Columnist maligns GOP contenders

The Daily Herald chose to again publish an article by Donna Brazile, a columnist who I thought had been thoroughly discredited by her spreading of unsubstantiated rumors about George H.W. Bush and mischaracterizations of Colin Powell. Her well-known attack dog approach is now directed toward potential Republican candidates for the presidency in 2016.

She describes the GOP contenders as "rabble-rousers, holy rollers, regional candidates and Fox News favorites".

Let's take a look at the 24 potential Republican campaigners for 2016 as listed in the free encyclopedia Wikipedia. First there are senators from various regions in the U.S., having been elected in such populous states as Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.

Also on the list are 12 governors from such important states as Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Others are a U.S. Ambassador, a renowned physician, a U.S. representative from New York, and several business executives.

Ms Brazile uses the term rabble-rousers, and the names that come immediately to my mind are Jeremy Wright and Al Sharpton, both influential in the political career of President Obama. Sharpton recently doubled as both a trusted adviser to the White House and a promoter of racial arsonists in Ferguson, Missouri.

I hope Ms Brazile is not going to suggest that what this country needs is another president with a long history as a "community organizer". A Sept. 29, 2008, editorial in the New York Post defines community organizer as someone who intimidates banks into making high-risk loans such as mortgages to customers with poor credit. These subprime mortgages pushed the banking system into a sinkhole of bad loans which undermined the U.S. economy and helped bring about the recent recession.

Gary Sheffert

Arlington Heights