Republican Elise Stefanik last September released advertising that not only echoed white supremacist “replacement theory,” but also claimed that undocumented immigrants were the actual insurrectionists, we noted at the time.
The New York lawmaker was unrepentant, continuing to run the ads following reporting on her racist lie, and spouting “invasion” rhetoric during a floor speech a couple weeks ago. Not even in an ad, but on the floor of the United States Congress.
Following the horrific mass shooting in her home state on Saturday, Stefanik wants to talk about anything but the fact that the racist mass killer sounded a lot like her. He reportedly spewed lies about “people who ‘invade our lands,’” The New York Times reported. But she said what she said—and many other Republicans have spewed similar racist crap, findings have previously said.
RELATED STORY: GOP teeing up racist ads going into midterms. Democrats can fight back by championing immigrants
Earlier this year, America’s Voice and Immigration Hub said they’d documented hundreds of right-wings ads and messages by Republicans leading into the midterms, including the kinds of “invasion” claims made by Stefanik on the House floor. This wording was infamously used by the white supremacist terrorist who went to El Paso with a stated goal of murdering Mexicans in 2019. One analysis previously found that the insurrectionist president had used this rhetoric at least 19 times during rallies. It was at one of these rallies where in May 2019 he chuckled and joked at a supporter’s suggestion of shooting asylum-seekers at the southern border.
The New York Times reports that during a rally this week for noted medical con artist and Pennsylvania senate candidate Mehmet Oz, he continued to use this word. Even after numerous racist mass shootings. In the same week. There are no other conclusions to make other than he wants more Black and brown people dead.
The same can be said for right-wing Gov. Greg Abbott, whose very state was jolted by a racist mass killer. Abbott faced intense backlash over an anti-immigrant fundraising letter he’d sent out just days before the El Paso shooting, eventually issuing a nonapology apology that claimed “mistakes were made.” By someone, somewhere. It’s a mystery. But despite a racist citing a fake “invasion” to murder 23 people and injure another 23, Abbott and other state Republicans have again used this vile term. “We are being invaded,” Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick said last June, The Texas Tribune reported at the time. “Abbott said Wednesday that ‘homes are being invaded,’” the report continued.
”Rep. Jodey Arrington (TX-19) was on FOX on June 4 claiming, ‘the federal government has failed to protect against this invasion,’” America’s Voice and Immigration Hub said in their report. “And Rep. Bob Good (VA-05) falsely claimed in a press release on July 21, that there is a ‘raging border invasion.’ Other Republicans like Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07), Rep. Madison Cawthorn (NC-11), and Texas gubernatorial Republican party candidate Don Huffines have been running Facebook ads using ‘invasion’ to build their campaign coffers.”
The organizations noted that Lindsey Graham, once a GOP champion of comprehensive immigration reform, has also been no stranger to using this rhetoric.
“They can’t claim ignorance and say they didn’t know this language could potentially lead to violence because it happened before,” Mario Carrillo, a Texas-based organizer with America’s Voice, told Texas Tribune about Abbott and Texas Republicans. In a tweet, El Paso Rep. Veronica Escobar was blunt: “If people die again, blood will be on your hands.” Now 10 innocents in Buffalo are dead because of racist rhetoric, and Stefanik, a federal lawmaker who spewed this replacement theory, has shown not a lick of remorse. Kevin McCarthy, who publicly lied about urging the insurrectionist president to resign over the Jan. 6 insurrection, went to the border to lie about immigrants rather than fess up to his own lies.
America’s Voice said that “in the past year alone, Republicans have ran over 100 different ads with ‘invasion’ rhetoric,” its searchable GOP ad tracker had found. Once again: It’s not the fringe, it’s the GOP.
RELATED STORIES: Stefanik pushes racist ad that also claims undocumented immigrants are the real insurrectionists
'Racist & xenophobic dog whistles': Rick Scott's committee is on an ugly anti-immigrant tirade
Analysis finds Trump has spewed 'invasion' rhetoric at his rallies at least 19 times since 2017
