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A suburban Detroit state senator's "Muslim bashing" as he seeks the Republican nomination for governor is "a despicable tactic . . . appealing to the worst elements of the party's base," says a Detroit News editorial.
Sen. Patrick Colbeck "should give it up to avoid further embarrassment to his candidacy and his party," adds the callout, promoted on social media by opinion editor Nolan Finley, its likely author.
The editorial page editor and the candidate his page slams as "too narrow-minded to represent a state as diverse as Michigan."
The legislator from Canton Township suggests that Democratic hopeful Abdul El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood terror group, a smear restated twice last week in candidate debates. "The evidence that Colbeck has presented is laughable," The News says Sunday, accusing him of "inflaming hatred."
The thread Colbeck uses is thin; there’s absolutely no evidence to suggest El-Sayed, former director of Detroit’s health department, is anything but a loyal American citizen of the Islamic faith.
And yet because of El-Sayed’s name and religion, Colbeck senses an opportunity to play off anti-Muslim sentiments and fears of terrorism by launching unwarranted attacks on a Muslim candidate. . . .
Colbeck lends credence to the worst stereotypes about conservatives and Republicans. And he presents himself as too narrow-minded to represent a state as diverse as Michigan.
He owes El-Sayed an apology, and Michigan’s Republican voters a more honorable and issue-focused campaign.
Alas, the fesity Republican sees the editorial (which he mischaracterizes as "this article") as a chance to double-down and give the pot another stir:
@NolanFinleyDN wrong on @realDonaldTrump, wrong on roads, wrong on Medicaid Expansion, & slanderous in this article. I have the facts. You choose to ignore them. Meanwhile, you are silent on El-Sayed's true hate speech. You are one reason why #FakeNews sticks. #MAGA https://t.co/Uei1p2JM9G
— Patrick Colbeck (@pjcolbeck) May 13, 2018
