Frank Caprio: Obama Can Take His Endorsement and "Shove It"

CBS/ AP

Updated at 4:20 p.m. ET

Rhode Island's Democratic candidate for governor Frank Caprio on Monday dissed President Obama for refusing to endorse him, telling a talk radio host that Mr. Obama "can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as I'm concerned."

Mr. Obama travels to the Ocean State today for a set of Democratic fundraisers, as well as a visit to a factory. The White House told reporters yesterday, however, that Mr. Obama will not endorse Caprio or any other candidate in the race. Caprio is in a heated contest against Republican John Robitaille and Republican-turned-Independent Lincoln Chafee -- an early Obama ally when he ran for president.

In an interview with WPRO-AM this morning, Caprio criticized the president for fundraising in Rhode Island today, after ignoring the state during the spring's record flooding.

"Now he's coming into Rhode Island treating us like an ATM machine," he said.

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A spokesperson for Caprio told the Providence Journal that the campaign doesn't expect the president's non-endorsement to impact the race. However, he said it did benefit Caprio to be invited to join Mr. Obama today at the Woonsocket factory, as well as the Democratic fundraisers.

Chafee spokesman Mike Trainor, meanwhile, told the Providence Journal that the president's decision "is a victory for Linc Chafee."

A Rasmussen poll released Friday showed Chafee with a 7-point lead, though other recent polls give Caprio a slight lead.

A spokesperson for the Rhode Island Republican Party told the Associated Press that Caprio's response to the president's decision was disrespectful and a sign that the Democrat's campaign is in "meltdown mode."

Update: White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters today that Mr. Obama decided to stay out of the Rhode Island gubernatorial race ""Out of respect for his friend Lincoln Chafee," CBS News Senior Political Producer Rob Hendin reports.

In response to Caprio's comment that Mr. Obama could "shove it," Burton acknowledged that "emotions are running high" in the race.

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Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[glennsco]

Caprio doesn't deserve President Obama's endorsement or anyone else's. To think that he should endorse you just for being in the same party is not wise. Obviously, based on your comment, he knows you better than you think. You reap what you sow. In other words, if you can't respect the office of the President, why would you expect someone to respect you IF you were to get in office?

[WhoItBe]

The greater problem is that we have been lied to consistently from the President. Just like no earmarks in the Health bill, BS; what there are 90 some?

What percentage of CBS do Muslims own? Hear Fox is over 10% as well as ABC....

Everyone needs to go to www.theoakinitiative.org and watch the videos. It will make you shudder.

[netjunkie1]

Well at least he didn't threaten to cut off his nuts...

[o_nolan1]

catmomtx, your country is in the middle of a class war. You have stopped seeing each other as Americans and can only see what fringe groups and individuals can get for themselves. Wacko's have hijacked the political agenda and they are disguised as patriots. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Patriots don't divide and conquer. Patriots don't run a continuous election campaign. Patriots don't blame the current administration for not fixing a problem that was made by 8 years of brutal Bush rule.

Your country has lost it's way. Please understand that you are no longer number one at everything. The world no longer looks up to you. It's all changed. They see that you can't even take care of your own.

President Obama is a good man for the wrong time. These Republicans and Tea Party backers are hoping for and striving for an America that never existed. They make Nixon, Ford and Reagan look like moderates. In many ways, Nixon was.

Where is it all going? How can a country with 10% unemployment (probably 20% in real figures) keep going? How can the rich just stand by and watch people fall off the edge of the earth? Where is the collective?

Aren't you all Americans, rich or poor, black or white? What happened to you?

[netjunkie1]

"I have always been here."
kosh

[glennsco]

I agree with you o_Nolan1. It is truly a sad state of affairs. :-(

[krzeaz]

Yay for Caprio!!!!

[LIBERALS-lie]

Dems are imploding

[sickofhate]

Caprio sounds like someone on Tony Soprano's payroll. It's clearly apparent that President Obama endorsed the better candidate.

[WhoItBe]

Interesting comments, thanks. Don't believe that their website is focused on a certain order. And, they aren't saying what religon, only that they believe in a creator. I would suggest going to their website of www.constitutionpartyoregon.org as in the post tried not to make it extremely time consuming to read and may have shorten some of their statement too much. The central point was that at least this party has an agenda that is logical and readable besides being traceable. Read the GOP and DEMS, what gobble'd'goop they have.

