The RPs Debate Romney Bullying: Steven Schulman Weighs In

[Click here to follow the entire RP Debate]

Well, I know *I* never would write and produce a song like that about Jimmy (much less memorize the lyrics and continue to sing it 25 years later). But we have all done things we regret as teens, particularly in groups.

So, given the commonality of this experience, why is it relevant to the presidential race?

The reaction to it by Romney is what is most relevant, and can give us some clues about how he views “the other.”

Ironically, for a person from an insular and sometimes persecuted minority, he does not seem to have much empathy for the “other” — particularly gay men and women.  The last GOP administration suffered greatly from this kind of lack of empathy, and led us into some horrible human rights abuses against Muslims and those perceived to be different.  Abu Ghraib and racial profiling at airports were only some of the more obvious symptoms, but that lack of empathy also contributed to the polarized atmosphere in Washington.