The chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia told an independent journalist to “delete himself” in a post to the social media platform X, which has now been deleted in turn.
“Delete yourself,” Chairwoman Susan Swecker told Substack writer Ken Klippenstein after he questioned the decision by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote for Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11) to represent the party on the House Oversight Committee.
Klippenstein originally wrote in a post to X, referencing Connolly, “House Democrats just picked someone who is literally dying to be ranking member of a powerful watchdog committee.”
Connolly announced in November he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, stating he and his doctors are “very confident in successful outcome” while acknowledging he “may be a bit fatigued due to the treatment.”
“Be assured I’m full of hope and am sustained by the love, support, and encouragement of my family, friends, and of all of you,” stated Connolly. “My wonderful staff and I look forward to serving you all in this new term and in the future.”
Swecker ultimately deleted her suggestion that Klippenstein should “delete” himself, and wrote in reply to her now-deleted suggestion, “**Delete your account. And [Connolly] is going to kick cancer’s a**.”
https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1869179037610115524
Klippenstein, a former journalist at The Intercept who recently published what he claims to be the manifesto left by Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of United Health CEO Brian Thompson, wrote in a post to X that he was surprised by Swecker’s post.
The journalist wrote, “never had a politician – much less a state party chair – tell me to kill myself before, but here we are.” Klippenstein later added in a second post, “tell her they just charged a woman in Florida for this kind of rhetoric.”
It is unclear to which Florida criminal case Klippenstein referred, but the journalist may have referenced the charges levied against a Florida mother who allegedly instructed her 10-year-old daughter to kill an infant and her foster parents.
The journalist has continued to criticize Democrats for selecting Connolly after Swecker’s response, noting on Wednesday that Connolly is one of five House Democrats given leadership positions who are at least 70 years old. Connolly is 74.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Susan Swecker” by Virginia Democrats. Photo “Ken Klippenstein” by Ken Klippenstein.
