On Monday night, I told you that North Carolina state representative Michael Speciale shared a particularly nasty anti-Obama meme on his Facebook page calling the president an “Islamic son of a b*tch.” Needless to say, the New Bern Republican caught quite a bit of heat for it. But does he have any regrets for sharing such an obscene meme? Far from it. He apparently thinks that just because some on the left went over the line in their attacks against George W. Bush, it’s perfectly fine for him to share an obscene meme about Obama.
On Monday night, not long after finding out WNCT-TV in Greenville reported on the meme, Speciale himself took to Facebook to respond. His full response has to be reproduced in full to be believed.
“I find it interesting how many liberals pretend that they are offended by this post, yet they have no problem with Obama destroying the very fabric of this nation. These same folks didn’t appear fazed when some of the most vitriolic garbage was being spewed by their fellow liberals at President Bush! It must also be a slow news day at wnct and the news and observer, since they think this is a story today. Obama will end up as the worst President in history, and it will be a result of his performance, and none of my Facebook posts can be blamed!”
Really, Michael? So just because some liberals may have gone a little too far in attacking Bush, it’s perfectly okay for you to share a meme calling Obama a secret Muslim, a “son of a b*tch,” and a “coward”? Two wrongs don’t make a right. I’m pretty sure you learned that from two decades in the Marines. I have a hunch that if you peddled such an excuse when you were still in the service, your arms would have fallen off from the number of push-ups you’d have had to do as punishment.
I suspect Speciale thinks he can get away with this because, on paper, he has nothing to fear at the ballot box. He represents a district in and around New Bern that has a heavy Republican edge to it. It gave Mitt Romney a punishing 59 percent of the vote in 2012. After the GOP grabbed control of both houses of the legislature in 2010, they crafted one of the most aggressive gerrymanders in the nation. From my knowledge of this state, any state house or state senate district that gave Romney more than 55 percent of the vote is probably out of play short of a statewide or nationwide Democratic landslide.
While this meme probably won’t cost Speciale his job, it doesn’t mean we can’t hold him to account for it. Given that the party of Lincoln has long since been replaced by a far-right party, this is yet more evidence that whenever Republicans are in power, extremists like Speciale will wield a dangerous amount of influence on our policy. And it says a lot about the state of our discourse that an elected official can find it remotely acceptable to pass along a meme like this.
Tell Speciale what you think of this–politely, of course. Drop him an email at Michael.Speciale at ncleg dot net. And while you’re at it, ask state house speaker Tim Moore and majority leader Mike Hager if this is acceptable behavior for a member of the state house. Email Moore at Tim.Moore at ncleg dot net, and Hager at Mike.Hager at ncleg dot net.
