... along with that comes the right to make a fool of yourself.
Les Gibson was cruising to an unopposed election for a Maine State House seat when he thought it would be a good idea to take to Twitter and attack two student survivors of the Parkland high school shootings who have become the face of student activists for gun control.
Earlier this week, Gibson called Emma Gonzalez a "skinhead lesbian" and a "frothing at the mouth moonbat". He also called David Hogg, who some on the far right have labeled a "crisis actor", a "bald-faced liar". The reaction was overwhelming and not pleasant. Gibson deleted the tweet, apologized for the insults, and then shut down his Twitter account.
On Thursday, shortly before the filing deadline, Democrat Eryn Gilchrist (who has never run for office before) stepped up and filed to run against Gibson. Republican Thomas Martin, Jr., a Republican and former state senator, filed to run as well.
On Friday, Gibson saw the writing on the wall and withdrew from the race.
Words matter, and it's impossible to unsay them - as the newspaper world knows, nobody reads a retraction. |
