Robert Asher, a frequent and prolific fund raiser for Republican candidates and a member of the Republican National Committee, is a convicted felon. Asher, the owner of a candy company in Souderton, was convicted of bribery in 1986 for agreeing to accept $300,000 in exchange for a no-bid contract. You might remember the case because his co-defendant, Budd Dwyer, called a press conference where he blew his brains out on camera.
Asher continues contributing and raising serious money for Republicans. His generous contributions to the Pennsylvania Future Fund, Attorney General Tom Corbett, Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Matthews (Tweety Junior), and others raise serious questions in light of the recent Hsu controversy. Asher is also the State Chairman for Presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani.
Asher's support for Jim Matthews raises an interesting conflict because his running mate Bruce Castor castigated his AG opponent Corbett for accepting so much campaign money from Asher. Now Castor's running mate is taking Asher money and I'd like to know where that same outrage is? If Asher's money was tainted then why doesn't it continue to be bad? Why isn't the Matthews/Castor team rejecting Asher's money?
Update: I've heard from Bruce Castor and he seems quite upset that Jim Matthews accepted Bob Asher's money:
"I have never taken a dime from Asher or Asher's PAC for this or any other campaign. I simply think it is wrong that a person convicted of political corruption hold aposition of such power and influence in the Republican Party. My view on that has not changed, but I recognize the reality that is the case."
For the record, Jim Matthews has separate campaign account from the joint Matthews/Castor account, obviously because Castor didn't want to be tainted by the Asher money Jim Matthews had no problem accepting. From Castor, again:
"I do not tell Jim what to do. He makes his own decisions and judgments as he thinks best, as do I. I strongly disagree with his decision to take money from Asher, but Jim is his own man." "I all along suspected that taking Asher money would be bad for the campaign, thus while I wouldn't do it as a matter of principle anyway, it also does not make political sense in my view. What Asher did was pressure major donors not to contribute to the both of us."
So it's pretty obvious what happened here. Jim Matthews was willing to take any money out there regardless of it's source. He was willing to compromise ethics and principles for political purposes. Bruce Castor wasn't, especially with his history as a District Attorney and Attorney General candidate. Castor has taken the high road and should be congratulated. Republican voters in Montco determined to vote Republican should keep that in mind and only vote for Bruce Castor.
Jim Matthews not only accepted tainted money his donor put pressure on his fund raising base NOT to give money to Castor. I think this says a lot about Bob Asher and it indicates he's the same man he was in 1986.
I'm glad to see that Bruce Castor is outraged by Matthews' conduct in accepting the Asher money. It answers my question and I appreciate him contacting me and doing so on the record. Now, will Jim Matthews do the right thing and separate himself from the Asher money, all of it? This includes the money he raised from others. Asher held fund raisers for Matthews and all of that money is suspect.
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