Embattled Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam under fire over appointee with history of anti-Catholic tweets

WaEx:

Months after racism allegations dogged Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration, the state’s top Democrat is now facing scrutiny over a political appointee with a history of anti-Catholic comments.

Gail Gordon Donegan, appointed earlier this month to the Virginia Council on Women, a state body focused on women’s issues, mocked the Catholic Church’s struggle with sexual abuse among its clergy in a series of tweets going back to 2010.

Northam’s appointee also targeted a sacred Catholic ritual and directed vulgar tweets at other targets, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in tweets uncovered by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In 2010, she tweeted, “Abortion is morally indefensible to Catholic priests bcuz it results in fewer children to rape.” That same year, she wrote, “Saw a bumper sticker: ‘You can’t be both Catholic & Pro-Choice.’ Add: You can be a pedophile though!”

A year later, she tweeted, “Go tell a Catholic they have dirt on their forehead,” apparently referencing the Catholic practice of receiving ashes on the forehead on Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season of repentance.

In 2013, she tweeted what she later called “my fave joke.”

“Dr, lawyer & priest on Titantic [sic]. Doc: save the children! lawyer: f— the children! Priest: Is there time?” she wrote.

Donegan has targeted other individuals, including Republican and Democratic politicians.

She called former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann a “dumb bitch” in 2011.

In 2017, she told Radkiha Jones, editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, to “f— off, eat shit, and crawl back to hell.” Last year, she wrote, “Bernie Sanders and his shithead followers need to f— the f— off.” more here