Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Schneider Takes A Second Crack At Dickerson

After first posting and then pulling off an earlier online report about Rep. Julia Carson's accusation that her Republican opponent Eric Dickerson is a wife beater, the Star's Mary Beth Schneider takes another crack at the story late this morning. Rep. Carson dropped the bombshell claim during a meeting with the Star's editorial staff on Monday. She writes:

Carson disclosed the arrest during a meeting with the Indianapolis Star editorial board Monday, saying Dickerson has "been running as Mr. Righteous, Mr. Righteous, when in fact, he beat his wife up to a pulp."

"That's not true," said Dickerson, who went on local radio shows Tuesday to complain about Carson's tactics.

Dickerson maintains that the only thing that happened 15 years ago was a loud argument after his son crashed his Corvette. That shouting scared his then-teenage daughter into calling police, he said.

"No hitting ever took place," he said.

And that's the same account Dickerson's wife, Paula, provided in an exclusive interview with WXNT's Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, which we reported on earlier. Ms. Schneider apparently didn't listen to the interview aired on Abdul's radio talk show this morning because she makes no reference to it. Instead she writes:

But the case eventually was dismissed after the wife and daughter recanted and refused to testify, according to court documents found in storage Tuesday by the Marion County prosecutor's office.

Attempts to reach Paula Dickerson -- from whom Dickerson said he has been amicably separated for several years -- or her daughter were unsuccessful.

And just how did Schneider get the police report? "An Indianapolis Police Department arrest report -- which a Carson campaign volunteer obtained from IPD -- gives a different version of events," she writes. In other words, the Star didn't go searching for the record itself. Schneider reported in her earlier online report that all court records have since been purged; however, in this new report she says old files were recovered from storage in the Marion Co. Prosecutor's office. That's how she knew the case was dismissed because mother and daughter recanted statements included in the original police report. Schneider is also no longer talking about Carson's earlier claim, which she reported in her first online report, that Carson learned about the alleged domestic abuse from a neighbor of Dickerson's. And the Indiana Democratic Party, they declined to comment on the matter, although the state' party's communications director has had plenty to say about the matter at Taking Down Words. Doesn't Schneider read that site?

As for the Republicans, Schneider quotes Robert Vane of the Indiana Republican Party as saying, "Eric Dickerson has expressed sincere regret about an event that happened 15 years ago. We take him at his word and look forward to his defeat of Julia Carson this November."

Who to believe? It just goes to show you how nasty politics can get. And they wonder why it's so difficult to find good people to run for public office. I just don't get Carson's claim that Dickerson was running around pretending to be Mr. Righteous. Unlike several Republicans we know, he has avoided the mixing of religion and politics, and he certainly doesn't wear his religion on his sleeves. Who's the candidate standing in front of church audiences talking partisan politics and bad-mouthing her opponent in the name of the Lord? It's not Mr. Dickerson.

UPDATE: Schneider caught on to the fact that Paula Dickerson is publicly defending her husband, which was first reported last night on WTHR-TV, and an exclusive interview with Abdul last night aired early this morning. But the Star blew their chance for an interview. Dickerson and his wife are through discussing the 15-year-old charge. Schneider's updated reports says:

Eric Dickerson, the Republican candidate for Congress, said he is through publicly discussing his 1991 arrest for allegedly beating his wife.

"I've said publicly everything I am going to about it," Dickerson said this morning as he canceled tentative plans for a news conference with his wife Paula.

The Dickersons have been separated for several years. She accompanied him to talk-radio interviews Tuesday and again this morning, but he declined an Indianapolis Star request for an interview."She's not doing any more," he said,
adding that: "I've decided not to have (a news conference). The reasons are pretty clear. Everywhere I go I've been ambushed by the media and so has my family."

Now, can the Star please turn its attention back to the illegal shenanigans going on in Center Township?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

ALL - the Carson people are beginning to threaten people. Did you hear Abdul this morning?

Anonymous said...

The true answer to all of this cunnundrum--er, excuse me...kerfuffle--lies in the police reports and prosecutor's file.

Do I believe a candidate's wife would revisit an incident, and recall it in a favorable light (to her husband) 15 years later? Hell yes.

