"Tar baby" speaker to help Heimlich

What is it with Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich and his connection to public figures involved in racial controversies?

First, former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett was scheduled to make an October appearance at the University of Cincinnati and at an event hosted by Heimlich.

That was cancelled, though, because at the time Bennett was embroiled in a controversy last fall after a caller to Bennett’s radio show mentioned tax revenue was lost because of abortions. During that call, Bennett referred to a book that argues that the aborting of black fetuses was a reason the crime rate declined in recent decades.

Bennett rescheduled his UC appearance but that, too, was cancelled and he never appeared.

Now, Craig Lindner - son of local financier Carl Lindner - is hosting a fundraiser for Heimlich featuring Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (right) – who apologized for making “tar baby” comments last week.

Romney, a Republican considering a 2008 presidential run, was at an Iowa fundraiser last month when he referred to the troubled highway tunnel system in his home state as a “tar baby.”

Blacks complained, suggesting the reference was a derogatory term for blacks.

Romney said he meant the term to refer to the sticky mess the highway tunnel had become after part of its ceiling collapsed and killed a commuter.

Lindner is hosting the Sept. 7 fundraiser in his Indian Hill home.

The last campaign finance report in April noted Heimlich had raised about $400,000 at that time in his race against Democratic challenger David Pepper.