The Loudoun County Republican Committee took heat from its own party Monday for distributing an image of President Obama as a zombie — including what appeared to be a bullet hole in his head — to enlist volunteers for a family-friendly event. The email, sent Sunday to Loudoun Republicans, was supposed to recruit members to help pass out candy to kids on the party’s float in a local Halloween parade on Monday.
But it was sharply criticized by the state GOP and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell for portraying Obama missing part of his face. The picture also included an altered picture of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, also made to look like a zombie.
McDonnell, who is scheduled to headline a fundraiser Thursday for Loudoun County Republican candidates, called it “shameful and offensive,” spokesman Tucker Martin said.
“The Governor has long stressed the need for more civility and respect in our politics. An email like this one undermines those goals, offends all Virginians and discredits our entire political process. It will not be tolerated.”
Loudoun County Republican Committee chairman Mark Sell apologized for the email and said it was a light-hearted attempt “to portray people as zombies.”
“It was nothing beyond that,” Sell said. “We don’t condone any sort of violence against any elected officials.”
Communications Committee Chairman Robert Jesionowski, responsible for sending out the image, resigned from his position with the party Monday. No one reviewed the email before it was sent out, Sell said, but new practices will be in place to ensure this incident is not repeated.
The invitation was meant to rally support at the Halloween parade for Republican candidates in advance of the Nov. 8 legislative elections.
Rhetoric has continued to escalate with so much at stake in the days leading up to Election Day. Democrats hold a slim 22-18 majority in the Senate and a Republican takeover would give them unchecked power in Richmond.
But Sunday’s email went beyond the normal bickering between parties, Democrats said.
“No matter what your political leanings may be, depicting the President of the United States in that manner violates any standard of decent conduct,” state Democratic Party chairman Brian Moran said. “That type of incendiary image should have no place in our politics.”
Republicans sought to defuse any political fallout by swiftly and soundly repudiating the email.
“The disgusting image used today on a mass email has no place in our politics. Ever,” state chairman Pat Mullins said in a statement. “The Republican Party of Virginia condemns the image and its use in the strongest possible terms.”
