Bob FitzSimmonds, an official in the Virginia Republican Party and close ally of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, posted a comment on his Facebook page Wednesday that predicts President Barack Obama's eternal damnation.
"When Obama is 90 years old and he dies and goes to Hell, he is going to say 'This is all Bush's fault,'" FitzSimmonds wrote.
FitzSimmonds, who previously worked as a legislative aide for Cuccinelli and ran unsuccessfully for the Virginia state Senate, now serves as chief deputy clerk for Prince William Circuit Court and treasurer of the Virginia Republican Party's State Central Committee. He told the Virginian-Pilot in an email Thursday that he sees nothing wrong with his comment about the president.
"My Facebook post was not about Obama going to Hell," he said. "It was about his obsession with blame shifting and I don't really see anything inappropriate about it."
Cuccinelli's campaign spokesman, Noah Wall, said the Virginia attorney general disagrees with FitzSimmonds' assessment. "Mr. FitzSimmonds does not speak for our campaign," Wall said.
Brian Moran, chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, issued a statement on Thursday urging Cuccinelli and the Virginia GOP to condemn FitzSimmonds' statement.
"Taking to Facebook to muse on the death of the President of the United States and whether or not he will go to hell is well below the standard of conduct Virginians set for their public officials and political leaders," Moran said. "Mr. FitzSimmonds should apologize and his close allies like Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins should condemn his inflammatory remarks immediately. As leaders in Washington put the elections behind them and try to solve the enormous challenges we face as a country, this type of rhetoric raises serious questions about whether certain factions of the Republican party are capable of putting Virginia families ahead of ugly partisan rancor."
This story has been updated with comment from the chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party.
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