There has been a few haters that are fishing for anything to have on (VIPI) Veterans In Politics International.

There has been a few haters that are fishing for anything to have on (VIPI) Veterans In Politics International.

First they state that we are a 501 (c) 3. This statement is false the VIPI has never been a 501 (c) 3, but Veterans In Politics was a 501 (c) 3 several years ago. We changed our tax ID number and attempted to apply with the IRS and was rejected and our monies were nonrefundable. We were told because we are “Political” and “endorsed candidates” we can no longer have that tax exempt status. But anyone that donates to us can. This is the same reason we are not chartered by Congress.

Secondly, these same haters are stating the VIPI endorsements are for sale because we show up on candidates campaign expense report. This statement all by itself is so false I don’t know where to start. If we show up on any candidates campaign expense report they either purchased a ticket for our Valentines Day Ball, sponsored an event, or purchased advertisements. If anyone had any brains they would also notice with the exception of our Valentines Day Ball dinner all of the purchases took place after the endorsement interviews were conducted and many candidates that made purchases were “never” endorsed. We also have a very diverse endorsement panel, a neutral moderator, and all interviews are tapped unedited for all to see.

Thirdly, another falsehood some say that I control the endorsement process for candidates. There has been many times I personally would like to see VIPI endorse a different candidate, but I have to go with the panels recommendation and I do not give my personal opinions on any candidates nor do I have a vote to endorse a candidate unless there is a tie the same is noted in our bylaws on www.veteransinpolitics.org.

In conclusion, some candidates that are Veterans believe that title alone gives them an automatic endorsement. Being a Veteran is a plus, but we do not rubber stamp a candidate and automatically endorse them because they are a veteran. We look for many other contributes to make our determination on who we should endorse.

I hope that I have addressed the rumor ville and keep in mind none of these haters have attended our full process some never attended any process. They are just looking for anything because they are jealous of the process.

Steve Sanson President Veterans In Politics International