Notes From The Campaign Trails
John Sununu leaves a trail of damage and racism wherever he goes, yet Romney keeps him close as a top spokesman. His latest was to suggest that Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for reelection because both men are African-American. Earlier he had called the President “lazy and disengaged” and suggested he wasn't a real American because he had "absolutely no idea" how the American system functions." Jewish voters remember Sununu as the only governor in the United States (New Hampshire) who refused to call for repeal of the infamous Zionism is Racism resolution at the UN. He had a reputation as one of the most anti-Israel voices in the Bush 41 administration until he was forced to resign as White House chief of staff amid a scandal of his own making. What is it about this guy that makes Romney keep him as a leading surrogate?
George Allen couldn’t run fast and far enough away from his Jewish roots six years ago in his losing bid for reelection to the U.S. Senate, even to the point of boasting how much he loved pork chops and ham sandwiches. He also shot himself in the foot with some racist remarks about an Indian-American aide to his opponent. Now Allen is running for his old seat and trying to capitalize on his mother’s Tunisian Jewish background in appearances before Jewish groups to show he has changed and become more tolerant.
It’s a wonder Donald Trump can still walk after repeatedly shooting himself in both feet with misguided missiles launched from his malevolent mouth. The latest was his offer of $5 million for Barack Obama’s college transcripts and passport applications. That followed making a total fool of himself by trying to grab leadership of the feather brained birther movement. Yet in all his demands for disclosure, the Donald still won’t reveal the name of his home planet or just how he arrived at Roswell, New Mexico.
Abortion continues to haunt the Romney campaign and the GOP. It is tough enough that the presidential candidate seems to have taken virtually every side on the issue from pro-choice to pro-life and then picke a running mate who supports the personhood campaign to declare a fertilized egg to be a person from the moment of conception. Now he has to deal with two Senate candidates with aberrant views of rape. One, Todd Akin of Missouri, has declared that women don’t get pregnant as a result of “legitimate” rape, and the latest is Richard Mourdock of Indiana who said rape is no reason for abortion because “I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” Romney called for Akin to drop out of the race but he stood by when the congressman refused and GOP Super PACs began pouring money into his race. A Romney spokesman said the former governor may disagree with Mourdock but still strongly supports the rightwing nutcase’s election. What’s the difference, Mitt? Do you really believe these guys belong in the Senate? Mourdock poses another problem for Romney; the Indiana candidate has said he opposes any and all bipartisan compromise with Democrats, yet that is exactly what the new Romney is boasting that he has done in the past and can do in the future.