Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 5:17 PM UTC
Wingnut columnist who wants South to secede and form anti-gay country called Reagan fired from newspaper
The move comes less than a week after Douglas MacKinnon's flirtation with secession sparked widespread ridicule
Topics: douglas mackinnon, Ronald Reagan, Conservatives, wingnuts, GOP, secession, secessionist movement, Jim Romenesko, LGBT, anti-gay, tampa tribune, janet mefferd, Media News, Politics News
Douglas MacKinnon, a former aide to President Ronald Reagan who attracted widespread ridicule last week for his suggestion that several Southern states secede and form an anti-gay country called “Reagan,” has been fired from his job as a columnist for the Tampa Tribune, a local blog reports.
The post, highlighted by media critic Jim Romenesko, cites unnamed sources in reporting the news. Tampa Tribune metro editor Dennis Joyce would neither confirm nor deny MacKinnon’s firing, saying only that it was “a personnel matter.”
Last week, MacKinnon made headlines for his appearance on right-wing radio host Janet Mefferd’s program, where he discussed his new book, “The Secessionist States of America: The Blueprint for Creating a Traditional Values County … Now.” Lamenting that the country had been “turned upside down,” MacKinnon decried the advance of gay rights and outlined his vision for “a new republic dedicated to traditional values,” carved out of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
“The interim name for the country, by the way, is Reagan,” MacKinnon told Mefferd.
