Who the hell gathers canned goods for Hurricane relief???!!!

[LynneSin]

I've done some work with the Red Cross before although mind you - I'm no expert. I remember after 9/11 I helped handle some phones and I was told this - the best donation possible is cash. Cash is something that's easy to move around and can be used to buy what is best needed for the situation. Money means someone in Alaska can help out someone in Florida pretty darn quickly.

Donating canned goods is nice but not very functional for hurricane relief. Obviously Mitt isn't campaigning in the states affected by the storm which means all these canned goods are going to take a few days until they are gathered up and shipped and then someone unpacks the food and distributes it.

And the thing is this - it's not like we're hungry here in the Northeast. Sandy didn't wipe out all the grocery stores, just closed them for a day or so. What people really need is to clean up the mess around them, rebuild their homes and their lives and money better serves that than canned goods.

Romney would be better off just donating those canned goods to a local food bank where they can be used right away by people who need the food.

So if anything this whole canned good food collection is nothing more than a really lame attempt for Romney to look like he's being helpful when he really isn't.

[Blue Owl]

1. A canned, phoned-in response strategy

n/t

[treestar]

2. He's an old fashioned moron

He's thinking of it as a community thing. People getting together to help. Which they claim is better than government. Here is a perfect illustration of how wrong they are.

[NCTraveler]

3. These people.

http://www.foodbankcenc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=getinvolved_disaster

Info for a couple more places if you were looking to donate.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-sandy-victims/story?id=17598687

[Marr]

4. A phony, chasing a photo-op.

His campaign obviously only views this outing as self-promotion, because they didn't even bother to make a call and ask what's actually needed.

[freshwest]

5. Just another lyin' photo-op. All the cash goes to the Caymans.

[struggle4progress]

6. Same folk who wash the already washed pots in soup kitchens

in front of photographers, long after everybody else has gone home

[JBoy]

7. He needed something physical for the photo-op.

Romney and Ryan can roll up their sleeves and be seen receiving a cans of Beefaroni from Jane Doe.

Someone using their credit card to make a donation on line? Well, that doesn't play well on TV at all!

[Angry Dragon]

8. Willard plans on distributing them around to his houses

[B2G]

9. I don't like him any more than you do

But to suddenly pretend that relief efforts have not traditionally included food and critical supply drives/donations is just not true.

I have participated in MANY of them over the years.

[bahrbearian]

21. Right on, money can be miss-directed, food is consumed everywhere, even the Caymans

[OldHippieChick]

25. But, he said they were going to load them on a truck and

deliver them to the Red Cross. The Red Cross does not want them!!! They want cash. Any staffer taking one little minute to check the Red Cross website would have seen their request. This was nothing but a cover for an obvious excuse to get his mitt mug on tv.

[yardwork]

34. They may traditionally include them, but it's not what the relief organizations say they want.

Mitt Romney has been governor of a state. He should know what relief organizations want and need. His disregard of their request shows that he's arrogant and cares only for a photo op.

[nichomachus]

10. Even local food banks prefer money

1. It lets them buy what they need, rather than some almost out-of-code smoked oysters from the back of someone's pantry.

2. Even if you're going to buy fresh, new stuff, they have deals that allow them to buy it cheaper and make better use of your money.

[B2G]

11. Well you know what? Not everyone can write a check.

But they have food, clothing, blankets, etc. to contribute.

Frankly, I think this is an assine line of attack against Romney. I guess I'm alone in thinking this.

Bye.

[nichomachus]

15. The problem is

that at times like this, the Red Cross has no mechanism to deal with stuff just dropped off to them.

I agree not everyone can write a check, but if they can't handle the donations, it's kind of a waste.

[LynneSin]

17. He is doing it as a photo op

but to be fair if he passed around buckets to collect cash who knows where the money would go.

I just think the food he is collecting would be better served if they stayed local to help the hungry nearby.

[jberryhill]

22. Yeah, well, someone has to buy the fuel to move that stuff on closed roads

There is no shortage of canned food in the affected areas in Delaware.

We have blankets and clothes too!

Some chainsaws would be really handy.

