State rep. defends controversial blog posts that cost him spot in Trump administration

(Yfat Yossifor | MLive.com) Tim Kelly speaks during a debate with Judith Lincoln for the 94th State House Monday, Oct. 15, 2012 at Saginaw Valley State University.

State Rep. Tim Kelly defended controversial, old blog posts that cost him a top post in the U.S. Department of Education, but said he was not surprised by the Trump administration's decision to withdraw his nomination.

"I am not surprised by the decision Betsy made," Kelly said, referring to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. "I'm surprised at how toxic the atmosphere is in Washington and that anything that doesn't reflect the opinion of a liberal Democrat is immediately deemed wrong, hurtful, bigoted, racist, you name the adjective."

On Thursday, Education Week reported that Kelly's nomination for assistant secretary for career, technical and adult education had been pulled after personal blog posts surfaced in which Kelly made remarks critical of Muslims, efforts to attract women to careers in science and engineering, and parents whose children participate in a federal preschool program for low-income families.

The blog posts were made by Kelly, a Republican from Saginaw Township, between 2009 and 2012.

In an interview with MLive.com, Kelly defended his comments, saying they were being taken out of context and that it was not his intent to insult anyone. He urged his critics to read his full blog posts, not the snippets published in news reports.

"Print all the posts in their entirety and let me be judged in the court of public opinion," he said.

News broke in May that Kelly, a longtime school choice advocate who serves as chair of the state House Education Reform Committee, was under consideration for a high-ranking post in the federal education department. The Trump administration made his nomination official, pending Senate approval, in late September.

A hearing on Kelly's nomination by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions was scheduled for Nov. 15, according to the committee's website.

Kelly said he disclosed his blog to the White House "from day one," but added that, to his knowledge, it was inactive and no longer available online. Kelly said he did not discuss the specific posts he came under criticism for because, "there wouldn't be any need to."

"It did just surface," he said. "Like I said, we couldn't find it. You can't access it. Where this came from, I have no idea, which leads me to believe it's leaked."

Later, he added: "When I'm writing this thing eight years ago, I'm not thinking about any potential federal post I might have or potential office I might run for. These were strictly the opinions and reporting of a conservative voice from Saginaw County."

One post that has generated scrutiny was published on Dec. 29, 2009 - four days after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a native of Nigeria, tried to blow up a plane bound for Detroit.

In that entry, Kelly expresses frustration with the government's efforts to screen for terrorists.

"Instead of assuming that all people are interested in, let alone capable of, blowing up Western, Christian, or Jewish things, let's assume that all Muslims are," he wrote.

On Thursday, Kelly said: "This was just four days after Umar tried to blow up a plane over Detroit. So nerves were rather raw four days after this, being a Michigander."

He also came under scrutiny for a post from February 25, 2010, in which he criticized a federal program designed to boost the number of women in science fields as "wasteful spending."

"Studies point to data that indicate men and women simply have different tastes when it comes to areas of study," Kelly wrote. "For instance, women may be underrepresented in the fields of engineering, but thrive in the areas of sociology and biology."

On Thursday, Kelly said wasn't trying to say that women shouldn't be involved in fields such as science, technology, engineering and math. Rather, his intent was to question why the government is "spending millions of dollars trying to entice" women to enter such careers.

"The reality is, they're simply not interested in many cases," he said. "Yet we're trying to force them into this."

Following Thursday's news, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon said Kelly should be removed as chair of the House Education Reform Committee.

"After this unmasking of Kelly's true character and beliefs, he cannot be allowed to continue as chair of the House Education Committee and should immediately be replaced," he said. "If Tim Kelly isn't fit to serve Donald Trump and DeVos, there's no way he's fit to serve Michigan's children."

Kelly responded, calling Dillon's request "absurd."

"I only have the best interests of the people of Michigan involved, particularly school children, who we're trying to save from poorly performing schools," he said.

Moving forward, Kelly - who's in his third and final term in the House -  said he's eager to continue to serve his constituents.

"Over the last eight months, this became increasingly stressful and distressing, with the conclusion that I may not be a good match for this work in Washington," he said. "It's such a toxic swamp."

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