Sen. Bob Etheridge Decieves His Constituency With Deceptive Image Management...

polifrog



I am revising this previous post that was based on a HomeInHenderson article that did not mention it was an Etheridge press release.

I can now reference the HomeInHerderson article to Etheridge as it is now posted on his site as his press release. I held back on my accusations of deception by Bob Etheridge in the previous post as the HomeInHenderson article could have been an accidental source of some of the deception. That is no longer the case as the HomeInHenderson article was an Etheridge press release.

This press release from Rep. Mike McItyre shows Bob Etheridge's press release to be deceptive.


In the Etheridge's press release Etheridge intimates that he put this event together, assembling hundreds of individuals for the express purpose of jobs creation in his district. The title even claims Bob Etheridge hosted this jobs event:

Etheridge Hosts Job Creation and Economic Development Conference

According to McIntyre's press release, though, Ethridge did not create this event., that the event was created by Rep. Mike McIntyre and it is the latest of 14 such gatherings that he has held. Etheridge was in reality only an invited co-host along with G.K. Butterfield, Larry Kissell, Patrick McHenry, Walter Jones, Mel Watt, and Virginia Foxx. That's right despite his claims otherwise, Bob Etheridge was only an honorary co-host and had little if nothing to do with gathering the hundreds involved.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) today concluded his two-day 2010 job creation and economic development conference with business and chamber of commerce leaders from across North Carolina

This was not Etheridge's event.

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Neither the location of this event nor its title were mentioned in Etheridge's press release.

Again, from Rep. Mike McIntyre's press release. Rep. Mike McIntyre refers to his event as “The Washington Perspective” business and economic development summit. 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 (the intent of the event) 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.

But perhaps that explains Etheridge's omission of the event's location and title in his press release. It does not fit the narrative Etheridge was attempting to convey.

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Etheridge further claims:

“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,” said Etheridge.

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.”

But Etheridge also provides a list of speakers who were presumably the source of new ideas to solve the issue of economic difficulty in district 2 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.

Rep Etheridge press release is an example of image management, deceptive campaigning, and immoral governance to the extreme. It takes more Rep. McIntyre's jobs summit to burnish Etheridge's jobs reputation. Etheridge has claimed someone else's work as his own in an effort to enhance his own image. In the real world this would be called theft, but in the Etheridge's world of governance this sort of deception is apparently just fine. I don't think district 2 believes this deception is just fine, though.

Etheridge is not a man representing his community, but rather a representative of government by government for government attempting to deceive his constituents.






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