8.16.2010

gop candidate links to blog calling indian american opponent a "turban topper"

Heard about this from the Asian American Action Fund... Last week the campaign to elect Republican congressional candidate Mike Pompeo used Twitter and Facebook to direct its supporters to read an inflammatory blog post: Kan. GOP candidate's campaign links to racist blog.

The blog post called Kansas State Representative and Democratic congressional candidate Raj Goyle, who is Indian American, a "turban topper" and questioned his ability to govern due to his ethnicity and alleged religious beliefs. Pompeo has since apologized:
Republican congressional candidate Mike Pompeo apologized Thursday after his campaign posted on its Twitter feed and Facebook page a link to a blog that uses a racial slur to refer to his Democratic opponent and calls President Barack Obama an "evil muslim communist USURPER."

Pompeo, who is running for Kansas' 4th Congressional District, said a staffer, who he declined to identify other than saying it was the campaign's communications director, posted the link to the wrong Google alert on Wednesday before the campaign realized the mistake and removed it an hour later.

Pompeo apologized to his Democratic opponent, Raj Goyle, by phone Thursday morning, and posted an apology on both websites in which he said he spent a "great deal of time visiting with the staff person who inadvertently posted the link."
Wow, that's it? Pompeo had a nice little chat with the staffer who thought it was okay to promote these views? This was no accidental tweet. As Goyle's campaign points out, it takes "a conscientious and tactical decision" to find the blog, create a smaller URL and post it the campaign's official social media.

More here: Mike Pompeo, GOP Candidate, Apologizes For Tweet Attacking Challenger As An 'Evil' 'Turban Topper', Could-Be Muslim. That's racist!

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