Calls Grow for Virginia GOP Treasurer to Resign After Anti-Muslim Comments

If one wants more evidence that the Virginia GOP has become a foul sectarian political party that supports civil rights and religious freedom only for far right, white Christofascists, look no farther than Bob Fitz-Simmonds, Treasurer of the Republican Party of Virginia (pictured above).  FitzSimmonds took to Facebook to denigrate Muslims and Barrack Obama after Obama made a statement about Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that concludes the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  In FitzSimmonds' very small mind, only white Christians are real Americans and only they have made contributions to America.  The Washington Post looks at FitzSimmonds' misogamy.  Here are highlights:

Several Virginia Republican leaders called Wednesday for the resignation of a state GOP official who questioned in a Facebook post whether Muslim Americans have contributed to U.S. society. 

The comment came in response to a statement by President Obama marking Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that concludes the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. 

“In the United States, Eid also reminds us of the many achievements and contributions of Muslim Americans to building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy,” Obama said. “That is why we stand with people of all faiths, here at home and around the world, to protect and advance their rights to prosper, and we welcome their commitment to giving back to their communities.”

Bob FitzSimmonds, the state Republican Party treasurer, called the presidential statement “pure nonsense” in a public post on his Facebook page.

“Exactly what part of our nation’s fabric was woven by Muslims?” he wrote. “What about Sikhs, Animists, and Jainists? Should we be thanking them too?”

FitzSimmonds, a resident of Nokesville who is the chief deputy clerk of the court in Prince William County, did not return calls and messages seeking comment about the post, which was first reported by the BlueVirginia blog.

He weathered calls for his resignation from state party leaders earlier this year after he posted a crude statement on Facebook about state Del. Barbara J. Comstock (R-Fairfax), and also in 2012 for a Facebook post predicting that Obama would blame George W. Bush when Obama “dies and goes to Hell.”

The sad truth is that today's Virginia GOP holds nothing but contempt for the rights of non-whites, non-Christians, and non-heterosexuals.  Hate and bigotry are its hallmarks just as among its Christofascist party base.