From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner-Steve Otto
Mistakes happen, but this one should be a wake up call to all those conservatives who don’t want to rile up the non-racist people and the moderate conservatives who are not out to stick racist labels on others. The Wichita Eagle has alerted the public that Congressional candidate Mike Pompeo, for the 4th district which has been vacated by Todd Tiahrt, had issued an apology to his opponent Raj Goyle for accidentally directing Pompeo supporters to a blog post assailing Goyle’s religion and ethnic heritage.
The offensive posting was brought to light in a story on the liberal Web site Daily Kos.;
“Like his comrad obama, he wouldn't give an answer, only that he was not a Christian. This guy could be a muslim, a hindu, a buddhist etc who knows, only God, the shadow and ...goyle knows! One thing's for sure ... goyle is not a Christian!
Since the 2008 election of the evil muslim communist USURPER, barack hussein obama, political candidate "BIRTH CERTIFICATE & RELIGION" information is now a vital part of the vetting/nomination/election process for any and all American citizens seeking political office.
Just like his evil muslim communist USURPER comrad, barack hussein obama, This goyle character is just another "turban topper" we don't need in congress or any political office that deals with the U.S. Constitution, Christianity and the United States of America!!!”
That brought the following apology from Pompeo:
“It was an honest mistake and our campaign truly regrets the error.
"The statements of the blogger in no way reflect my views. There is no place in campaigns or in public discourse for language of this nature. I have placed a personal call of apology and spoken to Rep. Goyle directly expressing our campaign's regret for the error," said Pompeo.
"I have spent a great deal of time visiting with the staff person who inadvertently posted this link. I am convinced there was no malice in his actions. He mistakenly posted a link to the wrong Google alert," Pompeo stated”.
I would not deny that it was an honest mistake. We can assume in the short run that Pompeo is not a complete idiot. On the other hand, who had the link to this site and why would any of his staff members even visit such sites while working for their candidate. It is possible for an honest person to come across such a statement without realizing what it will say. But this also raises the question of what kind of people Pompeo has working for him. Do some of them actually believe such trash? If he wants the support of any moderates he needs to make sure he is not recruiting the kind of right-wing crack-pots who rely on this type of misinformation.
From the Raj Goyle campain:
This is what "mikepompeo" considered a "good read":
"Just like his evil muslim communist USURPER comrad, barrack hussein obama, This goyle character is just another 'turban topper' we don't need in congress or any political office that deals with the U.S. Constitution, Christianity and the United States of America!!!"
A "good read"? Disgusted?
CLICK HERE to support Raj and stop this hateful rhetoric right now!
Naturally, the media is hammering Raj’s opponent’s bigoted tweeting. Think Progress posted this story this morning:
Kansas GOP Candidate Removes Tweet Attacking Indian-American Challenger As An ‘Evil’ ‘Turban Topper’ — http://thinkprogress.org/2010/08/12/turban-topper/
Other headlines are just as damning: Pompeo calls racist, bigoted screed "a good read"... Mike Pompeo sends bigoted attack to his supporters... Pompeo campaign accused of tweeting to bigoted screed...
This type of campaigning cannot be tolerated. We are asking you to help Raj right now by making a contribution (the maximum is $2400) online ASAP - $250, $175, or $75. Now more than ever, we need your help. It will mean a lot to Raj and our campaign as we work around the clock to combat this ugly rhetoric.
There is some good news: Realizing the magnitude of this kind of smear campaign, Raj's opponent called to apologize. They both reached an agreement that this kind of bigotry has no place in this campaign.
We fully intend to hold Mike Pompeo to that standard. Bigotry is not a Kansas value.
Kiel Brunner
Campaign Manager
PS - As I was writing to you the Huffington Post posted a story. Check it out:
Mike Pompeo, GOP Candidate, Apologizes For Tweet Attacking Challenger As An 'Evil' 'Turban Topper', Could-Be Muslim
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/12/mike-pompeo-gop-candidate_n_680612.html
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