As Rachel talked about last night, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), asked to explain his bizarre Birther-like rhetoric, struggled mightily to explain himself to a local NBC reporter. When asked reasonable questions, the Republican congressman simply — and incoherently — kept repeating the same clumsy line.
Arizona’s far-right congressional candidate Jesse Kelly appears to have picked up some tips from the embarrassing display.
For context, as we discussed earlier, Kelly is running to replace Gabrielle Giffords in a special election, which is just three weeks away. Kelly, a Tea Party favorite, received support two years ago from an anti-immigrant group called ALIPAC, which has been accused of having ties to white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
In this new clip, a local ABC reporter notes that ALIPAC renewed its support for Kelly’s campaign just last week, and asks the Republican if he’ll accept the backing of the accused extremists.
Instead of answering the question, Kelly robotically repeats the same phrase: “Our campaign is going to stay focused on lower gas prices using American energy, lower taxes, and creating jobs.” His supporters in the background find this hilarious. It’s not. Either Kelly accepts support from suspected white supremacists or he doesn’t. It’s not a trick question, and it clearly deserves an answer.
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