Embattled GOP Leader Dave Agema Urges Supporters to Defend Conservative Rights
Once again a conservative confuses free speech vs censorship with the consequences of spewing bigoted diatribes and lies. In this country you are free to express your hate, but don’t try to pretend that there won’t be, or shouldn’t be consequences when you say something outrageously hateful and stupid. The consequences come from society at large and your peers however, not from our government.
GRAND RAPIDS — A Michigan member of the Republican National Committee who faces calls to resign over his anti-gay and anti-Muslim statements urged his supporters Monday to defend the free-speech rights of conservatives.
Dave Agema told about 70 people at a Grand Rapids fundraiser that America’s future depends on public acceptance of conservative values.
“There is a movement to silence the conservative voice in the GOP,” mlive.com quoted Agema as saying. “Your voices must be heard. Principles matter. When we deviate from our principles, we’re going to lose this country.”
Agema said that as a U.S. Air Force pilot, he “was prepared to die to defend our Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.”
“My opinion is, we have domestic enemies at this present time,” he said. “We’re starting to become what I used to fight against.”
Agema, a former American Airlines pilot, served in the Michigan House, where he promoted legislation aimed at barring application of Islamic sharia law in the state. This month, his Facebook page included a posting questioning the commitment of Muslims to practicing charity.
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