Still no verification of the accuracy of Rhonda Goodrich’s claims (as discussed here yesterday) regarding Lt. Gov. Knoll attending the funeral of a a Marine and behaving inappropriately, but Gov. Rendell is issuing an apology:
Written apologies will be sent to a fallen Marine’s relatives angered by Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll’s uninvited appearance at the soldier’s funeral and her criticism of the war in Iraq, Gov. Ed Rendell said Sunday.
Rendell said he will send a personal letter to the family of the late Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, of Westwood, and will ask Knoll to do the same. Goodrich, 32, a police officer and infantry unit leader, died July 10 in a mortar attack in Hit, Iraq.
Rendell said he hadn’t spoken with Knoll about the incident, but was disturbed by the family’s charge that she made a political statement against the war.
“It’s not the business of state government to support the war, but our state supports the men and women who are fighting this war,” Rendell said during an appearance in Mt. Washington.
If this was just a political attack, it appears to have worked, although Rendell’s apology would seem to invalidate that theory:
Knoll’s actions and words offended Goodrich’s family and friends, along with others.
“I’ll never vote for her,” said Lynn Profeta, of Collier, who took her two sons to watch the military and police tribute paid to Goodrich outside St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Carnegie. “That family is grieving.”
Rendell said he thinks Knoll, 74, of McKees Rocks, meant no harm by attending the memorial service last Tuesday. He believes Knoll gave her business card to a family member so that Goodrich’s family would have a contact within state government if they later needed help securing benefits.
“She goes to so many funerals because she cares so deeply,” Rendell said. “I don’t go to funerals unless I’m invited. I go to wakes because they’re public.”
Goodrich’s sister-in-law, Rhonda Goodrich, of Indiana County, said Knoll sat next to Goodrich’s aunt, Linda Kubiak of Bethel Park, in the church and gave her a business card, explaining that she “attends 90 percent of these ‘functions’ across the state.”
Rhonda Goodrich said Knoll also told Kubiak “that the (state) government was against the war.”
I will try to remember on stay on top of this and report developments as they happen. I want more confirmation than just the word of Rhonda Goodrich.
Steve
The apology probably has more to do with the friction between Rendell and Knoll than anything. Rendell seems to regard Knoll as a kooky old lady (which, indeed, she may be) and I’m sure he wants zero fallout from anything she does.
If it’s true that Knoll routinely attends military funerals throughout the state, that supports the view that the “controversy” over this particular appearance was just a political stunt.
If it turns out Knoll did behave inappropriately at a military funeral, that’s incredibly poor judgment that should reflect on her political future (assuming she has any at the age of 74). But if it turns out this whole thing was just trumped up by a Young Republican to try and make a Democratic official look bad, I really don’t have words for someone who would use their family member’s funeral for that sort of purpose.
JP
To echo Steve, it’s worth noting that Knoll is known throughout PA political junkie circles as sort of a nut. She was not Rendell’s desired running mate in the last election, but the two offices are disaggregated in PA and she won the primary solely through name recognition, having run for governor once in the ’90s. Rendell was rumored to be trying to get her replaced for 2006 long before any of this happened. She also isn’t much of a liberal. She’s pro-life, for instance, and there were allegations about a year ago that she was in cahoots with one of the head Republican legislators.
Rocky Smith
Handing out business cards at a funeral you weren’t invited to? She didn’t need any Republican to make her look bad. She did quite well at that by herself. If she wants to rant against the war, a funeral for a soldier is a bad place to do it. I doubt that many families burying a soldier want an antiwar activist at their service.
Mike S
Handing out business cards at a funeral you weren’t invited to?
If she was making political statements about the war it was very wrong. There’s no excuse for causing even more pain to an already grieving family. But if Rendell is right that this was nothing more than a offer of help she is being slimed for political purposes herself.
I don’t know which it is but the only people ever allowed to make a political statement at a funeral is the immediate family, IMO. Others there should only show absolute support for the family, regardless of their own views.
Steve
I would consider it tactless if she made a comment for or against the war to a person who hadn’t broached the subject. We really don’t have any reliable information yet as to whether that actually happened, of course.
But giving one person your business card is a crime against humanity? Perhaps, one might surmise, accompanied by a statement, “Call me anytime if there’s anything at all I can do to help”? Personally, I would be honored if an elected official, Republican or Democrat, spoke to me at a difficult time and told me I had their ear if I ever needed it. The way some people are reacting, you’d think she handed out campaign literature.
Rick
I’m disappointed; I don’t see any of the Juicers coming out with her obvious nickname: Grassy.
Cordially…
Steve
I see Michelle Malkin is still flogging this. RedState has yet another diary up, without even noting John’s cautionary words as posted in the previous diary. Of course, Knoll’s office has made the political calculation that it’s better to apologize than to get into a pissing contest with a member of a dead soldier’s family, which was the whole point, of course.