[WhoItBe]

Wouldn't it be nice if GOP and DEM's both had this party view:
A)Honor God, defend family, seek to restore our Republic. Our nominees pledge to uncompromisingly work for the implementation of the following seven principles:
1) Life, beleive in divine providence and recognize our Creator and protection of the unborn.
2) Liberty, true liberty comes from self-governing; ie President James Madison, "not upon the power of government...but upon the capacity of each of us to govern ourselves according to the 10 commandments.
3) Protect the authority of the family.
4) Property, right of individuals to own and steward; no forced transfer to others.
5) US Constitution; limit the power and scope of the federal government.
6) Return Federal Government to it's constitutional boundaries and limited local government.
7) American Sovereignty - protect our borders; trade and common defence. Oppose membership in UN who attempts to assert authority over our Constitution and bypass soverign citizen's.

This is our Constitution Party; perhaps we should all look a little deeper and ask more of our GOP - the DEMS are lost. The above was generalized due to space.

[jackfluffy]

It's interesting that a politician's commitment to the US Constitution ranks 5th on your list.

[ge556]

I would much rather have the freedom to my own religious or non-religious views, than you have yours forced upon me. Your "authority of the family" sounds like you want to forgive abusive parenting. In general, it sounds like you are siding with those who don't want human rights guarantees. This favors the powerful over the less powerful. Not my idea of a better world. TruthTeller

[dchaban]

TBH, with all the lying about the WMD in Iraq, the lack of Al Queda originally in Iraq, the taking of the eye off the ball in Afghanistan, the trillions of dollars that are being wasted in Iraq, the terrible cost of soldier's lives and limbs and mental strains, all because a President wanted to show what he could do - he should have been impeached and arrested for treason.

He allowed a recession to get worse. Was in bed with all the people who needed bailing out later. His VP owned stock and was a former VP of one of the main companies that profited from the war and you want to come down on Obama?

The man has saved millions of jobs but hasn't had the time to unscrew the economy, if it even can be, that it took Bush 8 years to really screw up because his eyes were on his war and getting Bin Laden - which he never did because of internal politics between Tenant and Rumsfield - another guy that should be taken out and arrested.

All these neo cons did was screw up the country to the point that it will take a decade of austerity programs, at least, to get this country back in shape if it can be done. Clinton had us paying down our debt and the budget balanced but Bush put us in debt the likes of which we've never seen, and you want to blame Obama?

The least that can be done is give the guy enough time to do his job. Bush had 8 years to screw this country royally and make his friends rich. At least give Obama a little time to try to unscrew what Bush screwed over. To blame this economy on Obama is like Blaming WWII on Roosevelt. But that's what irrational people do. There was no way that Obama was going to be able to fix this economy in 2 years, so blame him for it. How many trillions did Bush spend on tax breaks and giving back to the rich when we actually needed the money to spend? You can't have it both ways - give back money and then spend more than any President in history and then blame his successor for it all.

Oh, I forgot, this is politics, you can say anything even when it doesn't make sense.

To finally have health care for a large minority of Americans that haven't ever been able to afford it before sounds like a terrible idea too. Just the fact that it might prevent people down the line from having diseases that cost more to treat and cost the taxpayers more money down the line sounds like perfect sense.

I just don't understand when a President tries to do something other than kill people with tax dollars, people on the other side get upset. Unfortunately Bush shot his wad going after the wrong people. As Eisenhower, a very smart Republican said, "We can't be the world's policeman."

[laproud007]

Nice crock you've whipped up here. Change the names and Voila you have LBJ, Jimmy C., Bill C. and B.O.. plus cronies. Enough treason to go around for all.

[catmomtx]

At least with LBJ, Jimmy C, Bill Clinton and even with President Obama the middle class and poor were taken into consideration.

It is amazing that some Americans are so selfish that they think all Americans having access to affordable health care is bad. Or that people have been so convinced that a person who is only trying to do what he thinks is best for our country just like the Republican President could be so vilified and disrespected. Then they have the nerve to blame the President for their intolerance, divisiveness, hate and racism.