Bob Guzzardi, a former PA Gubernatorial candidate and Republican political financier, showed his true colors today in a Facebook comment to Goose in the Gallows contributor Rizzo Mertz. A Facebook discussion on the tax legislation passed by Republicans in Congress quickly took an ugly turn when Guzzardi said:

“By the way, Rizzo Mertz, I thought you and your kind would be in concentration camps by now. That’s why I voted for President Trump.”

For the record, Mertz is openly gay, leaving little question as to who Guzzardi meant by the phrase “you and your kind.” There is no indication that Guzzardi recanted his words, deleted the comment, or offered any sort of an apology.

In response, Mertz, who engages in deviant activities like cleaning up abandoned lots in Philadelphia in his spare time, posted the following to his Facebook account:

(EDITOR’S NOTE: For clarification purposes, by “fucking with the wrong gay”, Mertz refers to antagonizing, not engaging in sexual intercourse or other sexual acts. It is currently unknown whether or not Bob Guzzardi has ever engaged in homosexual acts, and if he has, whether he is, in fact, a top or a bottom.)

WHO IS BOB GUZZARDI?

Guzzardi, 73, described as an, “an American attorney, real estate developer, conservative financier, and political activist” on his Wikipedia page, is no stranger to controversy involving the issue of homosexuality. In 2006, Guzzardi’s financial support of US Senator Rick Santorum raised concern among many members of Guzzardi’s 12th Street Gym in Philadelphia. The gym was known as one of Philadelphia’s most gay-friendly establishments.

Although Guzzardi claimed at the time his support of Santorum was limited to foreign policy issues like Israel and not social issues like homosexuality, he was forced to sell his interest in the 12th Street Gym to a business partner to avoid further negative publicity.

In 2014, Guzzardi announced his candidacy for Governor of Pennsylvania, challenging incumbent Tom Corbett in the Republican Primary. His candidacy was short-lived, however, as he neglected to submit the required financial disclosure forms required of every candidate in Pennsylvania. Guzzardi’s defense, that he was misinformed by election officials who told him he didn’t need to file the disclosures, fell on deaf ears. After four Republicans filed a lawsuit, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Guzzardi be stricken from the ballot.

Guzzardi’s involvement in Pennsylvania politics cannot be ignored, mainly for financing the campaigns that removed prominent Republican legislative leaders in the 2006 Primary Election. On his website, Guzzardi claims he personally contributed over $230,000 to candidates “with the purpose of advancing the agenda of Limited Government, Individual Liberty and Economic Freedom.” He also raised money for Pat Toomey in his 2004 challenge to the late U.S. Senator Arlen Specter.

Bob Guzzardi has been served on the boards of many organizations over the years, including the conservative Commonwealth Foundation, Middle East Forum, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, Zionist Organization of America, Dollars for Scholars and Yorktown University in Colorado.

Attempts to reach Mr. Guzzardi for comment on this story went unanswered.

ANALYSIS:

Wow is this Guzzardi guy a dick. On the day you apparently got even richer as a result of the GOP tax plan, you decided to celebrate by gay-bashing on Facebook? Couldn’t you have just crashed a Klan meeting or something?

And who puts a fucking emoji at the end of a slur? If your slur isn’t offensive enough on its own, come up with a better one. Like seriously, who does that? That’s low-rent, even for a homophobic jackass.

And saying that you voted for Trump because gay people haven’t been thrown in concentration camps yet? That’s pretty serious (and pointed) language from someone whose main political issue is Israel, no? And are gay concentration camps even a thing, or is that something you and Mike Pence thought up while feeding each other bananas in a barn one night?

Bob Guzzardi is a perfect example of the cancer that morphed the Republicans from a party of fairly legitimate conservatives to the cesspool of bigotry, hatred, and unmasked contempt for anyone who isn’t white, rich, straight, white, and white. Spending $230,000 on ultra-conservative state legislature candidates in one year helps explain why the current State House Republican Caucus is filled with uninformed neo-conservative puppets elected with someone else’s money.

This is Donald Trump’s America in action before our very eyes. A rich, old, bigoted white guy can buy the government he wants so he can say anything to anyone who disagrees with him with no accountability whatsoever. If this is winning, then maybe Donald Trump is right. I’m really, really, sick of winning.