Those of you who follow local politics closely have no doubt seen the controversy between Republican representative Randy Kuhl and Democratic challenger Eric Massa over Massa’s in-person challenge to a debate of last week. To me, it all seems like pretty harmless stuff, until Kuhl decided to make parentage an issue for the campaign.
It seems Kuhl decided to make a passing reference to what he regarded as Massa’s rudeness and that it may have been as a result of “the luxury of having wonderful parents like I did who taught about parental respect.”
Well, it looks as though Eric Massa’s father has decided to personally respond to the attack on his parenting skills:
While you and Eric may not always see eye to eye, that doesn’t give you the right to attack my wife, myself, our faith and our values. While I was serving our Nation flying combat missions in Vietnam, my wife Mae had to raise our children by herself. I am proud of her, and I am proud of my children. We faced challenges and overcame adversity, but we held together as a family. I am saddened that you have decided to disrespect the sacrifices that Mae and I made for our family.
Try for a moment to block out the idea of what Randy Kuhl’s statement literally says: that Massa should show Kuhl “parental respect.” Try to block out the idea of Kuhl as patrician. What kind of politician makes an attack this personal over what was really just a small political stunt? Based on what I know of Kuhl’s aversion to cameras, I’m guessing its a very insecure man for his position.
But perhaps Kuhl or his campaign has another opinion? Full transcript after the fold:
