Nat'l Democratic Leader Finds Allegations Against Sanford Bishop Alarming

2nd district Congressman Sanford Bishop (D - Albany) is facing allegations of nepotism after a September 9th article on the website Politico.com reported that he awarded three Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarships to his stepdaughter and his wife's niece [Bresnahan, John (2010-9-9). Sanford Bishop steered scholarships to family. Politico. Retrieved on 2010-9-12.].

Bishop campaign manager Tim Turner released a statement to the press September 10th, blaming Republican congressional candidate Mike Keown for the controversy.

This is about nothing more than Mike Keown scoring cheap political points by attacking Representative Bishop and his family. To Mike Keown, apparently nothing is off limits, even attacking someone’s family. This is a scholarship opportunity that has helped so many young people and Representative Bishop followed the guidelines in place at the time awards were made. Mike Keown is trying to tarnish this program’s reputation with misleading attacks,” Turner wrote.

Sumner, J.D. (2010-9-11). Bishop to repay scholarships. The Albany Herald. Retrieved on 2010-9-12.

However, a recent tweet from a national Democratic Party leader seems to suggest that at least one member of the southwest Georgia Congressman's own party may be uncomfortable with the appearance of impropriety just eight weeks before the midterm elections.

Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman Donna Brazille tweeted the following last week:

"Rep. Sanford Bishop steered CBC scholarships to family. As a member of the CBCF's board, I find these allegations alarming."

These allegations of nepotism against Bishop come at a time when respected political prognosticators such as Charlie Cook have downgraded Bishop's district from safe Democratic to leans Democratic.