Usually unsilent Vince Huber should remember this case, or at least whether the police report is accurate.

But mostly, one thing rings true: Julia did hand over the file. She's silent, but The Star wouldn't make that up.

That's the saddest revelation about this whole thing. She finally stooped to doing it herself instead of sending others to do it for her.

Shameful. Probably not enough to defeat her, at least yet.

She ought to hang her head, apologize for digging this up, and move on.

But she won't.

Anonymous said...

Advance Indiana-Mary Beth Schneider's husband was an Evan Bayh appointee when he was governor.

She and Jum shella of cCannel 8, are pro-Democrat reporters. Never any balance in their political reports.

While they are digging for dirt, check out Julia Carson's history, she is the incumbent.

Anonymous said...

FYI,

We have the Paula interview on our web site, www.wxnt.com You can hear it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Abdul

Queen916 said...

Advance:

I am not surprised.

Anonymous threats, burglaries, break-ins, flat tires, sugar in your gas tank, call and hang-up,
destroys opponents campaign literature, broken windows, and more.

Intimidation, threats, harassment,
slander, rumors, Julia Carson and gang tactics every election.

I told you so!

Anonymous said...

Ok, so we can’t hold family members actions against an individual as we can only control our actions not theirs. However, what about Ghetto Queens grandson who was arrested for torturing the two homosexual guys a few years ago. It was someplace in the area of 62nd and Georgetown Rd. He and a buddy made these guys drink bleach and burnt them with an iron.

Also, how about the Excise Police mess where her sons were fired along with several others. They held positions with police powers and are convicted felons…hmmmm.

Where’s the Indy Star and the rest of the media for that stuff?

Anonymous said...

Eric says he didn't hire an attorney, but he obviously did.

His wife goes on radio with a convincing denial of assault. It is later reported they live apart, and have for years.

ED suddenly sells his car dealership, at a time when GM is practically begging for minority dealers. He defaults on a loan, then pays it off by selling the dealership.

In all these instances, I'm telling you--there's much more to the story. There has to be.

Or Eric Dickerson is the biggest idiot to ever run for office. And I don't think he is.

Julia has her problems, and she has to explain for personally dumping this police report on the newspaper. It is shameful and there is no excuse for it.

But there are just too many questions surrounding Mr. D. and his dealings. Way too many.

Why is it, when something embarrassing comes out, it's never his fault? Always someone else's fault?

Don't we all know someone like that? Make a mental picture of that person.

And, after you picture the person(s) who match that description, would you want any of them representing you in Congress?

So, whay a great choice we have. A man with more questions than a hung jury, and a broken-down incumbent who foolishly deals in rumors and sneaky tactics.

I'm gonna start a write-in campaign. Any ideas? How about getting Andy our of retirement? He had integrity--never took one single PAC dollar. Never took a raise until his district had voted on him again.

He's available.

Anonymous said...

Question? Is Mr. Dickerson on trial here?

Marion County Prosecutor Jeff Modisett allowed the charges to be dismissed.

Evidence did not support the charges. The prosecutor could have tried the case anyway.

This reminds me of the OJ Simpson trial in a criminal court. He was acquitted by a jury of all charges with a mixed race jury, but the members of the white and Jewish community refused to accept the verdict of the jury.

In a civil court with an all white jury, the Goldman family won a judgment against OJ for the murder of their son at Nicole Simpsons condo.

Truly a double standard. Those of you who question the dismissal had better hope you are never arrested, charged and case dismissed, your friends and family won't accept the dismissal. Begin treating you like a convicted felon.

Julia supporters keep looking for the dirt, and while you at it look for hers.

Anonymous said...

The accusations around both candidates are disheartening.

I'm sensitive to the possibility of a false charge, but unfortunately I'm also sensitive to the tendency of victims of domestic violence to disavow the violence. I don't see how Eric will be able to clear his name, for even in light of his wife's denial, the veil of suspicion rests heavily. If the allegation is true, it's unacceptable; if its false, he's in a tough spot.

In the absence of this allegation, and in the absence of issues about Party control of Congress, I had come to feel felt that Eric is truly an impressive candidate, with the potential to be one of the highest quality candidates of Indiana's congressional delegation.

