berg80
Diamond Member
- Oct 28, 2017
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Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) suggested at a rally in Nevada this month that Black people are criminals.
A day later in Arizona, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) appeared to refer to a specious conspiracy theory about immigrants that has been associated with white nationalists — baseless claims that at least two GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate have echoed.
And in Wisconsin and North Carolina, Democratic candidates for the Senate have faced a barrage of ads on crime that feature mug shots of Black defendants.
As the campaign heats up in the final weeks before November’s midterm elections, so have overt appeals to racial animus and resentment. And the toxic remarks appear to be receiving less push back from Republicans than in past years, suggesting that some candidates in the first post-Trump election cycle have been influenced by the ex-president’s norm-breaking example.
“Anybody who’s got a title in the party could say something — senator, governor, anybody,” said Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee, who noted a deafening silence in the party after Tuberville’s comment. “Anyone could stand up and say, ‘Can we stop this please?’ But they won’t.”
This begs the question why? Why doesn't a national figure like McConnell speak out? Let me answer my own rhetorical question. Because Mitch isn't going to call out Tommy's racist comments while the POT is trying to take back the Senate. Or after for that matter. Why? Easy. Racist dog whistles are an acceptable feature of POT politics in the post Trump era.
A day later in Arizona, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) appeared to refer to a specious conspiracy theory about immigrants that has been associated with white nationalists — baseless claims that at least two GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate have echoed.
And in Wisconsin and North Carolina, Democratic candidates for the Senate have faced a barrage of ads on crime that feature mug shots of Black defendants.
As the campaign heats up in the final weeks before November’s midterm elections, so have overt appeals to racial animus and resentment. And the toxic remarks appear to be receiving less push back from Republicans than in past years, suggesting that some candidates in the first post-Trump election cycle have been influenced by the ex-president’s norm-breaking example.
“Anybody who’s got a title in the party could say something — senator, governor, anybody,” said Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee, who noted a deafening silence in the party after Tuberville’s comment. “Anyone could stand up and say, ‘Can we stop this please?’ But they won’t.”
This begs the question why? Why doesn't a national figure like McConnell speak out? Let me answer my own rhetorical question. Because Mitch isn't going to call out Tommy's racist comments while the POT is trying to take back the Senate. Or after for that matter. Why? Easy. Racist dog whistles are an acceptable feature of POT politics in the post Trump era.