GOP candidate Zirkle addresses Nazi gathering

By DUSTIN GROVE, WSBT-TV and NANCY J. SULOK, Tribune Staff Writer

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Apr 21, 2008 at 10:20 AM EST

Story Updated: Aug 5, 2008 at 2:38 PM EST

SOUTH BEND – Tony Zirkle, Republican candidate for 2nd District congressman, said he is willing to talk to any group that invites him, and that’s why he addressed a weekend gathering in Chicago of the American National Socialist Workers Party.

The occasion was a celebration of the 119th anniversary of the birth of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, Zirkle said he agreed to address the group and talk about his experience as state's attorney. He also said he took the opportunity to preach the gospel and handed out commentaries on the life of Jesus.

“If you want to witness to people, if you want to share your message with people, you have to talk to them,” said Zirkle. “By not taking a risk and going out there and addressing issues that your enemies can paint you as a racist or a bigot, then we're never going to address them.”

"I cannot believe that in 2008 anyone could think so backwards," Luke Puckett, another GOP candidate for 2nd District congressman, said in reaction to Zirkle’s visit.

“The ‘R’ next to Tony Zirkle’s name does not stand for Republican. It stands for ‘repulsive,'" Chris Riley, chairman of the St. Joseph County Republican Party, told WSBT-TV. "The Republican Party stands for two basic principles: individual freedom and government accountability. Nazi socialism and fascism is the polar opposite of those two principles so for him to align himself with this puts him at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Republicans. And the visual images of Tony Zirkle standing in front of a Nazi flag are nauseating and repulsive."

His latest comments are not the first time Zirkle has generated controversy on issues of race. In an interview in early March with the Kokomo Perspective, Zirkle suggested segregating African-Americans in separate states is an issue that deserves to be debated.

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