Saturday, January 7, 2012

Ron Paul Supporters Shoot Him in the Foot

Every year, thousands of American couples adopt kids from overseas. Why, I don't know, there's thousands of kids here in the US that need good homes... but presumably orphanages here are paradises compared with orphanages in China, Romania (definately Romania) et al.

So when some Ron Paul supporters filmed an ad which accused Huntsman of having "Chinese values" because he adopted a couple of kids from China, that was not just going over the line by focusing on a candidate's family instead of the candidate, but also offensive - I would think - to every parent who adopts these types of kids because they want to give them American values by bringing them to America, land of the free and home of the brave.

I wouldn't have voted for Ron Paul anyway, but now, definitely not!

Is this what the supporters wanted?

One has to wonder if third-party people should have the right to make commercials for their favorite candidates, when that commercial paints the candidate in such a bad or offensive light that it accomplishes the opposite of what it's supposed to.

(Unless, and this is just a conspiracy theory, some Huntsman supporter decided to make this offensive commercial and blame it on Ron Paul, knowing that the response he'd get would be to drive folks to Huntsman? Someone being Machiavellian here?)

Huntsman objects to ad featuring adopted kids
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman, who often speaks movingly of his adopted daughters while on the campaign trail, said Friday that Ron Paul's supporters were out of line in using the girls to argue that Huntsman is un-American.

An online ad posted by "NHLiberty4Paul" includes video footage of Huntsman, the former ambassador to China, with daughter Gracie when she was an infant. It also shows Huntsman holding Asha shortly after she was adopted from India.

"American values? Or Chinese?" the ad asks, ending with "Vote Ron Paul."

A message sent to the ad's creator was not returned. Paul's New Hampshire spokeswoman, Kate Schackai, said Friday she didn't know who was behind the ad, but it wasn't anyone affiliated with the campaign.

"The video was utterly distasteful and no one who actually supports Dr. Paul's principles would have made it," she said.

In Concord, Huntsman said it was "stupid" to allege that he has Chinese values because he lived overseas and speaks Chinese.

"If someone wants to poke fun at me, that's OK," said Huntsman, whose campaign has posted several online ads attacking Paul as unelectable. "What I object to is bringing forward pictures and videos of my adopted daughters and suggesting there's something sinister there."

Huntsman and his wife have seven children, including Gracie, 12, who was abandoned at a Chinese vegetable market at two months of age, and Asha, 6, who was left to die on a roadside in India the day she was born.

Speaking to New England College's "College Convention," he called the two girls "a daily reminder that there are a lot of kids in this world who don't have the breaks that you do."

When questioned by the audience, Huntsman also challenged Romney's assertion that "corporations are people."

"Of course corporations are not people. Who would say such an outlandish thing? I can't imagine anyone running for president would say something like that."

Huntsman, who skipped last week's Iowa caucuses, is counting on a strong finish in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary to continue his campaign

Looking ahead to the weekend's debates, Huntsman said he expects questions on China will arise with no easy answers. Huntsman said U.S.-China relationship presents both challenges and opportunities.

"It's not a 30-second sound bite to say, 'We have to figure out how to make the relationship work.' That doesn't result in cheers. It's better to say, 'We're going to go to war!'" he said in a mock belligerent tone. "But I've got to be honest."

No comments:

Post a Comment