SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010
O’Donnell: ‘Tea party’ hero or fringe figure?
o'donnell from A1
In another previously unreleased clipfrom1999, shelaughinglytold a television audience that she’d once “dabbled into witchcraft” and unknowingly had a picnic on what she called a Satanic altar. On Saturday, O’Donnell can-
celed two appearances she had agreed to make on the Sunday morning talk shows, saying she wouldmake local campaign stops inDelaware instead. While her come-from-nowhere
victory undoubtedly catapulted the “tea party” movement for- ward, it has also brought a new and intense level of scrutiny that has the potential to damage it. Evenasmanyteapartyactivists
praise her victory, strange stories about O’Donnell emerge daily. Some of her financial troubles could counter the tea party’smes- sageof fiscal andpersonal respon- sibility. And her wide-ranging comments on sex couldmarginal- izeamovement thathastriedhard in recentmonths to portray itself as a cross-sectionofAmerica. Democrats immediately seized
upon O’Donnell as emblematic of what they say is an untested and fringe element that is taking over theRepublicanParty. And among Republicans, her
victory stoked the fear that has followed themall year: that there will be a backlash against the tea party that could dampen support for their candidatesandcost them a shot at taking overCongress. Most of theGOP establishment
has lined up behind her. And to hermost avid supporters, O’Don- nell’s personal problems have hu- manized her and helped establish her as a symbol of the power of voters over an establishment that has become too accustomed to anointing candidates. “I’mthe everymanandshe’s the
everywoman,” said Bill Colley, a conservative radio talk show host inDelawarewho backs her candi- dacy. “All of the allegations that the Republican Party establish- ment have heaped on her have onlymade us rushtoher defense.” For her opponent, Democrat
Chris Coons, she could be a galva- nizing force that helps him turn out voters inNovember. But at the debate, even some
disgruntled Democrats who had planned to vote for Rep. Michael N. Castle (R), whom O’Donnell defeated, said theywerewilling to consider voting forher.
A Christian advocate O’Donnell, 41, grew up in
Moorestown, N.J., and attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, though she did not earn her de- gree until this year. She is single and has never held public office. She moved to Washington after college, working short stints in communications at the Republi- can National Committee and the ConcernedWomenofAmerica. Shethenstartedherowngroup,
theSavior’sAllianceforLiftingthe Truth,whichstill exists,according to her campaign filings. She start- ed appearing on television as a conservative pundit, usually speaking onmoral issues and par- ticularly expressing her opposi- tionto sex outsidemarriage. Through her extensive media
appearances in the 1990s, she ex- pressed doubts about evolution and criticized homosexuality. She also said, in a 1997 C-SPAN clip unearthed by Talking Points Memo, that AIDS sufferers brought thediseaseonthemselves and that toomuchmoney is spent onpreventionefforts. O’Donnell has been ridiculed
onliberalblogs for statements she hasmade about sex, including the MTV appearance inwhich she re- ferred to masturbation as sinful. DuringThursday’sdebate,O’Don- nell saidherviewshadmatured. “I was very excited and passionate about my newfound faith,” she said about that period inher life. OnFriday,BillMaher,onwhose
“Politically Incorrect” show O’Donnell had appeared in the 1990s, released the clip from1999 ofher talking aboutwitchcraft. “Idabbledintowitchcraft,but I
never joined a coven,” she said. “One ofmy firstdateswithawitch was ona Satanic altar, andIdidn’t know it. I mean, there’s a little blood there and stuff like that . . . Wewent to amovie and then, like, had a little midnight picnic on a Satanic altar.” Maher has promised to show a
new clip every week until O’Don- nell appears again onhis show. In 2003, she joined aWilming-
ton-based group called the Inter- collegiate Studies Institute that produces journals and other ma- terial for Christian college stu- dents. As the group’s director of communications, she often railed against co-ed bathrooms and what she viewed as increased sex- ual activity oncollege campuses. “What’s next?Orgy rooms?Me-
