We have officially hit the stupidest moment in this U.S. Senate election ... so far.
Supporters of Michelle Nunn are crowing about an article in the Huffington Post about the origins of David Perdue's " five basic precepts of economic development: regulatory control, educated workforce, water, cheap power and infrastructure." According to the HuffPo article, before becoming a candidate Perdue referred at least once to four of these "basic precepts" as having been touted by Lee Kuan Yew, the former prime minister of Singapore.
Cue the reaction from Nunn's spokesman, Nathan Click,
:
LOL! OMG! Actually, a better Internet acronym here is TWSS: That's what she said.
Why? Because Nunn advocates for the exact same principles on her campaign website.
That's right: Under the "Jobs and Growth" heading of Nunn's ideas, you'll find the following things:
Workforce Development. We need to do a better job of connecting our young people with jobs. As I travel around the state, business leaders consistently tell me that they need workers, but that they often can't find those with the right skills. We must work to expand public-private partnerships to provide our young people with training, experiential learning and apprenticeships that better equip them to meet the needs of employers in Georgia.
Energy. The US now leads the world in oil and gas production, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia. North America could become energy secure by 2020, ensuring our independence from Middle Eastern oil. New energy technologies will further strengthen our position and deliver competitive advantages to both our energy companies and those that rely on affordable and sustainable sources of energy. Our energy policy must ensure that we maintain this competitive advantage internationally while we ensure that this growth is sustainable and environmentally sound.
Deregulation. We need to make it easier for self-employed workers and small businesses to work and create jobs. They are often overwhelmed by complicated regulations. We need to do a better job of assessing the cost of government regulations before any new ones are imposed as well as undertake a thorough review of the regulations that impact all businesses to ensure that they are necessary, streamlined, and have a minimal impact on job creation.
There's nothing specific there about water, but I feel confident Michelle Nunn believes in having a reliable water supply, too.
Does this mean Nunn is some sort of aspiring Singaporean dictator -- or whatever it is her campaign wants you to believe Perdue is -- as well? Of course not. Like Perdue, she advocates for these things because pretty much everyone advocates for these things, even if the Democrats whom Nunn wants to join in Washington aren't always good about delivering on ideas like affordable energy and deregulation.
Before someone points out Nunn lists other things under her "Jobs and Growth" ideas besides these, well, so does Perdue . He did call these basic precepts, after all. But he has not, to my knowledge, come out in favor of caning people who chew bubble gum on the street, or whatever it is HuffPo and Nunn would have you believe his previous reference to Lee allows us to divine about him.
And hey, you know who else once said nice things about Lee? Barack Obama . So, does that make Obama an aspiring Singaporean dictator, or Perdue an Obama sycophant? I can't keep track; it's all so confusing.
Here's one thing I am perfectly clear about: This is the kind of thing you talk about when you run a campaign based on anything but actual substance.
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