by Whitney Blair Wyckoff
Tony Zirkle, who spoke at an Adolf Hitler birthday party last month on how prostitution and pornography impact white women, came in third place in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District Republican primary yesterday. Fighting prostitution and porn is a major plank in Zirkle's platform.
He has said that he will speak to any group who invites him, but he dodged questions from an Indiana paper asking whether he was a white supremacist sympathizer.
Washington Post columnist Al Kamen has the story:
Tough news last night in the closely watched Republican primary in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District.
Loop favorite Tony Zirkle, who had lost two primaries to former congressman Chris Chocola-- albeit with 30 percent of the vote against incumbent Chocola in 2006 -- was soundly defeated.
Zirkle, whose top campaign issue is opposition to pornography and prostitution, finished a distant third behind Goshen, Ind., businessman and GOP
Unclear why he did so badly this time. Maybe it was that outreach effort April 20 when he spoke at an Adolf Hitler
In response to a question from the Michigan City, Ind., News-Dispatch on whether he is a Nazi, or sympathizes with them or with white supremacists, Zirkle said he didn't "know enough about the group to either favor it or oppose it."
He reportedly also told a local radio station he didn't think all the 50 or so people at the party were necessarily Nazis, because the group's name isn't "Nazi" but National Socialist Workers Party. Apparently clues such as the large swastikas or that picture of der Fuehrer right behind him didn't arouse suspicion. (Thought it was Charlie Chaplin
Zirkle said his appearance at the birthday celebration in Chicago -- which also featured a cake that said "Happy 119th" -- was in keeping with his pledge that he would speak to anyone who wanted to hear him.
In this case, he told the News-Dispatch, the Nazis wanted him to discuss the effects of pornography and prostitution on young white women and girls.
The party "was interested in the targeting of white people for prostitution," he said, noting that he agrees with the party's view that trafficking of "young white women should be stopped."
And the Northwest Indiana Times quoted Zirkle as saying in his defense of his appearance: "I'll speak before any group that invites me. . . . I've spoken on an African American radio station in Atlanta."
Maybe the birthday gambit reduced his vote total?
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Comments
ya the republican party is so inclusive that they allow guys like this to run in their party! What a sham!!
I'll take a liberal commie over someone like this any day!
Posted by: Scot S. Blakeley | May 7, 2008 1:08 PM
Hmmm, and here I thought all of the Repubs were just Nazi wannabe's.
Sometimes the fringe right just takes your breath away. If only they could all be as up-front as right-wing extremist, racist and homophobe Hal Turner.
Sean Hannity calls Turner one of his best friends and has him as a frequent guest on his Fox Noise Channel show.
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http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/spaulding/81839/
Posted by: John E | May 7, 2008 1:12 PM
McCain/Zirkle '08!
Posted by: Dream ticket | May 7, 2008 1:24 PM
"Zirkle said his appearance at the birthday celebration in Chicago -- which also featured a cake that said "Happy 119th" -- was in keeping with his pledge that he would speak to anyone who wanted to hear him. "
I hate Illinois Nazi's
Posted by: Elwood Blues | May 7, 2008 1:26 PM
I'm glad he lost! While I do not approve or condone the thinking of Tony Zirkle, the Democrats have plenty of folks just like him. Actually, in the Swamp here I have seen more anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish comments from the Left than I have from the Right. There also are plenty of Democrats who espouse anti-American thoughts on a regular basis. Zirkle is no good, but the same applies for many on the Loony Left.
Posted by: John D | May 7, 2008 1:30 PM
John E,
Yeah but Rev. Wright is black and so is Obama so their friendship is more important to discuss than Fox icon Hannity and the heap of trash that calls himself Hal Turner.
Posted by: jo | May 7, 2008 1:33 PM
Actually, in the Swamp here I have seen more anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish comments from the Left than I have from the Right.
Posted by: John D | May 7, 2008 1:30 PM
.....we're still waiting for you to provide some proof to support this claim of yours, lil Johnny.
Posted by: John E | May 7, 2008 2:11 PM
But somehow Senator Byrd is still a-okay...
Posted by: Jeff | May 7, 2008 2:28 PM
Jeff,
Senator Byrd votes in favor of Affirmative Action and supports a path to citizenship for illegals. It's kind of like a member of the Keating Five, reforming his embarassing past and becoming a better person. If you have a problem with Sen. Byrd's reformation, then you sir have a problem with double standards.
Posted by: jackson | May 7, 2008 2:51 PM
But somehow Senator Byrd is still a-okay...
Posted by: Jeff | May 7, 2008 2:28 PM
But somehow Strom Thurmond and Trent Lott were a-okay for years and years and years and in Thurmonds case, even more years.
Posted by: John E | May 7, 2008 2:52 PM
But somehow Senator Byrd is still a-okay...
Posted by: Jeff | May 7, 2008 2:28 PM
Thankfully..no political motivation in that statement.
Posted by: bill r. | May 7, 2008 2:59 PM
But somehow Senator Byrd is still a-okay...
Posted by: Jeff | May 7, 2008 2:28 PM
Byrd hasn't been involed with the KKK for 60 years, and has repeatedly acknowledged his error. Zirkle went to the party last month, and won't acknowledge an error.
Posted by: Perspective | May 7, 2008 3:01 PM
Perspective and other Byrd apologists, he used the N word on national TV as recently as 2001, so that should tell you everything you need to know about how "reformed" he is.
Believe me, I'm embarassed that Strom was a part of our party, too. We should have never taken him from the democrats (who let him run for president), but it's hard to turn down a sure senate seat.
I think Lott's stupid and makes Nagin-like foot-in-mouth comments but I don't think he's the racist he's been made out to be. But either way, he's retired and Strom's dead. Kleagle Byrd is still greedily clinging to power even after Reid and the rest of your party told him to go away.
The more that the swamp points out fringe, non-factor candidates that get so little of the vote in republican local races that they FINISH THIRD IN A PRIMARY and the more your angry posters rail against "letting them run" as if it's constitutionally possible to ban someone who's committed no crimes from party membership and seeking local office, then the more we'll bring up the sitting former KKK member in your senate caucus. Get used to it, guys, filibustering the civil rights act of 1964 is something that we will never, EVER forget.
Posted by: Jeff | May 7, 2008 5:46 PM
Believe me, I'm embarassed that Strom was a part of our party, too. We should have never taken him from the democrats (who let him run for president),
Wrong again Jeff. The Denmocrats had nothing to do with Strom's run in 1948. The Democrats ran a guy named Harry Truman that year. Perhaps you've heard of him?
Strom bolted the party in 48 because he didn't like Truman's stance in civil rights. It's actually a pretty proud moment in the history of the party that they didn't cave in when Strom and his followers bolted. There was no "letting" involved. Thankfully he found folks more in line with his positions over in the Republican Party.
Posted by: Luke | May 7, 2008 7:25 PM
Luke,
Folks like Jeff either don't know about, don't understand, or purposely ignore something called the 'Republican Southern Strategy."
Posted by: C.Morris | May 7, 2008 9:25 PM
Hey – Just wanted to let you know that Election Protection’s hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) went live August 12 and will be available now through Election Day with live help from trained volunteers for anyone with questions about their registration status and voting. It looks like volunteers are available 9-5pm EST to start.
It looks like a great resource.
Posted by: Meg | August 13, 2008 11:36 AM