[regjoe]

26. No, you are not alone

Fact is, the clean-up will drag on for weeks and it will take just as long for the power to be brought back and roads to be cleared. While food may not be needed in the immediate aftermath, it will be needed down the road. Especially for the homeless and low income.

Sad day when giving aide to our fellow man succumbs to the ugliness of politics.

[TwilightGardener]

20. You don't want to eat some skinflinty Ohio grandma's wormy

old Rice a Roni and wash it down with a cup of Postum? Shame on you, you ingrate.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Remember that map?

"We" - those of us most impacted are in the 47% zone on this map, who according to Rmoney "are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That, that's an entitlement. And think the government should give it to them. And thus he'll "never convince (us to) take personal responsibility and care for (our) lives."

So his boxes of canned goods (rather than flashlights or batteries) is his nonsensical guilt-tripping "let them eat cake" moment.

[Jennicut]

29. Yup. Part of that 47% zone.

Mittens is clueless. All the bread, water and soup was gone off the shelves where I live. I assume most people stocked up pretty well. It is donations to the Red Cross that is needed. Lots of people had major damage in CT that had houses in shore line towns. Flood damage in a lot of businesses and houses.

I am bummed that Dock and Dine in Old Saybrook has to refurbish again.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dock-Dine/257112396267

They were damaged by Irene and now have to start all over again. I am going to see if we can help the owner in any way. Would love to give him some donations, no matter how small. That is more the type of thing we are dealing with.

[nc4bo]

13. Take a couple million and use it to help those with no Flood Insurance....

Some if not the majority of those homes will not be covered for flooding. I'm sure they could use any help they can get once they are ready to rebuild.

[BlueJazz]

14. You mean that idiot actually pushed can goods for the NE people.

*uck!..I can see it now..
"Honey..we've been unable to get to the food store in 11 hours"
"Yeah, it looks pretty bad..I don't know how we'll ev...WAIT, Here comes mitt
with a can of Okra !..we're saved..! Hallelujah !! Mitt did it! "

[B2G]

18. Not only 'can', it usually is.

The United Way is a perfect example.

[blm]

19. Someone who has no clue what real disaster relief requires

.

[mzmolly]

23. Republicans just want to 'throw canned food,' and tax cuts at everything.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

24. The same people who wash pots and pans that are already clean...

The guy is cheesy beyond belief.

[creeksneakers2]

27. Who the hell gathers?

John McCain pulled the same stunt back on the first day of the GOP convention in 2008, and he didn't even have much of a hurricane. He got away with it too, as the media reported that John McCain wasn't campaigning that day, right in front of his campaign stunt. Let's hope the media does a better job with Romney's bogus relief effort.

[Kablooie]

28. He apparently thinks America is some kind of starving third world country. What an ass.

[PD Turk]

30. I did during Katrina

But, I have family all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I gathered all the food I could find, generators, gasoline cans, clothes, blankets and anything else I could think of, loaded it in my pickup and trailer and headed straight to my family's neighborhoods because I knew everything for miles around them was flattened, stores, gas stations...everything.

I staged it all out of what was left of my sister's place and wound up helping a lot of their neighbors too. But I didn't just gather the stuff up and dump it on the Red Cross or somebody like that, I doubt it would have been very helpful like that.

[lindysalsagal]

31. I saw a jar of spaghetti sauce on the table.

Exactly what one needs on the 6th day of having very little water and no way of cooking: A gourmet italian pasta dinner.

Wonderful.

[msanthrope]

35. And you don't collect glass jars for food donations. nt

[lonestarnot]

32. No shit!

[BlueMan Votes]

33. FOOD BANKS...???

them things is socialism, i tells you. not robme's cup of tea.

the canned goods will end up in some good mormon's basement stockpile.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. Red cross societies in countries WITHOUT a mature banking system

It does work, take my word on tis, but it is personnel intensive, as in massively personnel intensive, as in hundreds of people working 12 hour shifts sorting cans and bags and bottles and packaging. It takes even more staff loading into trucks after getting pallets going.

This is why nations with a mature banking system and the cultural trust prefer banks and monetary donations, far more efficient.

You asked, I answered.

These days Mexico is at the hybrid stage, where you still have collection points, and bank accounts.