Tasty Kabob, a small food-truck business based in Washington, D.C., was forced to relocate from its usual parking spot due to an anti-Mitt Romney Democratic National Committee bus parked outside the Republican National Committee headquarters.
Tasty Kabob, which operates five food trucks in DC, normally parks at 310 1st Street SE, the location of the RNC headquarters. A truck arrived late Thursday morning to find that a large DNC coach bus was parked in that location.
“This is just more Democrats literally standing in the way of small business as food trucks work hard to make a living,” RNC press secretary Kirsten Kukowsi wrote in an email reported by National Journal.
A worker at Tasty Kabob made clear that the location was not “our spot,” and that the relocation did not seem to have affected their business. The worker added that their usual parking spot is metered and is under the auspices of the DC government.
The DNC bus, which displayed slogans criticizing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s business background, had been issued a permit from the District Department of Transportation to occupy multiple metered parking spots for the day.
Signs stating “Reserved No Parking” were wrapped around the meters, indicating the spots would be occupied from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse refused to comment on the operation. “We’re not conducting interviews with y’all,” he told a Daily Caller intern while lounging on the bus. At the DNC headquarters, a guard said that most of the communications team was out of the office.
Rebecca Chalif, whose name and phone number was listed on the signs, did not respond to a call asking how the permits were arranged. Chalif is the DNC’s assistant press secretary.
Observers of the bus seemed unsure of its purpose and location. “Who are they trying to convince?” one passerby wondered, noting that most of the workers who passed by the bus work for lobbying firms, congressional representatives or the RNC and have likely already decided whom they will vote for in the fall election.
Others wondered if the bus was the best use of DNC resources in what many political analysts expect to be a close presidential race. D.C. voters are unflinchingly Democratic. “Knowing how bad of a record they have to run on I actually thought they were concerned about losing DC and were trying to connect with voters,” Sean Spicer, the RNC communications director said in an email.
The tour-sized bus showed an image of a road with white writing on both sides. One side of the road read, “Tax cuts for the rich,” while the other side read, “Tax hikes for the middle class.”Writing at the end of the road read, “Middle class under the bus.” The back of the bus displayed distances to Switzerland, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands while urging viewers to visit the website Romneyeconomics.com.