Congressional candidate Bob Brooks apologizes for old Facebook posts
Democratic congressional candidate Bob Brooks has been pressed to explain two Facebook posts from 2019 that supported conservative perspectives, calling former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick a “douchebag” in one and offering a pro-gun response to mass shootings in another.
In a statement Monday, Brooks, one of four Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for the 7th District in the May 19 primary, apologized for the posts, which had been deleted but only fairly recently became public.
“I’m proud of my record of service as a first responder and union leader,” Brooks said in a statement released by his campaign. “Politics is nasty – a bunch of DC insiders who don’t want more working people in office are selectively digging up years-old Facebook posts. I’ve shared a few stupid things over the years, and for that I am sorry. I believe who I’ve fought for and my values have always been clear.”
The contested Democratic primary will determine which candidate – Ryan Crosswell, Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine are the other three – will challenge Republican first-term incumbent Ryan Mackenzie in November. The 7th District comprises Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small section of Monroe.
In one post on July 13, 2019, Brooks reacted to Nike stopping sales of a new sneaker that included what’s known as the Betsy Ross flag on its heel. The decision came after Kaepernick, the face of a Nike ad campaign at the time, reportedly told the company the flag is connected to an era when slavery was legal. In 2016, Kaepernick, then with the San Francisco 49ers, sat or kneeled during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality against Blacks.
Brooks wrote, “The first thing in a long time both republicans and democrats are doing together! Thanks douchebag for helping bring the country together on something.” Underneath his comments was an image of the flag with a message: “Colin Kaepernick doesn’t like this flag, so I’m gonna share it.”
His campaign said Brooks has mentioned the need “for reform within the police system in other posts too. ... He believes – like many Americans – that there are other ways to protest that do not involve kneeling during the anthem.”
On Aug. 4, 2019, Brooks reposted a meme containing a phrase popular among Second Amendment supporters who see social ills, not access to guns, to explain mass shootings.
This phrase appears superimposed over an image of Clint Eastwood holding a rifle, which came from a poster for his movie “Gran Torino”:
“THE PROBLEM IS NOT GUNS
IT’S HEARTS WITHOUT GOD
HOMES WITHOUT DISCIPLINE
SCHOOLS WITHOUT PRAYER AND
COURTROOMS WITHOUT JUSTICE”
In the corner of the image – not contained in the poster, however, is a Punisher skull with a Roman numeral III, a symbol of the Three Percenters, which the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League define as a militia opposed to the federal government.
The original was posted July 29, 2019, from the account of a sheriff in Wisconsin, where a gunman shot and killed four people and wounded two others. Police fatally shot the gunman.
Brooks shared the post one day after a white man targeted Hispanic shoppers at Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 23 and injuring more than 20. His campaign noted that “Bob had zero awareness of what this logo was. Knowing what he knows now, he never would have shared that post.”
It’s difficult to ascertain how the posts will affect Brooks’ candidacy, but at least two supporters continue to back him.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, an early backer of Brooks, stands by his endorsement.
“As the Governor has made clear, Bob Brooks is the candidate to win this race and be the fighter the Lehigh Valley needs in Congress,” Shapiro for Pennsylvania Spokesman Manuel Bonder said in an email Monday.
The Working Families Party also maintains its support.
“Bob is the only candidate in this race that … supports progressive policies like Medicare for All, and has fought for working people throughout his life,” said Nick Gavio, Working Families Party spokesman, in an email.
Lehigh County Commissioner Jon Irons, a Democrat and member of Working Families, said he has not endorsed a candidate in the 7th District election but was aware of the Facebook posts when Brooks sought the endorsement of the group.
“I find them deeply concerning and the post about the mass shooting is particularly hurtful,” he wrote in an email.
“I have not had the opportunity to address these comments directly with Mr. Brooks, but in my experience impact matters more than intent and sharing hateful images and rhetoric on social media has a detrimental impact on Black and brown communities. … While it is true in party politics that opponents will dig up dirt to smear other candidates, voters from all backgrounds can see through attempts to minimize and dismiss conversations like this.”
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