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| Erie County Executive Chris Collins, of Buffalo, N.Y., speaks at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) |
Posted: Monday, 26 October 2009 11:32AM
Collins Apologizes For Hitler, Anti-Christ Remarks of Sheldon Silver
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Erie County Executive Chris Collins has apologized for remarks made in Buffalo Saturday in which he compared state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to Hitler and the Anti-Christ.
At a Republican fundraiser in Buffalo this weekend, Collins spoke of Nostradamus's predictions that there would be three anti-christs, adding that it is generally assumed the first was Napoleon and the second was Hitler, before suggesting that Silver is the third.
The incident was first reported in the New York Daily News.
"Saturday night I made a poor joke regarding the Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver. I want to extend my sincerest apologies to him for my comments. I have placed a call to the Speaker's office to offer my apologies directly," Collins said in a prepared statement released to WBEN Monday.
"While we may disagree strongly on policy matters, my statement had no place in our political; discourse and I am truly sorry to both the Speaker and to anyone else who I may have offended.," the statement said.
Collins remarks came at the GOP's annual fall fundraiser dinner at the Adam's Mark Hotel, as part of a speaker's list that also included newly elected NYS Republican chair Ed Cox, and gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio.
Collins has spent much time speaking to Republican groups across the state, as part of a possible bid for the governor's mansion. While he continues to reach out to local GOP groups, he says officially he supports former NY City Mayor Rudy Giulliani for the post, and will defer a decision on running until after Giuliani makes his intentions known.
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