My usual responses when hearing any stupidity coming from Chris Christie is a contemptuous scoff, but his latest hits home (Trumbull, CT).
Background: I did some volunteer blogging during the glory days of the Lamont/Himes races (google my alias, 'Lorenzo Sunflower') and Kevin Sutherland, the slain Democratic political consultant and past Himes intern was also a Trumbull native, and also a deeply committed liberal. His father, Douglas, is Fairfield County Chairman for Howard Dean's Democracy for America.
What did the Big Boy have to say about this? He blames Kevin's death on the liberals.
“Well here’s a question I want to ask all those mayors and defenders of a broken system,” Christie said. “How much compassion did liberal policies show for the families of Kevin Sutherland and Kathryn Steinle?”
Can I use the term "asshat" on DailyKos? How about "asshole"?
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) response was:
"Kevin Sutherland was a friend of mine," said Himes. "He was an intern on my campaign and in my Congressional office. I am friends with his parents. By speaking about Kevin Sutherland and his family in this way, Christie has once again shown himself nothing more than a pure opportunist with no sense of decency and a severely distorted idea of right and wrong."
"To use Kevin's death to score political points is vile. Kevin was empathetic, kind, and wanted to create a better America and world by lifting up those around him," he added.
Kevin's grieving father told Hearst newspapers,
“He obviously spent little time finding out who my son was and what he stood for,” Sutherland’s family said of Christie. “If he had, he would have discovered someone who was kind and compassionate - someone who could feel the pain of others. He would have found someone who would never exploit someone else’s tragedy to further his own ambitions. He would have found someone very different from himself.”
http://www.ctpost.com/...
Himes also noted that Christie had slashed financial assistance to New Jersey's urban revitalization and added,
"If Christie wants to spout his particular brand of hate-filled nonsense to whomever is unfortunate enough to be in earshot, that's his right," added Himes. "But when he uses the memory of a beloved friend and son in such a grossly disrespectful way, it's our duty to stop listening, move on to more serious topics and people, and continue the work that Kevin believed in."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...