nage-a-trois rooms?” she told the WashingtonTimes that year. O’Donnell was fired from the
institute in 2004, and an official told the Wilmington News-Jour- nal at the time that the dismissal was because she had used organi- zationresources torunafor-profit business. Institute officials de- clined to comment about O’Don- nell inaninterviewFriday. She filed a lawsuit against her
former employer the next year, alleging gender discrimination and seekingmore than $7million in damages. (She dropped the suit in 2008, saying she could no lon- ger affordher legal fees.) She ran for the Senate in 2006,
2008 and again this year, but it’s unclear how she supported her- self financially. In a disclosure form filed in July, O’Donnell an- swered “no” to the question of whether any group has paid her
more than $5,000 over the past year. She listed about $6,000 in income from two conservative groups, neither of which could be reached for comment. She did not list any assets or bank accounts. According to a biography post-
ed on her Web site Saturday, O’Donnell has served as amarket- ing and media consultant to the Mel Gibson film “The Passion of The Christ”;Natalia Tsarkova, the Vatican’s first female portrait painter; and theWorld Education and Development Fund, a charity that provides scholarships in Lat- in America. In 2002, she was awarded a Lincoln Fellowship at theClaremont InstituteinCalifor- nia ; she is listed onthe program’s Web site as an alumna.Afellowin the programthis year is conserva- tive activistAndrewBreitbart.
Financial troubles? The IRS placed a lien against
her earlier this year, saying she owed nearly $12,000 in unpaid taxes from 2005; O’Donnell has said it was a mistake by the IRS. Fairleigh Dickinson has sued her repeatedly to collect almost $5,000 of unpaid tuition, and two years ago, hermortgage company suedher fornot paying rent.All of
thesematters appear tohave been resolved, however, as she has sold the house and paid back the tu- ition.The lienhas also beenlifted. O’Donnell had long said she
was a graduate of Fairleigh Dick- inson, but she did not receive her degreeuntil thismonth.Whileshe says onherWeb site that thedelay was a result of the unpaid tuition, a campaign official told Politico earlier thismonththat shedidnot complete her coursework until this summer. She told the News-Journal ear-
lier this year that she lived in a townhouse that doubled as her campaignoffice, andthat shepaid part of her rent with campaign funds. On her Web site, however, she said she lives elsewhere and keepsheraddressprivatefor secu- rity reasons. “During my 2008 campaign, both my home and campaign office were vandalized, brokeninto,andfileswerestolen,” theWeb site states. “Threatening messages were left and nasty names were scrawled across my front door and porch.” On Friday morning, there was
no sign to distinguish the beige townhouse as a campaign office. When a reporter rang the door- bell, a woman in a “Christine
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From Page One
A9
MELINA MARA/THE WASHINGTON POST ChristineO’Donnell was greeted enthusiastically at Friday’sValuesVoter Summit. She’s raised nearly $1.8 million since Tuesday’s primary.
2010” T-shirt emerged and said the leasing company requested that members of the media be asked to leave theneighborhood. The nonpartisan Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says itwill file a com- plaint with the Federal Elections Commission and ask the U.S. at- torney in Delaware to investigate whether sheusedcampaignfunds for personal expenses. Since her Tuesday victory,
O’Donnell has raised nearly $1.8 million, according toherWebsite. At the Values Voter summit in
Washington on Friday, O’Donnell was greeted as a conquering hero and was defiant about what she expects to face this fall. “Will they attack us? Yes. Will
they smear our backgrounds and distort our records? Undoubted- ly,” she told the crowd. “Will they lie about us, harass our families, name-call and try to intimidate us?Theywill.There’snothing safe about it.But is itworthit?I sayyes, yes, a thousand times yes. This is nomoment for the faint ofheart.”
sandhya@washpost.com baconp@washpost.com
AliceCrites and AmyGardner contributed to this report.
100,000 don’t count?
working Americans
Put the brakes on the Department of Education’s “Gainful Employment” rule.
www.mycareercounts.org
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