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State Senator Dave Schultheis’ tweet—the one that led to an outpouring of criticism claiming that he’d compared the hijackers of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to President Barack Obama—just won’t go away.
To recap, Schultheis had written: “Don’t for a second think Obama wants what is best for U.S. He is flying the U.S. plane right into the ground at full speed. Let’s roll.” The “let’s roll” statement is where the controversy lies: A victim of the flight that went down in Pennsylvania declared the same words before ambushing the cockpit to recapture control of a jetliner.
The Denver Post editorial board slammed Schultheis with a series of tweets, mocking his claims that his words were misunderstood: “Don’t think we buy your claim you didn’t mean to equate the president with terrorists. No one is buying it.”
And: “To believe that the American people elected a president intent on destroying the U.S. is hateful and absurd. Such debate is debasing.” As well as: “Casting Obama as a terrorist trying to destroy the U.S. only hurts legitimate critics concerned about growth of gov spending and meddling.”
Meanwhile, Schultheis, who has said his remark was taken out of context, continues to defend himself, including on Peter Boyles’ radio show, saying that Obama is “taking this country down fast;” trying to take control of every facet of government (via The Colorado Independent). “It is fascism and Marxism,” Schultheis says.