The president of the Tennessee Tea Party apologized for a tweet someone in his group sent out calling Barney Frank a “perverted sodomite,” though she added a caveat: “While privately and inwardly I may agree with the commentary, it is completely irresponsible for any one of us to write these kinds of commentaries.”
The Tennessean reported Monday that the Tennessee Tea Party tweeted “Good riddance you perverted sodomite POS!!” at around noon, with a link to a http://www.theblaze.com/stories/barney-frank-reportedly-to-retire/story on Glenn Beck’s the Blaze, about Barney Frank’s announcement that he will not seek re-election next year.
In a post on the group’s Facebook page Monday night, Tami Kilmarx, who identifies herself as the TN Tea Party president, apologized for the tweet, and said it was posted without her knowledge: “While that does not exonerate me, as I am totally and completely responsible for anything produced by one of our staff or moderators, even still I am appalled by the language in the commentary preceding the article.”
She added: “While privately and inwardly I may agree with the commentary, it is completely irresponsible for any one of us to write these kinds of commentaries.”
“The individual who has written this commentary has been duly dealt with and we will attempt now to rebuild confidence that possibly could be lost by this irresponsible behavior. If anything, I have attempted to lead with complete integrity. I apologize for any offense caused by this irresponsibility,” Kilmarx wrote.
Judson Phillips, head of Tea Party Nation, for his part called the tweet “totally uncalled for.”
“Comments like that do not help the conservative movement,” he told The Tennessean.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
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