The Republican Party chairman of a county in rural western Minnesota has a message for Muslims–if you want to stay in this country, you need to accept Christianity.
Jack Whitley is the chairman of the Republican Party of Big Stone County, a mostly rural county on the South Dakota border. On Wednesday, he took to Facebook and suggested that he had a simpler solution for dealing with Islamist terrorists than waterboarding them–kill them without even the formality of a trial.
“I am opposed to waterboarding muslim terrorists, but probably not why you think. I am opposed to waterboarding muslim terrorists because it is a waste of resources. They are muslims, they are terrorist, we know where they are from, we know where their buddies are, we know where thier mosque’s are, we know millions of these parasites travel to Mecca every year and when…FRAG ‘EM! Simplicity. I love when it all comes together!”
When Bluestem Prairie, a blog covering Minnesota politics, got wind of this, condemnation came hard and fast. In an interview with the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, Whitley doubled down–hard. He said that Muslims “don’t belong in this country” because they always cause “terror and discontent, total chaos wherever they are.” He thinks that American Muslims who remain silent in the face of “the aggression and terrorist activities within their own ideology” are just as guilty as Islamist terrorists. At bottom, he believes that Muslims “don’t understand peace,” but only understand “aggressive force.” If Muslims are the targets of violence, Whitley thinks it’s their fault for failing to reject Islamists in their ranks.
He then added a new wrinkle–Muslims don’t deserve First Amendment protection because Islam “infringes on the peace and tranquility of this nation.” Just to clear up any ambiguity, he took to Facebook once again and declared that if Muslims want to stay in this country, they must renounce Islam in favor of Christianity.
“This is where I’m making my stand. Muslims inTwin Cities Area are calling for me to apologize for a comment I made on facebook about them being. parasites and we need to frag them .I will not apologize and I will not compromise .They either need to repent except Jesus Chist or leave the country .Any Muslims or group of Muslims who do not stand against Jihad Muslim terrorist are consider part and parcel with the Muslim terrorist. I was just contacted by a reporter from the Minnespolis Star Tribune who will be writing a article on their blog site if you care to follow this story.Bravery is contagious , I am not a coward are you? If Muslims think they can come to this country and dictate anything that makes them terrorist ! Lets see if your love for God and country,patriotism,extends any further than your finger tips on the keyboard. If you want to consider this a call to arms,then so be it .”
In a rare moment of bipartisanship, members of both major parties condemned Whitley’s remarks in the strongest possible terms. Minnesota Republican Party chairman Keith Downey called them”outrageous” and contrary to his party’s considerable efforts to reach out to Muslims. ? Earlier, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chairman Ken Martin called the posts “an affront to basic human decency” and demanded that Whitley resign. No word yet on whether Whitley is still in his post–though Bluestem Prairie noticed that his Facebook page has disappeared.
For those wondering how this could possibly happen, you have to remember that a certain element of the right wing fringe thinks that the First Amendment only applies to Christians. And now you have a county Republican Party chairman taking up this kind of talk. That should send a chill down anyone’s spine.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
