As I wrote last week , ‘America’s Mayor’ has had a string of bad breaks as he tries to fear monger his way to the GOP nomination for president. 

The icing on the cake – or so I thought – was that Thomas Ravenel, South Carolina state chairman of Giuliani’s campaign, had to resign last week due to the fact that he was indicted on drug charges.

Needing a new member of his South Carolina team, Rudy decided to keep things in the family by tapping Ravenel’s father, Arthur Ravenel, Jr. to join his campaign.  On the face of it this seemed like a smart move.  Ravenel, a former member of the South Carolina legislature, was also a member of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress from 1987-1995 and obviously has deep political roots in a key, early primary state.

However, Arthur is a man who has a “colorful past”, shall we say:  According to CNN , it seems Arthur is:

A supporter of flying the Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds, Ravenel referred to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as the “National Association for Retarded People” at a flag rally in 2000, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.

Arthur Ravenel later said he inadvertently mixed up his words and apologized to mentally handicapped people for comparing them to members of the NAACP, according to the newspaper.

As John McEnroe , former tennis star, would say: "You cannot be serious!"

If the Ravenel Klan clan is the type of supporters ‘America’s Mayor’ is surrounding himself with, I can only imagine – if elected president – the kind of people who will serve in his administration. 

Howard Salter