Oh god. In an utterly clueless move, businessman Shri Thanedar put up a post on Facebook on Saturday to inform his supporters that he was preparing for a gubernatorial debate hosted by the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus by pre-gaming at … Popeyes. And when asked about the post in a radio interview the next day, it really didn't help matters when he explained, "I love spicy chicken." Thanedar later removed the post, but only because, he claimed, the event was over. Oy.
It's a little startling that any Democrat in 2018 would pull a move so painfully reminiscent of Trump's infamous Cinco de Mayo "taco bowl" tweet, but part of the problem may be that Thanedar's introduction to Democratic politics is, according to a new report, a recent phenomenon. Several different Democratic consultants in Michigan spoke on the record to the Intercept and all told similar versions of the same story: When Thanedar, who is personally wealthy, approached them about a possible gubernatorial bid last year, he was agnostic about which party banner he might run under, saying he could run as a Democrat, a Republican, or an independent—"whichever side we thought he had the best chance to win on," in the words of one operative.
Thanedar was likewise squirrely about his political views: One consultant says he "admit[ted] he was pro-life" while another concluded he was "adamantly pro-choice." Thanedar himself doesn't dispute that he "remained noncommittal" but says he did so because he didn't want to "share any information … until such time as I announced my candidacy." He also claims that these consultants are now trying to "discredit him," apparently because he didn't hire them.
While there can be merit to launching a surprise campaign, the idea that Thanedar had to keep his politics secret from the people he wanted to pay to help him for strategic reasons "beggars belief," as one of the consultants put it. You can't keep secrets like this from your own advisors—how could they prepare for your campaign otherwise? In any case, given his recent faux pas, it sure seems like he could use some better advice from whoever it is he did wind up hiring.