The far-right gay Republican group GOProud, which at times seems to be more interested in seeking publicity for its leaders than advancing the political dialogue, has a new game plan to take on President Barack Obama in next year's election. "Our organization's number one goal between now and November 2012 is defeating Barack Obama," Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia said in a statement.
Okay. But what caught our attention was another statement in his press release.
"The Republican presidential field is shaping up to be an incredibly strong one," he added.
Um, on what planet is LaSalvia living? Strong GOP field? That would be news even to many Republicans, who have been bemoaning the lack of a strong candidate for weeks. And that field got a bit weaker last week, when Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour dropped out. While we don't agree with his positions on anything, Barbour is the consummate GOP good ol' boy, and as governor and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, he has a Rolodex that is as impressive as it is conservative.
LaSalvia's pronouncement shows that GOProud is out of touch and cannot fashion a vision beyond rote sound bites. Events of the past several days have put the entire GOP field at a greater disadvantage in a match-up against Obama.
Just this past Sunday – before Obama announced that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been killed in a special forces operation – the New York Times had a story on page one headlined "GOP is pursuing wider 2012 field as debate nears." The article goes on to state that Republican leaders, party activists, and donors are "anxious that the party's initial presidential field could squander a chance to capture grassroots energy and build a strong case against President Obama at the outset of the 2012 race." It added that these folks are "stepping up appeals for additional candidates to jump in, starting with Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana."
The first primaries are still about eight months away, but most political observers believe that time is quickly running out for serious contenders to get into the race. And the problem, as many Republicans see it, is that the current field is either making a bad first impression by appearing tentative about their prospects against Obama, as the Times article stated, or, as we see it, just a bunch of bad candidates period.
Take birther Donald Trump for instance. For the last several weeks, Trump has been soaking up air time on television with hyperbole about how he doubts Obama was born in the U.S. (Obama was born in Hawaii and released his birth certificate during the 2008 campaign.) This mania fed into a part of the GOP base that doubts Obama is a U.S. citizen, and thus, ineligible to be president. Since Trump has no political experience, he apparently thought clinging to the birther wing of the Republican Party was a good way to become the nominee. It isn't and he won't.
One need look no further than last week to see how masterfully Obama played Trump. On Wednesday, the president released his long-form birth certificate and spoke to reporters about it at a televised briefing. Trump, who was traveling in New Hampshire, an early primary state, refused to look at a copy that reporters thrust at him and still exhibits doubts about its authenticity.
Then last Saturday Trump was thoroughly demolished by Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner. To cite just one example from the president: "All kidding aside, we all know about your credentials, and your breadth of experience. For example, on a recent episode of Celebrity Apprentice, at the steakhouse, the men's cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around, but you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately, you didn't blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf, you fired Gary Busey. These are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir! Well handled."
Trump, still smarting from the takedown by Obama and the dinner's headliner, Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers, this week compared same-sex marriage to a new golf putter (he favors the traditional putter, hence, traditional marriage).
But on Sunday night, Obama exhibited his leadership as commander in chief when he told the nation that bin Laden had been killed. It's been nearly 10 years since 9/11, and even before that awful day, bin Laden had been linked to various terrorist attacks around the world. While the country is still learning about the Navy SEAL operation that killed bin Laden, it was a gutsy decision by the president who authorized the strike once he and his national security team had the intelligence and other information. Obama accomplished what George W. Bush could not.
Meanwhile, the Republicans have Trump; Representative Michele Bachmann, who has declined to categorically call Obama a U.S.-born citizen; Mitt Romney, who ran in 2008; Tim Pawlenty, who no one's ever heard of; and Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum, among other potential presidential candidates. Somehow, we just don't see that as a strong field. And certainly, none of them would lift a finger to end discriminatory treatment of LGBTs.
Knock yourselves out, GOProud.