The former Ronald Reagan aide who’s out with a book calling for southern states to secede from the union has reportedly been dropped from his gig as a columnist for the Tampa Tribune.
Douglas MacKinnon drew attention from national news outlets, including TPM, when he discussed his book “The Secessionist States of America: The Blueprint for Creating a Traditional Values Country … Now” with evangelical radio host Janet Mefferd last week.
MacKinnon suggested that South Carolina, Georgia and Florida break away from the United States to form a new republic tentatively called “Reagan” where citizens wouldn’t be forced to compromise on “traditional values” with, for example, same-sex marriage.
Tampa news blog Creative Loafing reported Monday that MacKinnon had been fired from his position as a conservative columnist for the Tampa Tribune, citing anonymous sources.
Brian Burns, the publisher of the newspaper, told the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday that he could not comment on the rumors because it’s “a personnel issue.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, MacKinnon’s author page had been scrubbed from the Tampa Tribune site, though his columns remain live.
