We all know that the GOP has been a refuge for racists, teabaggers, and conspiracy theorists of all sorts. But prominent Republicans usually keep their thoughts to themselves, or at least try to couch their bigotry in innuendo. Not in South Carolina.
According to local news reports, prominent SC Republican Ruaty DePass just couldn't help himself when he heard that a gorilla escaped from the local zoo:
According to FITSNews, former State Senate candidate Rusty DePass made a comment on Friday on the Internet site, Facebook, describing the escaped gorilla at Riverbanks Zoo as an "ancestor" to First Lady Michelle Obama.
The comment was made after Trey Walker, an advisor to SC Attorney General Henry McMaster, posted a Facebook update about the escaped animal at the zoo. DePass posted a comment stating, "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless."
Leaving aside the convoluted logic of the statement - a living animal as someone's "ancestor" - Rusty DePass didn't just make this comment to one of his Republican buddies on the golf course, rather he posted it on Facebook, the most frequented Web site on the planet.
Of course, the state GOP scrubbed the site of the comment, but, as we all know, nothing ever truly vanishes on the Internets:
A screen capture of the comment, made on the Internet site Facebook, was obtained by FITSNews, the website of South Carolina politico Will Folks.
The image shows a post by an aide to state Attorney General Henry McMaster describing Friday morning's gorilla escape at Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo.
Bob Coble, mayor of Columbia, was outraged at the racist comment and demanded that DePass - a huge supporter of George W. Bush - apologize. DePass did make an apology - sort of:
We spoke with DePass over the phone Friday night. He said, "I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest."
"You know, I don't think there's anything funny about that comment," says Coble. "That is the First Lady of the United States. We've had a long tradition of wonderful first ladies, and I don't think any of them deserve that type of comment."
DePass took his apology a bit further. He also said, "The comment was hers. Not mine," saying the first lady made statements in the media recently saying we are all descendents of apes.
Needless to say, the First Lady never made any such comment. DePass dreamed it up in his racist brain.