“You’re not welcome back.”

That’s the message the manager of Philadelphia cheesesteak joint Max’s Steaks had for Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick, after his campaign held an event outside the restaurant Friday that the eatery was told would be about autism awareness.

Mike Sfida—who agreed to hold the event because his niece and nephew have autism—was alarmed when he saw Donald Trump signs being hung outside the beloved North Philly spot on Friday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. McCormick arrived, gave a campaign stump address, and then handed out free sandwiches.

But the disaster didn’t end there.

After showing up at a cheesesteak restaurant to campaign under the auspice of an autism awareness event, McCormick went across the street to East Bethel Baptist Church, which happened to be holding an outdoor fundraiser for its food ministry.

The Rev. Thomas Edwards Jr., who leads the church, told his campaign to leave because he didn’t want the GOP candidate to use photos of his congregation for campaigning purposes.

“You can Photoshop,” he told the Inquirer. “You can make things seem like they aren’t. Maybe they’re going to post we’re eating dogs or eating cats, like in Ohio. Forgive me if I’m wrong. I don’t trust these people.”

    • @[email protected]
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      21 hour ago

      Still my favorite of the 2020 press conferences.

      In front of a landscaping business. Next to a strip club and bar.

  • @Agent641
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    5 hours ago

    I can not believe they chose to desecrate the holiest of holies, a Philly cheese steak joint.

  • @[email protected]
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    3 hours ago

    Can someone explain to me what happened here? I read the story and I’m so confused.

    Why is a guy with two autistic children upset about an autism awareness event? Why did he give them free sandwiches and simultaneously tell them to fuck off?

    • @[email protected]
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      163 hours ago

      It wasn’t an Autism awareness event, it was a campaign rally. They lied to the owner to be able to use the space. The store owner didn’t give out sandwiches, the candidate did. The store owner also didn’t ask them to leave, the pastor across the road did. This was all very clear from the words written.

      • @[email protected]
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        3 hours ago

        Where did you read that it wasn’t an autism awareness event? I literally can not find that.

        Edit: it literally says they spoke about autism at the event

        Pressed by the newspaper about whether the campaign stop was an autism awareness event, Armstrong claimed “it’s always autism awareness because I’m an education advocate” and said she spoke to those gathered about autism at one point.

        …but sounds like they were hurried because the dude told them to fuck off

        Do your thing. When you’re done, leave. You’re not welcome back.

        • @_stranger_
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          123 hours ago

          Republican: Can I show up to your business to host a [thing you care about deeply] event?

          Shows up, whole thing is about [ thing you fucking hate ]. Mentions your thing in passing.

        • @[email protected]
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          02 hours ago

          I literally

          This is where your argument fell apart. If it wasn’t literally, how else were you going to find the part where the candidate lied about everything? You didn’t mention using your eyes and reading comprehension, and I worry one of those wasn’t in use.

          Also, there are a million better adverbs, and learning them is fun.

    • @brewdtype
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      143 hours ago

      The owner was asked if an autism-awareness event could be held at his business. He accepted, in part because he has family members with autism. After the event has gotten rolling, he realizes it’s actually a campaign event for the GOP and tells the guy to fuck off.

      Seems like they either deliberately went out of their way to hide what the event really was, or the business owner didn’t really bother to look up who was holding the event and put two-and-two together.

      • @[email protected]
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        3 hours ago

        Isn’t it a good thing for a campaign event to host an autism awareness event tho, regardless of which side he’s on?

        Especially as someone with autistic children, it seems like that would be something he’d want to support…

        • @_stranger_
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          183 hours ago

          THERE WAS NO AUTISM EVENT.

          THE REPUBLICAN LIED BECAUSE HE KNEW THE RESTAURANT OWNER WOULD NEVER AGREE TO A CAMPAIGN EVENT.

          THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE EMOTIONALLY MANIPULATED THE RESTAURANT OWNER, TRICKING THE OWNER INTO HOSTING A CAMPAIGN EVENT.

    • @[email protected]
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      43 hours ago

      It’s wild how they just build lying into their platform. Conservatives finally figured out how unpopular their opinions are, so they just decided that they should just tell people they believe differently than they do.

