The Tennessee Republican Party won’t formally distance itself from organizers of an anti-Islam event being thrown in Nashville this weekend.
But the event’s organizers are quick to distance themselves from average Republicans.
Calling themselves “the Republican Wing of the Republican Party,” the Tennessee Republican Assembly will host anti-Islam activists Michael Del Rosso and Andy Miller at its annual conference Saturday. But according to assembly President Sharon Ford’s Facebook page, Frank Gaffney, a nationally recognized anti-Islam author and speaker who testified in a lawsuit aimed at stopping Murfreesboro mosque construction, had to bail on the event due to a scheduling conflict.
Confusion over who is backing the event became apparent on Twitter this week when a local Muslim activist, Drost Kokoye, posted that it was the Tennessee Republican Party hosting Gaffney. The Tennessee Freedom Coalition, Andy Miller’s group, was quick to correct her.
Now local Muslims are calling on the GOP to denounce the Tennessee Republican Assembly. Remziya Suleyman, policy director for the Nashville-based American Center for Outreach, pointed out that even CPAC, the nation’s largest conservative conference, stopped inviting perennial presenter Gaffney. CPAC’s chairman said in 2011 it was because Gaffney believes some who don’t agree with him are “dupes of the nation’s enemies.”
Even though Gaffney won’t be at the Nashville event, Suleyman said, Islamophobic and bigoted conversation will be, and there are questions she wants answered by the Tennessee GOP: “Is this truly what you embrace as a party? Is this the ideology and philosophy that you care about?” Her group will send a letter to the party on Friday, she said.
But Michael Sullivan, the state party’s deputy executive director, answered the questions tonight. The Tennessee Republican Assembly is not affiliated with the Tennessee GOP or viewed as an auxiliary organization, he said. And the party is actively trying to reach out to Muslims and other diverse groups, having hired a full time engagement director last year.
Sullivan isn’t concerned about other groups with “Republican” in their names confusing the message. “The Tennessee Republican Party is a strong brand that has resonated well with voters over the years,” he said.
Ford didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail, an email sent through the Tennessee Republican Assembly’s contact page or a Facebook message.