Recent posts by State Rep. Eric Morrison (D-Glasgow) on his official state Facebook page have drawn sharp criticism.
The first post, made September 18, featured a screen-grab of an NBC News story that referenced the potential for a military recruitment campaign tied to the death of Charlie Kirk. Included with the post was Rep. Morrison’s observation: “Full-on Nazi youth recruitment…”.
Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was murdered on September 10 on the campus of Utah Valley University by a sniper while debating with students and professors at an outside event.
On September 22, Rep. Morrison posted a graphic that read: “When Fascism Comes to America, it will be Wrapped in a Flag and Carrying a Cross.” The statement is often attributed to novelist Sinclair Lewis and his novel, It Can’t Happen Here (1935), which explores the rise of fascism in America; however, the Sinclair Lewis Society disputes this claim.
While the intent of the second post was more ambiguous than the first, it still drew over 330 comments and sparked deep division among respondents.
Both posts remained on the page at the time of publication of this newsletter.
In a prepared statement, Sussex County Republican Party Chairman and military veteran Daniel Willis condemned Rep. Morrison’s Nazi reference. “This rhetoric is not only deeply offensive, it is a direct insult to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have made the honorable choice to serve our nation. Fewer than one percent of Americans wear the uniform, and every single one of them does so voluntarily…To demean that act of service with comparisons to one of history’s darkest regimes is unacceptable.”
State Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Milford South), in photo, echoed similar sentiments on his privately administered Facebook page, Mr. 302: “We are beginning to see troubling warning signs of political violence within the Delaware General Assembly,” he wrote the day after Rep. Morrison’s first post. “To equate America’s military with that kind of evil is not only irresponsible but a warning sign of how political rhetoric can be weaponized to fuel division and violence in our country.”
Yesterday, Rep. Shupe revisited the issue in a new Facebook post, questioning why majority House Democrats have failed to take any action rebuking Rep. Morrison.