Since Powerline already used up the line “today’s Democrats are less civilized than the Democrats who fought to preserve slavery,” I wonder how they will top themselves now.
A brief search at Free Republic came up with this post where Rhonda Goodrich, College Republican, takes credit for organizing a 400-person protest against Michael Moore at her university.
I know that during election season, it is common for members of both parties to make false claims that the other side beat them up, stole their yard sign, or whatever, but you’d like to think that this temporary madness would pass once the election is over.
The next time some Young Democrat pulls a similar stunt in order to smear a Republican official, I may have trouble mustering the requisite condemnation for their dirty tricks.
Rick
And, of course, Grassy Knoll may have done what she was alleged to have done.
We’ll see.
Cordially…
Vlad
I don’t think there’s any way we’ll ever know for sure either way, unless someone was taping the funeral.
A damn shame, regardless of whether it’s a stunt or not.
Stormy70
I don’t think government officials should go to private funerals. It smacks of political oppurtunism. Unless the family specifically extended an invitation, then she should not have been there. She could have contacted the family another way if she wanted to smooth the benefits process.
Steve
This is the flip side of the debate about Bush attending military funerals, I guess. Either it is crass to attend such funerals, or it is crass not to. (I tend to believe that either is acceptable.)
As for political opportunism, I doubt this appearance would have been publicized in the slightest, were it not for the arguably opportunistic complaint to the media.
Stormy70
It is tacky for a politician to show up without being invited by the family. It is just not done. The family has a right to complain to the media when some idiotic politician shows up at a funeral with her freaking business card. It is a private time, not a photo opp.
Gary Farber
As I pointed out in the previous thread here on this, there are two kinds of services: private, and those publically announced, typically in the newspaper. They are announced in the newspaper because they are public. They’re open to anyone who wishes to respectfully intend the memorial.
That’s why they’re not private and everyone is welcome. There’s no actual requirement to pass a political test, or a right-think test, or a test of employment.
In cases where such is required, a service is done privately, and last I looked, you can’t get in.
Last I looked, as well, a “photo op” had to have, I do believe, cameras. But why let facts interfere with making up stuff about people one doesn’t know, simply because of their political party?
It’s not actually a complicated thing to understand: there are only two whole categories to sort out.
Bob
It smells of a dirty trick against Knoll, but are there any other witnesses who’ve come forward? When my father (a veteran) died, I was grateful for all the help we got.
Again, there is no bar to attending a public funeral service. There is nothing wrong to offering help to a grieving family. Using such an occasion to make public pronouncements on the war is not appropriate for an outsider.
Veeshir
The only thing I saw her apologize for was handing out cards, I didn’t see a mention of anything else.
Vladi G
It is a private time, not a photo opp.
Apparently stormy skipped the part where it was the sister-in-law of the deceased who made public the fact that Knoll even attended. I don’t know a lot of politicians looking for photo ops who, ya know, don’t tell the public they were there until someone else starts complaining.
Something tells me stormy would change her tune if it were a Republican politician who did something similar.
Stormy70
I think it is in bad taste for any politician, regardless of party to show up and start handing out their business cards. The family is upset, and the Lt. Gov could have contacted the family through different channels. I am betting an apology will be coming post haste, since this is a political storm for Rendell. Concerning the photo opp, I bet she has pictures of herself attending military funerals to show during her next campaign.
Gary Farber
Update here.
“I think it is in bad taste for any politician, regardless of party to show up and start handing out their business cards.”
Yes, of course it would be; who disagrees? However, there’s not the slightest bit of evidence this happened. None. She’s not even accused of doing it. The most she’s accused of doing is giving one business card to the aunt so they can reach her if she can be of help. That’s not remotely the same thing as “handing out their business cards” to random attendees, or campaigning. That part you’re just, apparently, making up out of whole cloth; it’s not in the original story, nor in any follow-up; you’ve simply made it up (or, at the least, have an Unrevealed Source).
Stormy70
I stated a general observation, I did not accuse her of handing out several business cards. Upthread I mentioned just the one business card, I was not trying to put multiples in her hand. Sorry it was not clear to you.
Knoll’s apologized anyway, which leads me to believe she did what she was accused of doing. Sounds like she is a major piece of work.
Rhonda Goodrich
Stormy
The funeral was taped. Because there were so many people there ,they had to put some dowm stairs. They had a huge viewing screen. The church is making copies on CD for the family.As far as sources go.Contact pittsburgh local news ( channnel 2,4, &11) They have talked with Our Aunt,And Joes mother as well myself. I stepped up as a spokes person for the family.My inlaws are 70 and 81. Our Aunt is 70. This whole tradgedy has them exhausted. To suggest a family member would make this up sickens me.If you knew anything about who Joe Goodrich was,you would know we are just defending his honor.You can also see Catherine baker knoll in front of the TV cameras ( Channel 4 pittsburgh website)If you’ll notice the church is just letting out and she’s already in front of a camera.Why wasn’t offering condolenses to the family?