Michigan GOP National Committeeman Dave Agema’s doggedly stubborn refusal to back down from his decision to post the essay “

” on his Facebook page has created a furious debate about the accuracy of the claims made by the essay’s author,“Frank Joseph, M.D.”

But now it’s time to scrutinize the source of those claims. In one case, it looks quite ugly.

Consider this dubious bullet-point from the essay: “The median age of death of lesbians is 45 (only 24% live past age 65). The median age of death of a married heterosexual woman is 79 (8)."

That “(8)” is footnote #8. It refers to a pamphlet entitled “

” by Dr. Edward R. Fields of Marietta, Ga. Fields is cited as the source for eight bullet points in the essay that Agema circulated.

What appears to be a reprint of the original

.

The Fields facts used in the essay reposted by Agema (and written by Joseph) are all similarly outrageous: “37% of homosexuals engage in sadomasochism,” “60% say they have had sex with strangers in bathhouses,” “Homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be murdered,” etc...

The

informs us that an Edward R. Fields of Marietta, GA, is a “non-practicing chiropractor.”

That’s the good part.

The bad parts:

“Edward Fields has been active in white supremacist and anti-Semitic groups since he was a teenager in the late 1940s ... Fields was a significant force in the racist world ...”

“In 1991 he organized a Klan rally in Montgomery, Alabama, along with Thom Robb of the Knights of the KKK.”

"In February 2001 he attended the funeral of Byron de la Beckwith, murderer of civil rights activist Medgar Evers ..."



Related:

• Agema's Facebook flap fails to advance gay marriage discussion

• Expert: Agema got a few things right (but was still wrong)

The “Homosexual Activity” pamphlet was penned in 1993, the same year Fields wrestled with the question “

?” - an essay you can still find

. (Spoiler alert: Fields thinks the Jews exaggerated the story.)

Similar titles with similar themes appear to have been

.

And Fields isn’t quite yet a footnote himself. In January, former KKK leader and Louisiana politician David Duke

on his Internet-based radio show. Subjects: Jews and homosexuals taking over the world.

I suppose it’s theoretically possible that a knuckle-dragging, Klan-rally organizing, Holocaust-denier might have stumbled over real facts about homosexuals. Or, perhaps there are TWO crackpots living in the same Georgia town, both going by the name “Edward R. Fields.” But my own mind is equally open to the possibility of meeting a mermaid.

Having chosen to use the work of Dr. Fields, the author of the pamphlet Agema posted is - at best - a highly reckless and inflammatory hack whose drivel is nonetheless doggedly defended by an elected officer of the Republican Party.

Agema should have resigned already, but he’s had some strong supporters backing up the substance of that thoughtless post.

First among equals has been the American Family Association of Michigan. They issued a statement defending Agema, saying Joseph’s commentary “simply recites factual statements attributed to either medical research or mainstream media reports.” Eight of those “factual statements” come directly from Fields.

In 1992, a year before his work on homosexuals, the prolific Dr. Fields spewed forth a tract entitled:

. I look forward to learning if this is considered “medical research” or an example of a “mainstream media report.” But before that, I’d like to see AFA inform Mr. Agema that his Party needs to find somebody else.

Ken Braun was a legislative aide for a Republican lawmaker in the Michigan House for six years and is currently the director of policy for a political consulting firm. His employer is not responsible for what he says here ... or in Spartan Stadium on game days.