Minnesota County GOP Chairman Loses Day Job For Islamophobic Rants


Last weekend, I discovered that Jack Whitley, the chairman of the Republican Party in Big Stone County, Minnesota, made some of the ugliest and most bigoted remarks about Muslims in recent memory. In a Facebook post Whitley declared that all Muslims are “terrorists” and “parasites.” Rather than waterboard them, Whitley had a simpler solution–“FRAG ‘EM!” Later, he declared that any Muslim who wants to stay in this country needs to convert to Christianity.

Jack Whitley (from his former Facebook page, courtesy Raw Story)
Jack Whitley (from his former Facebook page, courtesy Raw Story)

Well, it looks like the bill has come due for these screeds–at least in part. Late Sunday, it emerged that Whitley’s posts have cost him his longtime job at a hardware store in Ortonville, a small town near the South Dakota border. When Bob and Sue Kubeik, the owners of Ortonville Hardware, found out about Whitley’s remarks, they were as stunned and outraged as nearly everyone else. Ortonville Hardware is part of the Hardware Hank cooperative, a regional chain of dealers stretching from Michigan to Idaho. Sue Kubeik told the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune that she and her husband were even more upset when “he clearly offered no remorse” for his rants. Sue said that when asked if he really felt that way, Whitley said, “Absolutely.” At that point, the Kubeiks told Whitley, “You’re no longer needed at our store.”

The Kubeiks maintain that the decision to fire Whitley was entirely their own, and was not the result of outside pressure. However, once it emerged that Whitley worked at Ortonville Hardware, the store faced threats of boycotts as long as he was on the payroll. There were even suggestions that Whitley’s comments were merely a reflection of the community–which isn’t very likely, since it narrowly went Democratic in every presidential election from 1992 to 2008.

In a long post on their store’s Facebook page, the Kubeiks said that they didn’t have even an inkling that Whitley felt and thought this way. However, once they learned about it, they concluded that he had “brought shame to us personally, to our business, our community, our county and the Republican Party.” They declared in no uncertain terms that “we will not tolerate this type of bigotry within our business family,” and stressed that everyone is welcome at their store regardless of background. It looks like Whitley got his walking papers soon afterward. Ortonville is a classic Midwestern small town where nearly everyone knows everyone, so it isn’t likely that any other business there will be disreputable enough to hire him.

There’s no word on how Whitley feels about this; his Facebook feed disappeared from public view last week. As of now, he still has his job as Big Stone Republican County chairman. While the state party condemned his remarks in the strongest terms, it has no power to remove him. So the ball is in the court of his fellow county Republicans. Are they willing to condone this Islamophobic bilge?


Every time I wonder if businesses really should have the right to discipline you for what you say and do when you’re off the clock, things like this happen. Good for the Kubeiks to take a stand against hate.

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Darrell Lucus.jpg 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.

 

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.