GRANDVILLE, Mich. (AP) - Embattled Michigan Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema is hitting back at critics of his anti-gay and anti-Muslim Web postings, saying he stands on the same issues he always has - “God, family and country.”
The committee meets Wednesday in Washington.
Gov. Rick Snyder has indirectly criticized Agema, calling for an end to derogatory and negative comments. Other Republican leaders, among them ex-Republican National Committeewoman Betsy DeVos, have said Agema is hurting their party.
“I appreciate Betsy DeVos speaking up,” Snyder told reporters after a Martin Luther King Day luncheon in Lansing. “I’m not going to get into specific individuals. I’m sticking with my call across the board for civility and respect towards others.”
Michigan Democratic Chairman Lon Johnson criticized Snyder for not being more forthcoming, repeated his call for Agema’s removal from the committee and urged Michigan Republicans “to finally embrace calls for common sense equal rights protections for everyone in our state.”
In a Facebook posting reported by the Detroit Free Press (https://on.freep.com/Kz6q5b ), Agema said “people are feeding half-truths to the news within the GOP, stirring up divisiveness.”
“I stand on the same issues I always have - God, family and country,” said Agema, a 64-year-old ex-state representative from Grandville. “There are times I have posted or linked an article to encourage discourse. This does not constitute endorsement of that position, but some capture a controversial snippet and allege those are my words.
“It is an unfortunate and uncivil tactic meant to ruin a person’s reputation.”
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