But there is this allegation. And a question of whether his election would serve to further an extremist agenda in Congress or to place a check on it.

Regarding allegations against Julia Carson, whose record of support for the gay community is unmatched, I am also disappointed. These allegations rest heavily, also regardless of what the official outcome has been.

The situation resolves to this:

A candidate of unimpeachable personal virtue pursuing miserable policy will produce miserable policy. (Meet Jimmy Carter and the foreign and domestic economic policy of his administration.) A candidate of profoundly disturbing personal moral quality pursuing estimable policy may very well produce estimable policy. (Meet Lyndon Johnson and civil rights laws.)

I suspect that while some will now be casting a vote either against Eric Dickerson or against Julia Carson, or that some will be voting their confidence in Eric Dickerson's character or in Julia Carson's character, the majority of voters will be casting votes that reflect their belief in either Republican or Democratic control of Congress.

While we will hope that both candidates will find ways of clearing their names and proving their virtue, I agree with those who say that whatever their respective virtues, there are large issues at stake with real impact on all of us.

Do we stay or do we go in Iraq? Do we keep taxes as they are? Do we run deficits out into the future? Does economic growth outweigh the deficits? Do we raise taxes? Do we stifle recovery? Do we try to balance the budget? Do we kick illegal immigrants out of the country? Do we legalize them? How? Do we strengthen unions? Do we strengthen management? Do we protect the U.S. from international competition? Do promote free international trade? Do we reduce social security benefits? Do we extend the retirement age? Do we raise the minimum? Do we further right wing crazies? Do stop them? How?

Lots of issues... all of them serious....

Anonymous said...

But mostly, one thing rings true: Julia did hand over the file. She's silent, but The Star wouldn't make that up. - suspiciously that news article is no longer available *sniff sniff* yeah, it stinks!

I'm with you, back to the bar!

Anonymous said...

Regardless how strong Julia's support of our community has been, she handed over this file.

That is not disputed. It's about the only sorry fact in this whole miserable tale, that isn't disputed. And she's hidign for cover, not returning press phone calls for over 48 hours now.

For that reason alone, reluctantly, I cannot vote for her. It is an act of Nixonian stupidity...there's no way she's going to lose. It wasn't necessary.

Overkill is a sin of gluttonous politicians who have lost touch. And I never thought it would happen to her.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Jeff, on the point of whether Eric had to hire an attorney: In an earlier interview where he made that statement, it was made in the context of his explaining the events which occurred at his home, the police arriving, taking him into custody, taking a mugshot and booking him into jail and then quickly bailing out. I took it to mean that he didn't have to hire an attorney to get out of jail. That happens all the time. I may have misunderstood him, but I don't think it should be inferred that he didn't hire an attorney later on--only that he didn't have to hire an attorney to get out of jail after the arrest. Let's be fair. This happened 15 years ago, and I'm sure the events would be pretty surreal in retrospect. You can't expect the man to get every single detail straight after this many years, let alone right after it happened. Jeff, I am frankly shocked that you would disqualify Dickerson over these reports. You and I've discussed Julia's history at length and you know it's much uglier. Let's not kid ourselves.

Gary R. Welsh said...

I should point out that Dickerson could have hired a lawyer after the fact to get the criminal record expunged after the fact pursuant to statute, and he could have avoided this problem. The skunks in politics always know about this statute because they're always going around committing all kinds of crimes and getting caught. They hire their attorney and get their records expunged. It's unfortunate Dickerson hadn't been advised to do this before he entered politics. But then again, he's not a skunk so he doesn't think like the rest of the skunks in politics.

Anonymous said...

For everyone who does not know anything about the car business, please read and learn. "there has to be more to this", "he sold his dealership", "oh no, he sold the store".

LISTEN AND LEARN!!!!!

General Motors has made decisions about Buick, as they did Oldsmobile which are not in Dickerson's control and will not change. "But they need black dealers, it doesnt make sense".

