CAIR in spitting match with NM Republican who spreads the “Obama is a Muslim” smear
Islamic group calls on NMGOP to repudiate remarks
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The chairwoman of an Otero County Republican women’s group on Tuesday defended a letter to the editor in which she wrote, “I believe Muslims are our enemies.”
Marcia Stirman, a 56-year-old interior decorator, also called Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama “a Muslim socialist.”
A national Islamic group expressed outrage over Stirman’s letter and called on state and national Republican Party officials to repudiate the publication of “anti-Muslim comments.”
“Because these hate-filled remarks were made by a prominent Republican, it is incumbent on state and national GOP officials to repudiate her divisive and intolerant views,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Matt Kennicott, executive director of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said Tuesday in a statement that Stirman does not speak for the Republican Party and that her comments do not reflect the party’s values and beliefs.
Stirman’s letter ran Tuesday in the Alamogordo Daily News. It was titled “Why I’m a Republican” and listed 16 reasons for her party affiliation.
The list ends with Stirman saying Obama is “a Muslim socialist.” She also wrote, “I believe war is a fact of life and we should always win.”
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“I still have freedom of speech and an opinion. If the Islamic group doesn’t like it, well, I don’t like what’s going on in their camp, either,” Stirman said.