Corpus Christi Chamber's paid ralliers draw fire of Republicans

Corpus Christi Caller Times ^ | 4 July 2003 | wire services, LYNN BREZOSKY

[Pilsner]

CC Chamber's paid ralliers draw fire of Republicans By From staff and wire reports

July 4, 2003

State Republicans were outraged at reports that the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce paid temporary workers to attend a congressional redistricting hearing on Tuesday in McAllen.

Republicans called it another example of the Democrats' fight against losing power in Texas.

GOP Chairwoman Susan Weddington sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice asking them to "conduct an investigation into attempts to prevent Texas citizens, including minorities, from testifying at congressional redistricting hearings."

"There appears to be an orchestrated attempt to prevent citizens from providing input to their legislators," GOP spokesman Ted Royer said. Jerry Polinard, a political scientist from the University of Texas-Pan American, said it's not unprecedented that in order to pack a crowd a group may recruit people to attend and use incentives to do it. "Sometimes those incentives involve money," he said.

That was the case at the Senate Jurisprudence Committee's field hearing on redistricting at the McAllen Civic Center. Among the 150 or so packing buses in Corpus Christi to travel to McAllen for the hearing, at least 40 were temporary workers hired through an agency and paid minimum wage.

Tom Niskala, executive director of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, said that a member of the chamber wanted to attend but couldn't, so the member enlisted a temporary employment agency to hire bodies in his stead. The businessman remained anonymous.

"I think that if anybody assumes that political parties don't use temporary agencies in their activities then they're really not aware of the process," Niskala said.

Niskala said that the fact that sufficient support among the business community could not be mustered to attend the hearing was no indication that the issue was unimportant.

Related AP story from Caller Times Web Page

http://www.caller.com/ccct/state_texas_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_876_2087794,00.html

Political expert: paying for attendance not unknown

By LYNN BREZOSKY Associated Press Writer

July 3, 2003

McALLEN, Texas- The rabble-rouser in the next seat at a packed hearing may be in it for the paycheck, and at least one political scientist says it's no loss to democracy.

"It's certainly not unprecedented that in order to pack a crowd you may recruit people, and you may recruit people using incentives," Jerry Polinard of the University of Texas-Pan American said Thursday. "Sometimes those incentives involve money."

That was the case at the Senate Jurisprudence Committee's field hearing on redistricting at the McAllen Civic Center on Tuesday. Among the 150 or so packing buses in Corpus Christi to travel to McAllen for the hearing, at least 40 were temporary workers hired through an agency and paid minimum wage.

Tom Niskala, executive director of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, said that a member of the chamber wanted to attend but couldn't, so the member enlisted a temporary employment agency to hire bodies in his stead. The business remained anonymous.

"I think that if anybody assumes that political parties don't use temporary agencies in their activities then they're really not aware of the process," Niskala said.

Linda Jordan of L.K. Jordan and Associates, which was paid about $5,000 for the workers, said her agency had answered political requests before, mostly to hand out fliers or staff phone banks. She said this request was a little different.

"They were sent to be seat warmers," she said. "They were not sent with the intent of protesting. I think they did not realize what they were in for, and neither did we."

Pounding drums, stomping floors and shouting slogans in Spanish such as "Down with (U.S. Rep. Tom) DeLay!" the crowd of mostly Corpus Christi-based veterans drowned out attempts to begin testimony. It is unclear who of those who blended in with the veterans and farmworkers was paid and who was not or whether the temps became involved in the shouting.

The heaviest representation seemed to be by Nueces County chapters of the GI Forum, the same group that shouted down a House redistricting hearing in Brownsville.

Rep. Kino Flores stood outside the Brownsville hearing, thereby blocking a quorum for the meeting and causing protesters to call the meeting illegal and chant "Shut it down!"

Scheduled for 3 p.m., there was a quorum at the McAllen hearing. But the ruckus kept testimony from beginning until 4:15 p.m., when committee members promised Corpus Christi would get its own hearing on July 7.

There were smatterings of applause when someone announced that the Corpus Christi buses were leaving.

"I really don't know if I'm for or against redistricting," audience member Judith Rodriguez said. "There's a new plan and we're not going to hear it because of these people."

Polinard, who got his chance to testify at about 9:45 p.m., said that for those from Corpus Christi, it was a mission accomplished to make as much noise as possible.

"As a political scientist I must confess I find that this is a process that works. This is the weakness and the strength of the democracy," he said. But while he saw nothing wrong with paying people to go emphasize an opinion, Polinard said that it may have backfired.

"Ironically, it may very well be that by paying them the legitimacy of their protest is called into question," he said.

State Republicans said Thursday they were outraged at reports of the paid attendees, which they said was just another example of the Democrats' fight against losing power in Texas.

GOP Chairwoman Susan Weddington sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice asking them to "conduct an investigation into attempts to prevent Texas citizens, including minorities, from testifying at congressional redistricting hearings."

"There appears to be an orchestrated attempt to prevent citizens from providing input to their legislators," GOP spokesman Ted Royer said. "There's been a pattern of repeated obstructionism at various committee hearings around the state and the people of Texas are being denied the opportunity to express their opinion."

[Pilsner]

I'm in Corpus on vacation this week, and the "protests" were first page above the fold news for several days. The fact that they were filled with people paid by the hour is on page 10.

