|

Letter: Writer wonders why GOP chair mentions president by name in response

To the Editor,

Kenny Fogle, Nelson County Democratic chairman, issued a statement on behalf of Nelson County Democrats saying that bigotry, hatred and hate speech have no place in our democratic society. He said that hateful and bigoted speech was destructive to American society and that we should all speak out about it.

He did not mention any names or particular incidents. It was a general statement that I think most Americans, no matter what their political affiliation, could agree with, talking about patriotism and our shared heritage. It is one with which I heartily agree.

However Nelson County Republican Chairman Don Thrasher has written a response that leaves me scratching my head in puzzlement, since he seems to defend a charge that is not there.

Fogle did NOT say that President Donald Trump has made racist statements about four newly elected Congresswomen who happen to disagree with Trump policies. He did NOT say that Trump made a slanderous statement about one of the women to a huge crowd of supporters who then started chanting “Send her back” while he stood silently smirking.

Fogle left it up to the reader to decide what constituted hateful, bigoted speech.

It was Thrasher who made that assumption by mentioning President Trump in the first line of his response. So I guess I am puzzled as to what Thrasher is objecting to in the statement, as in the latter part of his statement he also seems to decry hate speech. Or perhaps he, and we, should wonder why when bigotry and hate speech were mentioned, that he should immediately think of President Trump’s statements.

Margie Bradford
Nelson County Democratic Woman’s Club President

-30-

Editor’s Note: Given the extensive media coverage of the President’s statements about “The Squad,” is there really any question about what exactly Kenny Fogle was referring to when he began his statement with the phrase, “In light of recent events…” ? It seems a little disingenuous to imply that Fogle’s statement on behalf of the party was a statement written to express an objection to racism in general, and that it was not in fact triggered by — in Fogle’s own words — those very same “recent events.”

CLARIFICATION: In his letter to the Nelson County Gazette, Thrasher never alleged that Fogle accused President Trump of making racist or slanderous statements, as Ms. Bradford states in her letter to the editor..

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Please follow and like us:

Comments are closed

Subscribe to get new posts in your email!