Hartford, Ct. – State Representative William Tong and Connecticut Democratic Party Chairman Nick Balletto released the following statements on Connecticut Republicans fundraising tonight with extreme right-wing demagogue Michelle Malkin.

“This year, the legislature passed House Bill 5743, An Act Concerning Hate Crimes, to dramatically strengthen our state’s penalties against hate crimes to fight a spike in hate-related threats and violence here in Connecticut,” said Representative Tong. “The Connecticut Republican Party and 23 of its town committees now make of mockery of our laws by inviting Michele Malkin, an accomplished racist, to keynote a major event tonight. The Republican Party’s decision to traffic in Ms. Malkin’s particular brand of hate to raise money would normally be unconscionable, were the Trump Administration not already leading the way.

“As Connecticut’s first Asian American legislator, I am particularly offended that the Connecticut GOP has invited Ms. Malkin to speak because of her hateful views in defense of Japanese internment, as set forth in her book ‘In Defense of Internment.’  I do not understand how the Connecticut Republican Party embraces and defends the imprisonment of American citizens in concentration camps on American soil, which, I will readily acknowledge, was perpetrated by Democrats in that age.  But at least most of us have the good sense and judgment to be ashamed of it. This is an obvious offense, not just to Asian Pacific Americans across our state, Republican or Democrat, but to all people.  But the worst part of it is, I doubt that the organizers of this event even know what internment was or that this is offensive in the first place.

“I am disgusted.”

“We often hear from pundits that Connecticut Republicans are somehow less extreme than Donald Trump and his national GOP allies,” said Chairman Balletto. “The party’s full embrace of Michelle Malkin — who has defended the use of internment camps, pushed for the use of profiling against Muslim-Americans, and blamed women for being sexually harassed in the workplace, among many other vile and extreme beliefs — clearly proves otherwise. In fact, the Connecticut Republican Party has steadfastly supported Donald Trump on everything from his disastrous health care bill, to his voter suppression commission, to his Muslim ban. The truth is that Donald Trump and Connecticut Republicans are one and the same.”