A local news station last night had more details. Half of the "workers" refused to participate when they found out what the job was! So far the CC Chamber of Commerce is both refusing to disclose who paid for this (they were just a conduit for the money) and refusing to fire the guy who organized it.

[Cultural Jihad]

Rent-a-mob?

[goldstategop]

Take away liberal Big Business' corporate welfare.

[Pilsner]

Yes rent a mob. Has any other paper in Texas carried this story? I've been on vacation.

[AlaninSA]

Nary a word in the San Antonio Express-Snooze

[Between the Lines]

The Houston Chronicle says the temps weren't told to protest.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/1978216

But the Brownville Herald says the attendees were quite emotional.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ts_comments.php?id=51865_0_10_0_C

[livius]

Unbelievable!

More people need to read this one. I realize that the Dems have long bought their voters with things such as a carton of cigarettes, etc., but somehow hiring temps to come in and stack a meeting seems even more egregious.

Or maybe all of the taxes the Dems have imposed on cigarettes have made it cheaper to just call Rent-a-Body for a temporary Dem.

[csvset]

CONTACT THE CHAMBER

Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
1201 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi, Texas USA 78401

Click here to view map of our location

Phone: (361) - 881-1800
Fax: (361) 888-5627
Email:  members@theccchamber.org
 

---

Staff Contact Information
Name / Title	Email	Phone #
Tom Niskala, CEO	tniskala@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1855
Ken Trevino, Vice President of Operations	ktrevino@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1849
Pam Arredondo, Director of Membership	parredondo@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1859
Roxanne Bailey, Director of Support Services	rbailey@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1837
Felipe Cisneros, Financial Manager	fcisneros@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1819
Rosi Massey, Member Retention Specialist	rmassey@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1833
Norma Grote, Member Services Specialist	ngrote@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1832
Lucy Reta, Administrative Assistant	lreta@theccchamber.org	(361) 881-1800

[Grampa Dave]

Out here in Kali land, the CC's are often just a mob of left winger boutique owners pushing the leftist agenda and mantras.

In many cities they pushed the "No War for OIL" or "Not in Our Name" mantras. Some chambers passed out stickers with this crapola on it to their merchants.

One day during the Iraqi war, my wife and I were walking the main street of what used to be a nice town. About 50% of the business had professional stickers with one or both these mantras on the front window and often on the door.

I noticed that many of the businesses had these worn out mantra stickers on their front doors and windows, and they were empty with no one in the stores.

I opened one door and told the lefty inside thanks for his stickers on his front door and his window.

He said right on man, no war for oil!

I said, "No you are wrong bozo, those stickers mean none of my dollars for a whore in lust of Saddom and shut the door!"

Any business with those stickers displayed are treated like the French by me. I would how many of these left winged owned boutiques have go bankrupt during our Gray Davis recession with those stickers on their door.

[Dog Gone]

These public hearings are irrelevant to the redistricting process. If the Rats think they can change the maps by hiring protestors for these hearings, they are dumber than I thought.

It's being done on a computer in Austin, and it's going to be jammed down the throats of the Rats next week.

[Fiddlstix]

Yes rent a mob. Has any other paper in Texas carried this story? I've been on vacation.

This is the first I've heard of it and I'm about 100 miles from Corpus Christi.....

[Theodore R.]

The Chamber of Commerce is historically considered to be a conservative organization, but it moved sharply to the left in the Clinton years. It was probably never that conservative to begin with, but it is a "civic booster" organization. That may mean conservatism in Garden City, KA, but liberalism in Corpus Christi, TX. The Chamber knows who butters its bread, and in liberal Nueces Co. it opposes the redistricting plans of Republicans. It is a little surprising though that the Nueces chamber would be so daring as to import opponents to redistricting to the hearing in Corpus Christi.

[csvset]

I sent e-mails to all of the CoC members, asking if they hired the rent a mob. As of yet, no answer.

[Clint Lippo]

What is the G.I.Forum? Doesn't sound like any veteran's groupes I'm familiar with.

[Political Junkie Too]

hiring temps to come in and stack a meeting seems even more egregious.

It sounds like it is more than just stacking a meeting. Based on this quote from the story:

GOP Chairwoman Susan Weddington sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice asking them to "conduct an investigation into attempts to prevent Texas citizens, including minorities, from testifying at congressional redistricting hearings."

they were trying to pack the room to prevent legitimate concerned citizens from attending due to lack of space.

This is similar to the tactic here in California of Democrats hiring all the petition signature gathering companies to go around getting signatures on a bogus petition in order to prevent the recall advocates from hiring the companies to do their work.

-PJ

[mathluv]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/940531/posts I spotted this in the Longview paper this AM, and pinged MeeknMing. This is his thread.

[freekitty]

Does anyone really think those Bozos in Houston would do the right thing if it happened here?

All you have to do is see that pictured monument at the airport costing $400,000 that our great Mayor Brown dedicated to himself.

[livius]

California of Democrats hiring all the petition signature gathering companies to go around getting signatures on a bogus petition...

Also interesing. The thing that amazes me is that the Dems think up things that are so duplicitous and illegal that laws haven't even been drawn up against them yet - simply because nobody (probably including most average Dems) ever thought that anybody would do such things.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks for cross-referencing the threads.

Happy Independence Day !!

[Humidston]

>>"I think that if anybody assumes that political parties don't use temporary agencies in their activities then they're really not aware of the process," Niskala said. <<

No wonder they constantly accuse us of "being paid" when we FReep. Unbelievable... Rats are so trashy!