Pro-Life Democrat County Official Threatened with Ejection from Party

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 27: Thousands of people rally on the National Mall before the start of the 44th annual March for Life January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is a gathering and protest against the United States Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. (Photo …
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Dr. Susan Berry

An Ohio Democrat party county official has threatened a fellow Democrat with ejection from the party, condemning his pro-life tweet as “racist and sexist.”

In his tweet Friday, Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes suggested the words “Black Lives Matter” should be painted in front of a building he referenced as abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

“Just wondering when they are going to paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ on Auburn Avenue, you know, in front of that building where they terminate black lives and white ones, too, almost every day of the week,” he wrote:

That tweet drew the ire of Hamilton County Democrat Chairwoman Gwen McFarlin, who released a statement calling Rhodes’ comment “racist and sexist,” and said she “will not condone his behavior any longer.”

“I condemn this comment which I would not expect from an elected official let alone a Democratically endorsed elected official,” McFarlin said. “His offensive comments are aimed at black, brown, and other marginalized groups as well as women. The Democratic Party supports the Black Lives Matter movement and women’s reproductive rights.”

McFarlin continued that Rhodes’ comments have been a source of “concerns” for other Democrats as well.

“I will bring options to the Hamilton County Democratic Party officers including a resolution launching a formal censure process and a resolution declaring that we will not support his reelection and plan to endorse a Democrat for Auditor who shares our values,” she said:

Ohio Democrat Party Chairman David Pepper supported McFarlin’s condemnation of Rhodes’ tweet:

Rhodes holds a number of opinions that today’s far-left Democrat Party cannot tolerate, including his pro-life views.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Rhodes was first elected in 1990 and is now the longest-serving Democrat remaining in office.

Rhodes responded to McFarlin’s rant on Twitter, stating he found her characterization of his “views as ‘sexist and racist’ … deeply offensive.” He also observed the chairwoman had been aware of his pro-life views when she sought his endorsement for her own political campaigns.

“In spite of her disagreement with me on this issue, I gave her my full support each time,” he tweeted:

In addition, he noted the county Democrat party knew he was pro-life when they asked him to run for Auditor back in 1990.

“They knew it when I was endorsed in 2018,” he wrote. “They knew it when I won with almost 2/3 of the vote”:

Rhodes also made clear his thoughts about Twitter’s “selective censorship” of posts to its social media platform:

Rhodes diverges substantially from the Democrats of today. He retweets comments from Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative Turning Point USA, conservative author Dinesh D’Souza, and conservative actor James Woods, and even President Donald Trump.

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