Eric Kleefeld of TPM has all the details.
With friends like these...
Senate candidate Sue Lowden (R-NV), who has become nationally known (and joked about) for her suggestion that people use the barter system to lower health care costs -- discussing how her grandparents' generation would bring a chicken to the doctor as payment -- is now being dubbed with the nickname "Suicidal Sue." And the person doing it, Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, is one of her supporters.
The Reno Gazette-Journal asked Cashell last week whether he was worried about Lowden's missteps, ranging from "Chickens For Checkups" to finance questions surrounding her campaign bus. Cashell shook his head, the paper reports. "She's suicidal," he said. "Suicidal Sue."
In an interview with the local NBC affiliate in Reno, Cashell made it clear that he stands by Lowden -- and he also stands by his criticisms.
"I still endorse Sue Lowden for Senate," he said. "I think she's very capable and very qualified. But, I hope her handlers will do a better job of working with her, and coordinating things. If they make a mistake, admit they made a mistake, don't try to cover it and brush over it."
That didn't stop Cashell from later humiliating Lowden in a public make-up meeting by standing her up at a local tavern, which KOLO-TV in Reno captured the cringe-worthy scene. For her part Sue Lowden kept right on smilin', as always.