  • @[email protected]
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    11121 hours ago

    Wow. When a church tells the GOP to fark off, that’s gotta be a bad situation. Most churches are deep into the ChristoFascist end of the political spectrum, so McCormick must have pissed off Rev. Edward’s something bad.

    • @[email protected]
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      33 hours ago

      Churches generally have the same divide as the people who attend them: Urban ones are sane. Rural ones are conservative freaks. And I’m fairly certain this was a Black church. 90% of Black people are Democrats.

      • @[email protected]
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        22 hours ago

        90% of Black people are Democrats.

        In America, only one of the two viable parties will ever do anything for urban or non-white or non-rich people. I’m glad 90% of black people have figured this out and hope they’ll continue to support the party that fucks them around less.

    • modifier
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      5919 hours ago

      Welcome to the divide between mainline and evangelical Christianity.

      The latter is where most of the crazies hang out.

      Source: raised in the craziness

      • @[email protected]
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        1016 hours ago

        I went to a lot of churches. I don’t think I ever found the “normal” ones.

        So now I embrace the weirdos and the exiles and they’re the best! Weird and full of problems, which is why I fit in so we’ll!

      • @[email protected]
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        1919 hours ago

        Source: raised in the craziness

        On the one hand, my condolences.

        On the other hand, congrats at getting free.

        On the gripping hand, you have the ability to pull others, who are still capable of being saved, from that cray-cray. You can leverage what you used yourself to help others.

        • @Machinist
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          75 hours ago

          Not the poster you’re responding to, but I’m a preacher’s kid who made it out.

          Man, it’s just about impossible to pull others out. I know the bible backwards and forwards. Can persuasively speak to the origins of tithing vs. what it is now, the confusion in the gospels, and so on. I’ve tried.

          Fundamentalist leadership works very hard to innoculate their people against doubting what they’ve been led to believe. Centuries of propaganda techniques. Highly effective.

          I had to think myself out of it and it took until I was in my 30’s to free myself. No one could do it for me and I haven’t been successful in pulling anyone else. My small family and I recently moved out of the deep South. It has gotten incredibly bad down there and, at this point, I don’t know what can be done to help someone out of it. Maybe planting seeds of doubt and rationality are all we can do.

          It’s sickening what it’s done to my extended family and loved ones. I hate it. It still makes me sad. My parents and relatives would be great people if it weren’t for the bad religion.

          • @[email protected]
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            13 hours ago

            I think we should invest in bringing back church on church ideological warfare. No more bitter an enemy than a former friend. Break up the ecumenical alliances! Get those church propaganda presses flowing! The crazies should not be able to rest a day without having to prove they’re not the bat-shit ones

            • @Machinist
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              23 hours ago

              It would be nice, but good luck. More rational churches will support batshit fundamentalist churches before they support dirty baby-eating atheists. Especially when it comes to their tax status.

      • @captainlezbian
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        314 hours ago

        Pardon my Catholicism but aren’t all baptists evangelicals?

          • @captainlezbian
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            Oh I’m aware, before beginning my path to atheism and ultimately paganism, I considered some denominations of the Anglican side of the Anglican-Catholic schism, and I’ve long been a fan of the Quakers. In general I mostly oppose the evangelicals, most modern baptists, and any denomination sufficiently close to Calvinism (though that’s partly because I think Calvinism is particularly horrifying theologically) as well as the fascistic side of the Catholic Church (but I’m always happy to stand beside and behind the Catholic workers)

            But yeah I bring up the baptists mostly because that’s the denomination of the preacher in the post. I recognize that the baptists weren’t always like they’re largely represented today, but while I know some of their history I mostly just know them as the people who can’t tell the difference between a bishop and a satanist.

        • themeatbridge
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          Yeah, but not necessarily what you think of when you talk about “evangelical” Christians. Baptist churches are all autonomous, and while they all believe in evangelism on some level, that could mean inviting your neighbor to attend church on Sunday, or it could mean going on TV and blaming trans people for hurricanes.

