Just a little addition to this thread covering the extreme statements leaping from the mouths of GOP candidates, as Steve Benen notes about an increasingly desperate Marco Rubio:
The Florida senator later added that he won’t stop talking about how Obama is hurting the country.“One of the things I’m criticized for is saying the truth, and I’ll continue to say this: Barack Obama is undermining this country. He is hurting this country. He is doing serious damage to this country in a way that I believe is part of a plan to weaken America on the global stage. This is the truth,” Rubio said on Fox.
For any adult looking at reality, it obviously is not the truth, but let’s not brush past the specifics of this pitch too quickly. Rubio believes he sees a secret plan, hatched by the president of the United States, “to weaken America” deliberately.
In other words, Rubio’s comeback plan involves telling voters that President Obama is somehow guilty of treason.
Indeed, consider this exchange yesterday between Alex Conant, Rubio’s communications director, and CNN’s Chris Cuomo.
CUOMO: So [Marco Rubio] really believes that President Obama is intentionally trying to destroy the country?CONANT: Absolutely. And I – and I – all – all evidence points – all evidence confirms that. He –CUOMO: That he’s intentionally trying to destroy the country?CONANT: Absolutely.
Rubio needs to stand out, because it’s clear, after the Saturday debate debacle and its consequences in New Hampshire, that the prize is slipping through his fingers. But this isn’t some picayune state house speakership, this is the Presidency and he’s learning there’s far more than talking points and style. But he doesn’t want to commit, and nothing – nothing – is beyond the pale for him.
But, unfortunately, someone else has already taken possession of the Anti-Christ meme (thanks to Right Wing Watch), so he had to settle for accusations of treason. If, through some miracle, he still wins the nomination, those headlines will be taken out, dusted off, and paraded in front of the independent voters – along with the facts.
It seems like a loser’s strategy to me.
