep. Mike McIntyre refers to his event as “The Washington Perspective” business and economic development summit, a name left out of the HomeInHenderson article. The name is appropriate, though, as the event was held in Washington DC. Why would an event centered on helping the economy of NC be held so far from NC and where the attendees were drawn? One would think holding it locally would have benefited the economy of district 2 and if space were an issue Raleigh could have supported the event. Why drag hundreds of people and more importantly their dollars to DC? North Carolina and district 2 seem to have been forgotten.

Third, here is the list speakers over the two days:

On Monday the 13th:

• Dr. Joseph DeSimone, Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry, UNC
• The North Carolina Military-Business Opportunity Panel
• Eight North Carolina U.S. Representatives

On Tuesday the 14th:

• General James T. Conway (Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps)
• General George W. Casey Jr. (Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army)
• Secretary Ray LaHood (U.S. Department of Transportation)
• Barbara B. Kennelly (President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare)
• Rep. John Lewis (U.S. Representative from Georgia’s 5th District).

I'm not convinced a group of local business leaders entirely made up of government employees fits Ethridge's description of "keeping in touch with the people we are here to serve."

Etheridge also said, "For the people, by the people" How? -- When the only people scheduled to speak were government employees at an event called "The Washington Perspective" held in Washington DC. How do community leaders outside district 2 help the people of district 2 by meeting in DC?

Additionally Etheridge appears to have mislead when he said,"Keeping in touch with community leaders needs to be a bipartisan operation,”. There was a time when community leaders meant just that, community leaders, not state leaders from across the state meeting in DC. who have been drawn exclusively from government employment rosters.

It appears that the community Etheridge is referring to are not the communities of district 2, but rather the government community. This conference seems to be government by government for government. Although Bob Etheridge is able to utter platitudes like "Our government is for the people, and by the people," he seems to have lost all touch with the people outside of government who make up district 2. Is Bob Etheridge aware that there is a private sector from which to draw advise? The private sector should not be viewed only as a beast of burden on which Bob Etheridge funds his governance.

This is faux campaigning or image management to an almost dishonest extent. It takes more than another man's jobs summit to burnish another man's jobs reputation. Although Etheridge's quotes can not be denied, I believe that some of the responsibility of this poor HomeInHenderson article can be laid on HomeInHenderson.com itself. -- But then I wonder who the source for this article was.

I do know this, district 2 should be wary of these stunts.

Check out Renee Ellmers; she is a community leader in the traditional sense. There is a good chance you may have even met her.



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