On January 4, Michael Del Rosso, a fellow at the Center for Security Policy (CSP), announced his candidacy for the 5th Congressional District of Virginia. Del Rosso running to replace current Rep. Robert Hurt (R-VA), who is not seeking reelection.
Del Rosso, an experienced tech executive, also serves as a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, an anti-Muslim think tank founded and headed by notorious conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney. Gaffney’s organization is known for publishing dubious reports riddled with anti-Muslim biases which serve to stoke fear and prejudice toward the religion of Islam.
Del Rosso was a co-author on a suspect report released in 2010 by CSP titled Shariah: The Threat To America and subtitled An Exercise In Competitive Analysis (Report of Team B II). One of the purposes of the report was to justify the implementation of anti-Shariah laws, otherwise known as American Laws for American Courts, in the United States. These laws, of course, have not only been deemed discriminatory and unconstitutional, but have also been fittingly labeled a “solution in search of a problem.”
In his press release announcing his candidacy, Del Rosso, who is running as a Republican, lamented the current Republican leadership. He relied on a narrative similar to the one expressed by another Virginia Rep. and Tea Party favorite, David Brat, who upset House Majority Leader Eric Cantor during the 2014 primaries.
Del Rosso also claimed that “the most dangerous and imminent failure” of the GOP leadership “has been the criminal betrayal of our national security.”
Who is Frank Gaffney?
Frank Gaffney, a former Reagan-era staffer, now acts as one of the leading figureheads within the organized anti-Muslim movement. He and his organization are notorious for peddling anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and falsehoods.
For example, Gaffney claims Muslims are using something called “stealth jihad” to infiltrate the U.S. government in order to subvert it from within and replace it with a Shariah-adherent one. In this regard, he was one of the loudest voices in support of a congressional anti-Muslim witch hunt against Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, which was led by then-Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
Gaffney is also known for bringing together notorious anti-immigrant figures and white nationalists through his radio program “Secure Freedom Radio” and various events sponsored by his group.
He recently garnered increased media attention after real estate mogul and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump used a shoddy poll commissioned by Gaffney’s group to justify his plan to ban all Muslim immigration into the U.S
And just this week, as reported by the website Right Wing Watch, Gaffney equated proposed campaign finance reform and new policies regarding discriminatory language on Twitter to efforts to impose Shariah law in America.
Image source: NBC29 video screenshot
The Center for New Community is a 501(c)(3) organization and does not endorse any political parties or candidates for elected office. This post, and any post on Imagine2050, is not intended to support or oppose any candidates for elected office.