Ryan Campaign Forced its Way into Soup Kitchen for Fake Photo Op, Jeopardized Charity's Funding

In the process of trying to score political points by washing dishes that didn't need to be washed, Ryan injected politics into the charity, which is supposed to stay away from politics.

Brian J. Antag, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University.

“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations,” Antag said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”

He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”

Actually, it was worse than nothing. Because in the process of trying to score political points by washing dishes that didn't need to be washed, Ryan injected politics into the charity, which is supposed to stay away from politics.