By now, Tea Party protesters may be used to sharp remarks from their political rivals — but the latest insult came from one of their allies. On an audio tape acquired by The Denver Post, Colorado Republican Senate hopeful Ken Buck muttered to a Democratic operative in June, "Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates?" After the story broke, Buck quickly backtracked, saying he "shouldn't have cussed," but explained that he was "frustrated" people who don't think President Obama is a natural-born citizen are distracting attention from the problem of reining in the federal debt. Buck's remark makes perfect sense, says Cynthia Tucker in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "If he is to have a shot at winning the general election in purple Colorado, he has to appear mainstream to appeal to centrists who know the birthers are nuts." This reeks of hypocrisy, says RedState. Buck has "flirted" with birtherism himself, saying he would support lawsuits to force Obama to prove his citizenship. Now he's throwing his supporters "under the bus" for entertaining the same ideas? Watch an MSNBC report on Buck's remarks below:
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