NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      SAN DIEGO (CWNews.com) - Darrell Issa, a Republican candidate for the US Senate in California, came under fire on Thursday for apparently exaggerating his claims of working with the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

      Issa, a self-made millionaire, responded last month to a question about how he's fighting drug abuse by saying: "I've been very active at St. Vincent de Paul." However, Father Joe Carroll, who heads the San Diego chapter of the group, said Issa has only given small amounts of money and time. Issa's spokesman Lisa Gimbel said the controversy over her boss's remark, made after a speech in Sacramento on April 7, was one of semantics and dirty politics. "I think it's not what you meant, it's what you said that everybody puts under the magnifying glass," Gimbel said. "He's not a liar, he's honest and he's sincere."

      Gimbel said Issa meant that he makes small gifts to St. Vincent de Paul and is a close friend of Father Carroll. But Father Carroll denies even that claim, saying he's only met with Issa a few times. "He is a small donor, but has not really given time to us," Carroll said. "It would not be considered active with us." Issa is leading his only close rival for the Republican nomination in the June primary to oppose Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer in November.