The Clinton campaign was correctly criticized for allowing Seddique Mateen, father of the Pulse nightclub mass murderer, to occupy a prime bleacher spot in her recent Kissimmee rally. The real shock is that something like this hasn’t happened before.
That’s because modern political campaigns prioritize having a backdrop of enthusiastic supporters that looks as demographically eclectic as possible. It’s a last-second, seat-of-the-pants, campaign casting call. Supporters sharing a close-cropped frame with the candidate is supposed to symbolize diverse, devoted support.
Instead it’s a contrived mosaic of those who did better than score an autograph.
In short, if campaigns can’t do a better job of controlling who gets access to such candidate proximity, then put flags and potted plants behind the candidate.