It is not every day that you see a politician reconstructing the iconic image of 9/11 in honor of all those who lost their lives. However, Mike Simpson from Indiana was determined to make his mark during this year’s Popcorn Festival by erecting what can only be described as an eye-raising float. The float closely resembled images seen after September 11th when smoke billowed outstretching towards heaven while two towers were burning on ground floor level with people jumping out windows trying to escape death just forty years ago. The Porter County GOP chairman decided he would instead commemorate Popular Vote Day than tragic memory loss. Mike Simpson, a GOP leader in Indiana, promoted viewpoints that were out of touch with most Hoosiers when he supported the September 11th parade float depicting burning buildings. After criticism from residents and public outcry against this tasteless depiction which offended many victims’ families and those injured during 9/11 events two decades ago – Mike finally realized how wrong it was for him even to consider doing such an act.
Irish American Republicans have responded angrily after controversial New York City Councilman James Oddo proposed turning Ground Zero into “a community center” filled park space.” This idea has been roundly criticized because no one wants something like this near sites where 2,977 innocent people lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. Fearing that they would lose support from the community, Indiana GOP leaders hastily responded and posted a statement online addressing their controversial float. In LaCrosse, WI, the Popcorn Festival was disrupted by an offensive Donald Trump-inspired float commissioned for local first responders. It caused many people, including current and former members of law enforcement, upset about being represented this way during such difficult times following recent mass shooting attacks across America. Frightened but determined not to let anything stop now was the GOP leader, Mike Simpson–especially given what happened after Orlando.
Who created this low and tasteless float? No one knows, but the Porter County Republican Party is tight-lipped. They did put out a call for volunteers ahead of time, though. After residents received an offensive notice about their upcoming parades from local authorities, a small Indiana town was thrust into controversy. The letter read: “We need floats representing different businesses or organizations.” It went on to say that each group needs at least three people who will ride on top as riders during these demonstrations, so if anyone wants more information, they can email. The Republicans were not too happy with the negative feedback, so they removed their committee page from Facebook altogether. “Beyond tasteless,” wrote one patriotic American from the Midwest who was frustrated by how his state’s GOP chapter had been running a smear campaign against health care reform for weeks without repercussions or consequences. Yet, he still managed in some way to find themselves on an enemy’s list of sorts due simply because someone didn’t like what he believed rather than accomplishing anything productive. And there are those out there ready and willing enough at any given moment, if given a chance, to speak through social media outlets such as this website, where opinions count.
