Has anyone looked at the plethora of candidates running for president next year and thought ‘hmm, I think we could do with at least one more?’ Joe Walsh has.
The radio host and former Illinois congressman jumped in on the less-crowded Republican side of the field this weekend.
‘Friends, I’m in. We can’t take four more years of Donald Trump,’ Walsh wrote on Twitter Sunday. ‘And that’s why I’m running for president. It won’t be easy, but bravery is never easy. But together, we can do it. Join me… join us: go to https://joewalsh.org. Let’s show the world we’re ready to be brave.’
Good of Walsh’s campaign to echo the slogan of Cockburn’s favorite Democratic candidate: Kirsten Gillibrand. Perhaps he was hoping she would have dropped out by now?
Many are speculating about what the point is in a primary challenge to Trump, who has an 88 percent approval rating among Republicans. Bill Weld, the former Massachusetts governor, has been mounting one since April, and has garnered less support than some of the lower-tier Democrats running. What does Joe Walsh offer that’s so different?
Well, if his past tweets are anything to go by, Walsh will be vigorous in his defense of the First Amendment, particularly when it comes to the rights of white people to say the ‘n’-word.
‘So if “Redskins” is so racist, why do even liberals say & print the term. We’d never use nigger, spick, honky, or cracker in a tweet. Right?’, tweeted the candidate for president in June 2014.
‘Found out if I said Redskins or Cracker or Redneck Bible Thumper, I could stay on. But if I said Nigger or Spick, they cut me off,’ he wrote hours after.
A year later, he was at it again: ‘Obama didn’t use the n-word. He said the word nigger to make a point about racism. And that’s perfectly fine to do.’
Indicating an article about Piers Morgan, Walsh wrote: ‘Piers Morgan: “White people who say the n-word should be jailed.” Well, Obama’s half white & he said nigger 2day so…’
‘KY school apologizes for assignment asking students to discuss the word “nigger.” Huh? Can’t even discuss the word?’ Walsh mused, one month before Trump’s election.
This particular trait marks Walsh out in the Republican field. Gov. Weld has never tweeted the ‘n’-word, and Donald Trump only did so once in 2013.
‘Why? Why did I decide to primary Donald Trump and open myself up to brutal personal attacks? And expose everything I’ve ever said or written to public scrutiny?’ Walsh tweeted this morning. ‘Because Trump is unfit and he’s a danger to this country. Go to joewalsh.org. Donate. #BeBrave.’
Because what could be braver than inviting the world to judge the things you say and do in the public sphere? Cockburn can’t wait to see some more warped Walsh logic as the campaign progresses.
Got a tip for Cockburn? Email cockburn@spectator.us.
