Mayor’s Spokesman: Republican Party = Cult

A post from Twitter caught my eye this morning.

Alex Roth, a new spokesman for city of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders wrote: “I’m beginning to see more and more similarities between the Heaven’s Gate cult and today’s Republican Party.”

Heaven’s Gate is the cult that committed mass suicide in 1997 in San Diego. Sanders is a Republican.

I called Roth to ask him about the post.

“What I was referring to were the extreme elements of the national Republican Party and some of their behavior in the New York Congressional race,” Roth said.

“This has absolutely nothing to do with the sensible, moderate policies of the correct elements of the Republican Party, which includes Mayor Sanders.”

Here’s a screenshot of Roth’s tweet:

Update: Roth just e-mailed another statement: “I apologize for my Twitter post earlier today. It should go without saying that my comments represented my own personal observations, not the mayor’s.  I would add that I was referring specifically to talk-radio comments related to a New York congressional election.  Nonetheless, I apologize to those who were offended by the comment.”

— LIAM DILLON