I rag on New Hampshire — it’s a proud local tradition! — but this makes me Shake My Head. The current crop of GOP chickenhearts are avoiding the Granite State in order to tonguebathe Steve “Pig Muck” King and spread smarm like holy oil at the Dixie Church of the Whited Sepulcher, per the Washington Post:
… New Hampshire Republicans say they have not seen much of Walker — or Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who skipped a candidate forum here on Monday night. Another forum-skipper was real estate magnate Donald Trump, who is leading in the polls and only recently started taking regular trips to the state.
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is making a heavy push in New Hampshire [ed. note: it’s a convenient driving distance from the Bush Kennebunk summer compound], although some of the most frequent guests in the state are those in the GOP race’s second tier — including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former New York governor George Pataki, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina…
Meanwhile, several Southern states are relishing early visits from a host of presidential contenders. These voters are much less accustomed to seeing presidential candidates stop by their favorite breakfast joints and much more likely to ask for photos or hugs than to press for pithy answers to nuanced policy questions. The region has many wealthy Republican donors, lawmakers are eager to help and liberal activists haven’t spent decades studying ways to capitalize on presidential candidate visits. Plus, the local media are more likely to devote entire articles or evening news segments to a candidate’s visit…
… In early July, Huckabee and Cruz were both at the same mega-church in Milner, a tiny town in middle-of-nowhere central Georgia. Soon after, Walker held a private fundraiser in Atlanta, where several attendees said they were looking forward to a series of such events this summer, including a visit from Bush. Many candidates will be in Atlanta this weekend for the RedState Gathering, sponsored by the popular conservative RedState Web site.
Cruz is focusing heavily on Iowa and the South, and on Friday, he will kick off a seven-day, 20-stop bus tour of eight Southern states aimed at galvanizing conservatives. A news release announcing his trip noted that the region is home to 356 of the 1,236 delegates who will decide the Republican nominee…
Independents are allowed to vote in the New Hampshire primary and the political mood is much more moderate, especially on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion rights, where Walker has been staking out very conservative positions. Voters here are known for being stubbornly opinionated and carry their first-in-the-nation primary responsibility with a regal air. So the chances of Walker getting tripped up here are higher…
If they can’t summon the fortitude to face down a couple of pranksters, how are any of these Repub cowards going to back up their brags about “bringing back respect for America on the global stage”?
Late Night Open Thread: Hiding Out from the Tough OnesPost + Comments (75)