Editor’s note: 6:55 PM ET  — Ten minutes ago, CNN updated their story, which we quote below, to state that a Red Cross warehouse has decided to accept donations of Romney’s supplies, though it does not indicate where the supplies will be distributed. This is a direct contradiction of Red Cross policies.
We add the additional CNN reporting at the bottom of this story and have left the remainder of this piece intact.
The Romney campaign still is not sending donations of supplies to New York, where New York City and surrounding areas were extremely hard hit.
Mitt Romney is sending the supplies he asked supporters to bring to his “non-political” campaign event today — to which Romney invited NASCAR driver Richard Petty — in the battleground state of Ohio, only to victims of Hurricane Sandy in swing states that the GOP candidate has a chance of winning: Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania — not the two areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy: New Jersey and New York.
READ: Romney Campaigning Off Storm: Holding ‘Relief Event’ With NASCAR’s Petty
The sheer audacity of this is truly staggering.
At least 29 people have now died because of Hurricane Sandy, in the U.S. alone, and almost 100 internationally. Ten of the 29 died in New York City alone.
First, as The New Civil Rights Movement has repeatedly reported, Romney’s urging to supporters to bring supplies, like blankets, water, and canned goods — instead of donating directly to the Red Cross — actually impedes relief efforts. The Red Cross will not even accept hard supplies, as they have no method to properly distribute them, and accepts financial donations only, because it’s easier to manage and less costly.
READ:Â Romney Attempts To Use Hurricane For Campaign, Impede Emergency Response
“After addressing the crowd briefly, the GOP nominee hopped off a makeshift stage to glad-hand with supporters and collect items as they filed past to donate relief goods like bottled water, canned foods and fleece blankets,” CNN reports:
The campaign announced they would load supplies into a campaign bus for delivery in Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania – all swing states impacted by the storm.
He did not answer questions from reporters on whether he would eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency as president – a topic the storm brought back into the political spotlight from the Republican primaries when Romney said he favored states taking a larger role in disaster relief.
Romney’s “non-political” campaign event, held instead of a publicized, presumptuous “victory rally,” was just a differently-dressed campaign rally.
READ: Mitt Romney: Keeping Federal Disaster Relief Agency Is ‘Immoral’
The sheer audacity of this is truly staggering.
“The event itself was billed as a ‘storm relief’ benefit, and the Romney campaign asked supporters to bring with them food and other goods to donate to victims of the storm,” Adam Peck at Think Progress reports:
But soon, reporters poked holes in the campaign’s explanation for staging the rally. First, the relief event was scheduled for the same time and location as a recently canceled political rally. Then, photos emerged, showing that donors were asked to wait to drop off their goods until Romney arrived to accept them himself, suggesting a photo op not unlike the one his running mate Paul Ryan staged earlier this month in a soup kitchen. And Salon noticed that the targeted recipient of all of the donations — the Red Cross — doesn’t even accept most of what the Romney campaign collected in Ohio.
But just in case there were any lingering questions over the political nature of the relief rally, Romney’s staff left no room for doubt when they aired a biographical video that was part of the Republican National Convention in August (and used by the campaign at political events since).
Peck adds:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) condemned Obama in Ohio, while making an appearance on behalf of the candidate at a “storm relief and volunteer appreciation†event. “This president is either engaged in a massive cover-up deceiving the American people or he is so grossly incompetent that he is not qualified to be the commander in chief of our armed forces. It’s either one of them,†McCain told Romney volunteers.
The sheer audacity of this is truly staggering.
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CNN UPDATE:
Romney’s campaign told reporters that a Red Cross warehouse in New Jersey was accepting the donation, and distributed a statement they attributed to the Red Cross.
“The American Red Cross appreciates the support from the Romney campaign and is working with the campaign to process this donation of supplies,” the statement read. “We are grateful that both the Obama and Romney campaigns have also encouraged the public to send financial donations to the Red Cross. We encourage individuals who want to help to consider making a financial donation or making an appointment to give blood.”
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Related:Â
Trump Using Hurricane Sandy Deaths To Promote $5 Million Obama Challenge
Chris Christie: President Obama ‘Has Been Great’ And ‘All Over’ Hurricane
Hat-tip: Joey Gillis