Well, folks, we've got a live one here. Physician Mark Freeman, by far the best-financed Republican in the race for Florida's open (and hotly competitive) 18th Congressional District, was asked at a candidate forum late last week what he would "recommend to heal" the "divisions" caused in this country by "racial unrest." His answer was utterly jaw-dropping:
"This is deep-seated. Obama has made a bold-faced effort to drive a wedge between the races. He paints a picture of envy to our black citizens and the envy drives hatred. And then he says to them: 'You've got it coming for free. These rich people owe you.' And on top of that, he gives them free stuff, too. And that just is anti-American and it complicates our relations between the races. And really we need to have compassion for these people. And we need to allow them the education they need so that they can have self-worth and dignity and become productive citizens."
Seriously, we're back to "Obama phones" and "gifts" to black people? Yep, Freeman actually brought up all this and more in a statement, stridently refusing to apologize. It's as though Republicans read their infamous post-2012 "autopsy" and decided that all the things it said they shouldn't do—belittle rape, insult minorities, hate on immigrants—were actually things they should do more of. How else to explain Donald Trump—or Mark Freeman?