Not just a minor supporter, either. Helen Jones-Kelly is the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and has maxed out ($2,300) to Barack Obama’s campaign. Guess who approved of a background search on Joe Wurzelbacher after he became an issue for Obama?
Ohio’s inspector general is investigating why a state agency director approved checking the state child-support computer system for information on “Joe the Plumber.”
Helen Jones-Kelly, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, confirmed today that she OK’d the check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher following the Oct. 15 presidential debate.
She said there were no political reasons for the check on the sudden presidential campaign fixture though the Support Enforcement Tracking System.
Amid questions from the media and others about “Joe the Plumber,” Jones-Kelley said she approved a check to determine if he was current on any ordered child-support payments.
Yeah, that makes a whole bunch of sense. Does it she make it a habbit to just search the database for any name that happens to pop-up on her TV screen? Is she constantly searching it everytime a pundit, reporter, celebrity, or game show contestant appears?
“Our practice is when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight, we often take a look” at them, Jones-Kelley said, citing a case where a lottery winner was found to owe past-due child support. “Our practice is to basically look at what is coming our way.”
There’s a difference between making sure a lotto winner doesn’t owe something to his child, and searching for a guy that only questioned the candidate you support. And she knows it.
Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles confirmed today that he is investigating the incident to determine if “Joe”s” records were legally accessed by Job and Family Services employees.
The use of a state computer system to search for information on Wurzelbacher is the fourth uncovered by The Dispatch.
Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland [who appointed Jones-Kelly this past January] is satisfied that there are no political overtures to the check on Wurzelbacher, a spokesman said.
Oh, well as long as the Obama-supporting Governor doesn’t think the Obama-supporting official acted incorrectly, I guess that’s that. No more questions, folks.
If this wasn’t such a serious matter, it’d be freakin hilarious.
28. October 2008 at 5:08 am
Gee, that is something the McCain people should have done as well as the Republican National HQ and or the Ohio Republican Party.
Sadly, no one asked Joe, from the Republican Party if they could refer to him during the debates.
Sadly, Joe didn’t have any say so in the matter. Maybe McCain should have asked him. Joe might have said “no”.
Wonder if not doing so cost McCain Joe’s vote?
To me, with what Joe talked to McCain about, shows that Joe, wanting to go from working guy to business owner, found out that there is more to owning a business. As a business owner myself, it is a lot of work.
Take insurance for example. A lot of people have their coverage through their employer. When they find out what it would cost them to have a private policy, they get sticker shock.
Anyway, they should have asked Joe if they could refer to him during the debates. McCain’s people put him in the spot light. Not the Dems. And they knew by doing so, specially with all the references to Joe, that he would be put in the spot light and really really looked into.
Poor Joe.
28. October 2008 at 8:55 am
Did you see the article about having a dummy of Palin hanging from a noose and thats an expression of halloween. Put Obama dummy in a noose and it would be a hate crime.