I think it’s fair to say that most people in the Black, brown, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ communities have long believed that there is scant difference between the ideologies of Republicans, the right-wing media, and the Ku Klux Klan. History proves it, and present-day commentary verifies it.
A new video from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah places right-wing media talking heads—like Tucker Carlson and Greg Kelly—alongside GOP elected officials—like Rep. Majorie Taylor Green of Georgia and former President Trump—and KKK leaders, like David Duke and Imperial Wizard Bill Wilkinson. The rhetoric of all three groups is not just similar—it’s identical.
Between the ubiquitous phrases about “nationalism,” “Christian nationalists,” “white people being treated like second-class citizens,” “handouts to illegal immigrants,” and fears of white people being supplanted by people of color, the remarks of present-day politicians, media figures, and klansman prove that the current GOP is absolutely aligned with white supremacy.
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So, maybe today’s GOP lawmakers aren’t all really actual members of the KKK, but … there are a few who are in every way the same, minus the hoods.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, former Rep. Steve King of Iowa and Florida Congressional candidate Laura Loomer have already signed up to attend American Renaissance’s annual gathering.
Founded in 1990 by Jared Taylor, the New Century Foundation promotes misleading and bogus scientific support to attempt to show that Black people are inferior to whites. The group is best known for its American Renaissance magazine, website, and annual gathering.
"Blacks and whites are different. When blacks are left entirely to their own devices, Western civilization—any kind of civilization—disappears,” Taylor said during a speech at the American Renaissance event in 2005.
Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano has been tied to the far-right social media site Gab, known for its white nationist and antisemitic rhetoric.
The Washington Post reports that Gab CEO (and alleged a Mastriano campaign consultant) Andrew Torba reportedly was heard speaking on a livestream saying that he and Mastriano don’t do interviews with non-Christian media.
“My policy is not to conduct interviews with reporters who aren’t Christian or with outlets who aren’t Christian, and Doug has a very similar media strategy where he does not do interviews with these people. He does not talk to these people. He does not give press access to these people,” Torba said. “These people are dishonest. They’re liars. They’re a den of vipers, and they want to destroy you. My typical conversation with them when they email me is ‘repent and accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior.’ I take it as an opportunity to try and convert them.”
Greene, who paid Gab for “digital marketing,” according to the Post, has been open about her ties to Christian nationalism, even suggesting the GOP should openly proclaim itself the party of Christian nationalism.
Daily Kos’ David Nir writes that the “radicalization of the Republicans just keeps getting deeper and deeper,” and the “GOP is moving on to its next phase of being gradually overwhelmed by the seep of white nationalist ideas and organizing intent into their mainstream.” Nir points to the America First PAC convention that took place in Orlando, Florida, in early August. Greene, Arizona legislator Wendy Rogers, Rep. Paul Gosar, and Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin all attended.
Nir writes:
“Fuentes was clear that his objective is for the white nationalist movement to overtake the Republican Party, primarily by driving out old-style conservatives, reflected in his oft-repeated catchphrase ‘destroy the GOP.’ He told the audience: ‘We needed to redefine the right wing by solidifying the political realignment that Donald Trump initiated in 2016, under the banner, and under the slogan, and under the principles of America First.’”