          • @captainlezbian
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            213 hours ago

            Ok so they’re evangelical in the sense that even Catholics are, but could take the hint that every American has heard of Jesus snd try to be chill about it unless asked.

            I guess the real problems are the religious right, christofascism, Christendom, and all related ideologies that reject the rights of the nonbelievers and those who believe differently to live peacefully among them.

    • @ShittyBeatlesFCPres
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      1819 hours ago

      I think it was a black church which, for the most part, hasn’t gone nuts. There’s always a handful of weird ones and/or hustling preachers but the vast, vast majority are about charity and community and service. (Almost like they actually read the Bible and pay attention to what Jesus preached instead of whatever happens at Six Flags over Jesus ass megachurches.)

      • @[email protected]
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        818 hours ago

        Not to mention the history of activisim around black churches. That’s where MLK Jr came from.

    • @[email protected]
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      1419 hours ago

      There are still plenty of churches that haven’t dove off the deep end, so I’m not too surprised.

  • @Soup
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    26124 hours ago

    Pressed by the newspaper about whether the campaign stop was an autism awareness event, Armstrong claimed “it’s always autism awareness because I’m an education advocate” and said she spoke to those gathered about autism at one point.

    I swear to god, these people are straight cancer.

    • bean
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      45 hours ago

      Phew! I’m gay, so I’m safe!

    • @NegativeInf
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      6823 hours ago

      Educate my autism away. Sure. That worked so well in school.

    • Nougat
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      1523 hours ago

      Hey now, at least cancer will continue growing unchecked, sapping resources from healthy tissue, unless there’s serious intervention, and even then it might not go away … no, you’re right.

      • @NegativeInf
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        38 hours ago

        The fun thing about cancer? Is that if the cancer gets cancer, they can both die. That’s what I’m hoping for with the Maga movement in the Republican party. The second cancer chokes off the bloody supply, letting it die of nutrient deficiency.

    • @Etterra
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      821 hours ago

      Talk about twisting semantics into a knot.

    • @[email protected]
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      418 hours ago

      That is one of the most disgusting things I’ve heard today.

      And I can’t say I’m surprised, which makes it even worse.

    • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】
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      317 hours ago

      Fucking republican trash will lie about anything, and there’s literally nothing that their supporters are not too stupid to believe.

  • Wytch
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    11023 hours ago

    McCormick told the crowd. “I’m running to bring leadership to our commonwealth.”

    Hey that’s exactly what Anericans need less of. Here’s a revolutionary idea: run to be of service to the community you live in. Find out what they want and need. Do some work and get those things for them.

    Leadership. Jfc

  • @Bgugi
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    6923 hours ago

    I swear I had to read these headlines like 10 times.

    “GOP candidate calls his campaign stop an autism fundraiser, gets banned when venue owner finds out.”

  • Mister Neon
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    3422 hours ago

    Fuck you McCormick. Stay away from Philly, the place is too good for ya.

    • @Tujio
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      1522 hours ago

      Philly threw batteries at Santa, but they have some standards.

      • Mister Neon
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        21 hours ago

        Also they thrashed that hitchhiking robot.

        I’m a transplant from Texas to Philadelphia. Philly is mostly populated by mutants, but they’re my fucking mutants. I don’t appreciate this kind of horse shit being pulled on my neighbors.

        • @[email protected]
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          722 hours ago

          The podcast “16th minute of fame” had an episode on the Philly Chicken Man that made me fall in love with Philly. It is basically a 60 minutes episode expressing what you just said.

          • Mister Neon
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            322 hours ago

            With Jamie Loftus? Makes sense considering she wrote a book on competitive hot dog eating.

            • @[email protected]
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              321 hours ago

              Yep. That is the podcast. It is really good because she is pretty fabulous. The Mormon influencer episode and the chicken guy episodes are the two that have stuck with me.

  • @just_another_person
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    2423 hours ago

    That Reverend doesn’t fuck kids, just the GOP. I’m okay with that.

  • @werefreeatlast
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    -117 hours ago

    I think that’s Mark Ruffalo’s dad…is that how you spell Ruffalo? Anyway, maybe he can turn into hulk too? Old hulk?