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The chairman of the state Republican Party has taken aim at Sixth District Congressman Jim Clyburn following his hiring of former Orangeburg County Council Chairman John Rickenbacker as a field representative and liaison.
Rickenbacker, who was released from a Columbia-based halfway house April 7 after serving a one-year sentence in federal prison for bribery and extortion charges, was slated to begin working in his new position as early as Thursday, depending on completion of the required applications.
In a statement released Friday, South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson said the appointment is an exercise in “poor judgment.”
“Voters demand that elected officials be held to the highest standards of character, honesty and integrity. When politicians exploit the power of elected officials for personal gain, they demonstrate an arrogant disregard for these standards,” Dawson said in the release.
“John Rickenbacker abused his authority as Orangeburg County Council chairman for personal gain and broke the law. Although Rickenbacker has paid his debt to society, Congressman Clyburn has shown remarkably poor judgment by offering him another position of influence in government,” Dawson said.
Hope Derrick, Clyburn’s press secretary, said, “The congressman won’t have a response to that.”
However, S.C. Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler said, “Katon Dawson might want to take a deep breath and think about what would happen if no one who has been in prison were ever given a job upon being released.
“Mr. Dawson’s criticism of Congressman Clyburn’s decision to hire John Rickenbaker, who has served his time and paid restitution for what he did, demonstrates an arrogant disregard for the scriptural principle of forgiveness. Congressman Clyburn, along with a cross-section of Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate, worked to pass the Second Chance Act that was recently signed by President Bush. That legislation supports exactly the kind of thing that Congressman Clyburn did — allowing someone who has paid the price for his or her mistake to become a contributing member of society again.”
Clyburn has said his decision to make Rickenbacker a member of his staff came after many requests and an outpouring of support from constituents in the Orangeburg area wanting the former chairman to be hired.
In his release, Dawson said public approval of the Democratic-controlled Congress “has hit an all-time low because of Washington’s culture of cronyism which is apparently thriving in Congressman Clyburn’s office.”
He called on all Democratic candidates for Congress in the state to denounce Clyburn’s decision “to offer a convicted felon a position of influence in government.”
“They must promise voters that if elected they will not hire anyone who has demonstrated such reckless disregard for the public trust to work in their congressional offices,” Dawson said.
But Fowler said, “Katon Dawson might want to reflect on the example set by Chuck Colson and Oliver North in turning their lives around. He should have the same compassion for John Rickenbaker that President Bush had for Scooter Libby.”
T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534.