Utah congressional candidate Mia Love has been given a coveted speaking slot at the Republican National Convention, organizers announced Tuesday. Love, a darling of tea-party and conservative Republicans, is characterized by her groundbreaking role in state politics. Utah's first black female mayor, she stands to become the first black Republican woman to take office in Congress if she topples Jim Matheson, a Democrat, in the November election.
Political analysts say it could be the toughest race for Matheson, a popular incumbent in his own right who has handily beat other Republican challengers for a dozen years.
The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Love will get her moment in the national spotlight among the first of Republican speakers next Tuesday evening, convention CEO William Harris announced. Love, 36, said she was invited to speak by the campaign of GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, a fellow Mormon.
"The speech is going to come from the heart," she said.
Well, "from the heart" may be a good thing, since other communications have raised questions regarding the head.
Love has made the "Yeah I'm on black but I'm not like those trashy people on welfare" theme a chorus for her campaign.
The Mayor of Saratoga Springs Utah, Mattheson's challenger fanices herself to be bringing reinforcements to Washington -- for Allen West.
Hard work. Right?
Just quit creating all those "my baby mamas' and ""my baby daddys" and everything will be OK. Right?
Just get an education. Right?
But take a look at the above campaign poster from the GOP's latest attempt at a Get Out Of Jail Free card for racism:
Uh ... hardwork?
In a private discussion forum, David Woolsey, a former editor at the Idaho Press Tribune wrote:
It's a reverse-engineered derivative of the adjective "hardworking" that should still be the adjective-subject compound "hard work" on a poster about education. Other than that, it is a statement that is inarguably true - as proved by the success of our president who did in fact "build that," so to speak.
And when I asked if her call to education should include funding public education, Woosley responded appropriately.
"Publiceducation."
"Mia Love comes with a clean slate," said Kirk Jowers of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. "She is easily Jim Matheson's toughest race, and the most unique one for him. He's been incredibly effective in past campaigns, but Mayor Love is a completely different challenger."
She's different, alright.