Originally Posted - September 2, 2006

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William Greene and RightMarch.org are at it again.

So's Randall Terry.

Randall Terry has engaged in one of the most vile, despicable, dishonest acts imaginable.

And according to knowledgeable sources, he's not even man enough to accept responsibility for his actions, blaming it on William Greene.

Can you imagine what would happen if Randall Terry was ever elected to the Florida Legislature? We do not need more dishonest politicians on Capitol Hill.

Not only is Randall Terry continuing to exploit Terri Schiavo for his own political gain but now he has used and abused the Schindler family, lied and cheated to do so, to raise money for his campaign. Randall Terry's ego and unethical practices have no boundaries.

Bob Schindler Sr. and his family have been viciously maligned and had their integrity impugned, falsely labeled as opportunists, their daughter taken from them in a cruel and inhumane act, facilitated by Michael Schiavo, a person they took into their family and accepted as one of their own who turned on them and his own wife to further his own self interests but under the guise that he was representing Terri's wish.

First Michael Schiavo used and abused the Schindlers and now a person who they thought they could trust is doing the same thing to them.

It is unspeakable for a person to attempt to capitalize on the Schindler family's grief and loss for his own gain while pretending to be their number one cheerleader…..the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing-all for politics.

Dishonesty and deceit are not character traits that are needed in Tallahassee to represent the constituents in Florida's District 8 or anywhere else for that matter.

A email solicitation is being circulated by RightMarch which purports to be a fundraising letter written by Bob Schindler Sr., Terri's father, on behalf of Randall Terry.

Bob Schindler didn't write that letter. Randall Terry has used the name of Bob Schindler and Terri without authorization, a misappropriation of name. This is the individual who has sued his opponent for what he claims is slander and decried the so-called tactics of Jim King. Terry tactics are no better; in fact, they're far worse.

The misuse and misrepresentation by Randall Terry of the Schindler name has caused the family to place a disclaimer notice at the web site for the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, proclaiming "Fraudulent Fundraising Alert!" The notice says "There is presently a solicitation letter being circulated that falsely implies that a member of the Schindler family is requesting donations for a political candidate. Any sources soliciting contributions in the name of the Schindler family is unauthorized, misleading and totally disingenuous".
www.terrisfight.org

It's a double edged sword for Bob Schindler Sr., Terri Schiavo's father, and the Terry betrayal is disturbing and extremely troubling to the Schindler family.

Sen. James King of Jacksonville, a political leader who is almost singlehandedly responsible for the death of Terri Schiavo for his refusal to support legislation which would have saved her life, is seeking reelection to the Florida Senate.

He is being challenged by anti-abortionist Randall Terry who acted as a spokesperson for the Schindler family in October, 2003 and again in March, 2005 in the days before Terri's death at age 41 as the result of a court order issued by Pinellas County Court Judge George W. Greer decreeing her death by removal of all food and water.

If the Schindler family publicly exposes Terry for his dishonest exploitation of the Schindlers and their daughter, it only serves to help the King campaign, the man who helped murder their daughter because he was protecting his "legacy".

But yet if they say nothing, Randall Terry profits in more ways than one.

Don't think that Randall Terry isn't aware of that and is expecting to bank on that, in more ways than one.

Had Randall Terry not made a circus out of the somber issue with his asinine demonstrations at the Woodside Park hospice with jugglers and bugles last March, and not agitated and irritated lawmakers, Terri Schiavo might well be alive today.

Fueled by their love and devotion to their daughter and their efforts to save her life, to care for her, to obtain the proper therapy and rehabilitation that she was entitled to have, denied by her estranged and conflicted husband, the Schindler family placed their trust in the wrong hands and made decisions which ultimately worked against them and Terri, such as choosing Randall Terry as their spokesman. He did more to inflame the issue than act as a mediator.

Terry and other radicals exploited Terri's supporters for money, loaded buses and stormed the Capitol at Tallahassee and then tried to strong arm the legislators. One right to life lobbyist who has an open door policy with the legislators said that they closed their doors to her and said Terry and his "thugs" roamed the Capitol like vigilantes, were loud, obnoxious and threatening. Terry's antics and those of his followers turned a lot of legislators off and they voted against the bill simply because of Randall Terry.