Last year, Buick eliminated its least expensive car ($22,000.00) the Century as well as the slightly more expensive Regal and replaced it them with one car, the Buick Lacrosse. Buick also eliminated the Park Avenue and Lesabre, to replace both with the Lucerne. This year is the last year for the popular Rendezvous, the Rainer, and the Terraza. These three vehicles will be replaced by the 08 Enclave. One vehicle. Within two years, Buick is down to three cars. Anyone in the car business knows that they can't give away the new Lacrosse and plan to eliminate it also. This will leave two Buicks left to sell. I dont know how going from having seven vehicles to sell to two, you can sustain a car dealership of that magnitude. After all the Star, and TV stations know that Eric has spent anywhere from $20,000.00 to $50,000.00 per month in advertising alone. That doesnt include the other 650 accounts worth of expenses involved in running a dealership with $30,000,000.00/year in sales.

Dickerson saw Buick's demise on the horizon and sold out while someone was still willing to pay proper money for his store.

In addition, has anyone ever heard of "Project 2000"? All GM car dealers have. It just happens to be named after the year the plan was born.

GM's plan is to merge all Pontiac, Buick, and GMC dealers into one. If you only have Buick, you are indirectly being forced to sell. They have been trying to put a deal together with Eric for six years now. The difference between now and then is that they hadnt eliminated over half of the cars to sell. If he had other lines, he could have waited like Family Buick is doing, while negociating a deal with Tom Wood. The also have Mitsubishi and own several auctions.

Dickerson decided he had bigger fish to fry in his quest for Congress. GM isnt going to replace any of the cars they've canned, so he gave them their wish and sold out.

"But why would the bank sue". Hello, Ms. Carson the second most senior dem on the banking committee. Although there was no reason for them to sue, as the suit was dropped in days, it would be a nice gesture from folks at fifth third to Ms. Carson. Do you really think she doesnt have any pull with banks?

She not only is on the banking committee, if the dems win control, she will be the number two lady on the banking committee. Remember all of those recently passed laws in favor of banks. "But Ms. Carson is for the people, not the lending institutions". Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. OK.

Stop questioning Dickerson. Go to his website. Ericdickersonforcongress.com. Learn for yourself. He did not become the self made man he is by mistake.

When you meet him or if Ms. Carson ever has the guts to debate him, you would look foolish to vote for her.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 8:49, most likely a Dickerson staffer, tells us to 'stop questioning' Dickerson.

That's akin to President Bush admonishing all of us, including his former Sec of State Colin Powell, that it's 'unacceptable to THINK'.... any way he doesn't think.

The good news around all this stinking back in forth about Julia and Eric, is that so few people see these blogs.

It's so ugly.

There are truly so many much more important issue to consider than who revealed that someone was an apparent wife-beater, or a failed businessman.

And, do your really think that keeping the U. S. Congress in the hands of Republicans is in our best interest?

As for Rep Carson's position on the banking committee, our own Barney Frank will Chair that committee come next January.

Anonymous said...

I live in the 7th and am also concerned about the welfare of our district. Our district needs Eric and so does our country. All I ask is that you make an educated, objective, decision when it comes time to cast your vote. Please listen to Eric for yourself at EricDickersonforCongress.com and embrace the possibilities.

Anonymous said...

Those accusations are lies. Get your facts straight and convert.

Anonymous said...

8:49 just regurgitated his earlier post.

The GM line was entertaining, but stating it twice doesn't make it more acceptable. Plain fact is, GM still needs minority car dealers. The sale and lawsuit came up pretty suspiciously and quickly. that's all.

There are no reasonable answers to the bank situation. A lawsuit is a method of last resort for payment of debt. Period.

If 5/3 Bank were briefed on the potential sale, I can't understand why they would've sued. They could've walked into the Courthouse, plucked down $13, and filed a lien, which would've almost gauranteed their payment at the closing table. With almost no publicity.

That's just a fact. They must've filed suit for a reason.

The timing of the sale and lawsuit are just suspicious.

Reciting your points over again, 8:49, won't change that.

Queen916 said...

jeff Newman - For your information the information I have will be made public when I see fit and not before.

She is a liar and a thief!
Tell her I said so, and publicize her responses.

Why don't Carson supporters ask her about my statements. I would like to know her answers under the penalties of perjury. She has never had to pay for her crimes.

Carson supporters run around calling people losers, She has lied, cheated and stolen her way to the top of politics.

The truth has been denied for too long and covered up.

Speak up Julia, answer the questions?