Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Denies Appearing At Rally With Birther
Last January, GOP House candidate Bill Hudak (R-MA) claimed that he was endorsed by Scott Brown, who had been elected to the Senate two days earlier. Brown's alleged support received national attention because of Hudak's extreme views, including his stated belief that President Obama was born in Kenya. Shortly after the announcement, however, it was reported that Hudak had faked the endorsement.
Now, Hudak is becoming an issue in Massachusetts' competitive gubernatorial race after GOP candidate Charlie Baker appeared at a Hudak rally. While Baker has not officially endorsed Hudak, the two were photographed together onstage, and Hudak has touted Baker's appearance on his campaign website.
Strangely, though, Baker recently denied that he actually attended the event. "He might have been at one of mine," Baker said last week. Watch:
Contrary to his claim, Baker's own campaign had already acknowledged that he appeared at the rally. The Boston Phoenix reported:
"Charlie was speaking to voters," campaign spokesperson Rick Gorka told me, when I asked about Baker choosing to associate with Hudak. "We're going to talk to voters everywhere." [...]
Asked whether Baker personally considers Hudak's questioning of Obama's citizenship, or comparing Obama to bin Laden, offensive, Gorka replied: "They're not things Charlie agrees with." Pressed again, Gorka termed those things "outrageous," but would not accept the characterization of "offensive."
The Boston Globe's Scott Lehigh recently observed that Baker is "trying to finesse a thorny divide" between moderates and the far right, and criticized him for bolstering Hudak's credibility. "Yes, Baker's camp disavows Hudak's views. Yet a candidate is also known by the company he keeps," Lehigh wrote. "And it speaks poorly of Baker that he's willing to countenance Hudak to court his supporters."