The fate of Terri Schiavo was ironically decided over a meal of fried chicken and salad in a Tallahassee restaurant when former Senate President King and eight other Republicans of the Florida Senate met and resolved not to support legislation being introduced by Sen. Daniel Webster to help save the 41-year-old disabled woman from her death by court-ordered starvation and dehydration, the death penalty verdict rendered by Judge George Greer.

Even though Greer and his wife live across the state, far removed from District 8, Greer's wife has contributed to King's campaign which reeks of an appearance of impropriety.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/072706KingCampaign.html

King has far outdistanced Terry in fundraising, financially supported by lobbyists and big corporations including health care organizations and hospices.

On Thursday, Aug. 31, Greene and RightMarch did an e-mail blast soliciting money for Terry under the subject line of "A Message From Terri Schiavo's Father, Bob Schindler Sr. LETTER

Terri's father had written an op-ed against King's reelection in much the same tone as his earlier editorial against gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/073106LetMyDaughterDie.html

Terry had earlier contacted Schindler, asking him to write a fund raising letter for him which Schindler refused to do. When Terry became aware of the Schindler editorial, he contacted Schindler, upset that his name wasn't mentioned in the article.

Schindler continued to refuse to allow his name of Terri's to be used to raise money for Randall Terry. He added a line to the bottom of his editorial that saying that Jim King stood for death while his opponent, without using Terry's name, was for life.

Before Schindler's op-ed could be released for publication, Greene, who claims to be president of the proclaimed conservative online political committee RightMarch.com PAC, sent out an email solicitation with an editorial not written by Bob Schindler Sr. but signing Schindler's name to it without authorization and attaching the Terry solicitation at the bottom.

After Bob Schindler Sr. denounced the fundraising effort and denied any role in the Greene/Terry solicitation, The North Country Gazette contacted the Terry camp and RightMarch.com and asked them to produce proof and documentation that the email solicitation had been authorized by Schindler. There was no response.

Earlier in the week, Greene had sent out a news release denouncing "the scurrilous ad campaign recently launched by friends of Florida Senator Jim King against District 8 challenger Randall Terry".

"The lies and distortions put out by this 'front' organization are nothing but libelous and slanderous", said Greene. "Jim King and his friends are obviously getting desperate---a sure sign that he recognizes the fact that he's losing to Randall Terry".
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/082506KingTerryMud.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/072706TwoEvils.html

Terry has waged one of the most negative and dishonest political campaigns ever waged in Florida. According to political insiders, Terry now claims that he had nothing to do with the release of the fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of the Schindler name. He blames it on William Greene.

Earlier in the month, Terry had circulated a video and paid for political advertisements which accused King of receiving campaign contributions from gambling companies and strip clubs, of regularly patronizing strip joints and claims a female dancer had accused the former Senate President of offering money to expose herself.

King denied Terry's allegations.

Terry took offense when a group which calls itself the North Florida Leadership Coalition Inc. unleashed an TV commercial and a flyer mailed to some 40,000 registered Republican voters, "warning" voters of Terry's background and urging them not to vote for him.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/082506KingTerryMud.html

He claimed all the accusations against him were false and sued the group.

This is not the first time that William Greene and RightMarch.com have exploited Terri Schiavo in order to raise money for their own causes. In February, attorneys for the Schindler family told Greene to stop using Terri's name in his solicitations.

Greene claimed that he was raising money for a political action committee known as Terri's List, inferring that the Schindler family was supportive of his efforts when in fact he hadn't secured their permission, did it without their knowledge and continued even after the family asked him to stop doing so.

Greene has been described as a right-wing activist that launches political campaigns and fundraising appeals at the click of the "Send" key.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/021106ShamefulExploitation.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/021906NoEndorsement.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/030306SomethingInCommon.html

Despite being told by attorneys to cease using Terri's name, he continues to do so on his website. "Don't Let Terri Schaivo's Name Be Exploited" shouts a headline from the RightMarch.com website above a picture of the disabled woman.

He's collecting money for "ads" concerning the murder of Terri Schiavo by judicial tyranny but fails to indicate where the ads are appearing.

Greene does most of his fundraising through email lists that he's bought, taking advantage of various pro-life and disabled groups.

"In the propaganda published on his website, Greene says how difficult it is for him to use Terri Schiavo for his fundraising efforts but then he forges right ahead, seemingly at no loss for words or hyperbole.

Greene claims that he was in Florida last spring, "trying to save Terri's life". He was there with activist Randall Terry, capitalizing on the situation and when Terri died, Greene and Terry marched right on to their next exploitation.

The tactics being employed by Randall Terry and William Greene in addition to Terry's "best friend" Gary McCullough of Christian Communications are akin to snake oil sales tactics and not only exploit Terri Schiavo but desecrate her name.

The formation of Terri's List earlier this year was done by Greene without the family's knowledge or consent and prompted the Schindler family to place a disclaimer at www.terrisfight.org.

"Any sources soliciting contributions on behalf of Terri other than the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation are not affiliated with or endorsed by Terri's Foundation or the Schindler family. If you are receiving any contribution requests of this nature, please bring this immediately to our attention as they could be mail or internet fund-raising schemes".

"People like this who fail who obtain permission to use Terri's name exploit her name", her father said.

And now Greene is doing it again, this time in the name of Randall Terry.

According to Greene's website, the purpose of the RightMarch.com PAC is to raise and distribute funds for, to and independently on behalf of conservative candidates in targeted primary and general federal elections across America.

Greene's modus operandi is to flood conservatives with Christian Response "E-Alerts".

Greene's "patriot" at RightMarch and his media director is Phil Sheldon, son of Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition. The email contact address for the RightMarch.com PAC is that of Sheldon's at Diener Consultants of which he is CEO and president. Sheldon also heads Response Enterprises, both entities which profited handsomely from RightMarch.

In April, 2004, Bill Berkowitz penned an article for Media Transparency entitled "Deathbed Dollars" about the radical right wing Christian groups who were raising money from the Schiavo case, in particular Greene's RightMarch.com.
http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=60

Response Unlimited of Waynesboro, VA, which is also the home of Sheldon's Response Enterprises, was renting a list of Schiavo supporters for $150 per month for 6,000 names and $500 a month for $4,000 email address of people who had responded to an email plea in the Schiavo case. After being publicized, the list was quickly removed from the Response catalogue.
http://www.responseunlimited.com/

Philip Zodhiates operates Response Unlimited and is an associate of Sheldon's in another Internet organization called Conservative Petitions.com. They bill themselves as being "involved in political and Christian activism for decades", and realized the "need for someone to harness the technology of the Internet to make our voices heard in mass".

At the Response Unlimited website, in a FAQ section, in answer to a question if "my email or postal address will be sold or loaned", Sheldon and Zodhiates responded that they don't "sell addresses or information to anyone. We do occasionally send out emails on behalf of others or allow someone to use the postal list only when we feel the product or service will be beneficial to you or have a significant impact on the kingdom of God or our nation. You may opt out if you wish, and we will honor that request. Each message contains an opt out opportunity. The opt out message is at the bottom of each email. It is also on the page when you sign any petition". Greene's media director at RightMarch and his partner Zodhiates "ask for $3,000 from organizations that do a petition with us. They get a great deal in return, including contact information on all who sign", they proclaim.

"Through its "Christian Response e-Alert," RightMarch.com has become one of many right wing groups that concoct campaigns to "convince people that there is a 'them' out there -- liberals in this case -- who are out to destroy America's moral fiber and are thus responsible for working-class misery," Berkowitz says.

While Greene attacks Michael Schiavo's PAC, Greene's RightMarch.com PAC is under the FEC microscope and has twice in 2005 received requests for more information from FEC. Most recently, on Jan. 20, the FEC questioned Greene's quarterly filing for October of RightMarch.com PAC, requesting "information essential to the full public disclosure of your federal election campaign finances" FEC asked Greene to clarify expenditures he has reported for advertising.

Greene says, "Don't Let Terri Schiavo's Name Be Exploited".

That's right, don't let William Greene or Randall Terry exploit Terri Schiavo's name, unethically and unlawfully using her father's name to do so.

Voters in Florida's District 8 have a real quandary. Neither candidate deserves their vote. 9-2-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette