"I hate Illinois Nazis...."

Texas Republicans once again fail to grasp the concept of political optics

Well, let's see. There's- of course, in the great history of America, there have been rulings that there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American, and there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be others. But, um.

• Sarah Palin

Sometimes, if one is presented with the opportunity to do the right thing, and it’s a no-brainer, it’s best to go ahead and do it. There’s no need to overthink anything, ponder the “what-ifs,” or consider what may happen in a worst-case scenario. Just do the right thing…because you'll most likely be proven correct 999 times out of a thousand.

Unless…well, there’s this:

Such a scenario presented itself to the Executive Committee of the Texas Republican Party- the brain trust of the Texas GOP- over the weekend. I say “brain trust” with my tongue firmly implanted in my cheek, because I’m not sure there was any discernible brainpower that went into this decision.On Saturday, the Executive Committee of the Texas Republican Party considered the following resolution:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Republican Party of Texas have no association whatsoever with any individual or organization that is known to espouse anti-Semitism, pro-Nazi sympathies, or Holocaust denial.

The Executive Committee voted down the proposal by a vote of 32-29. According to the Texas Tribune, several members of the Executive Committee said the word "anti-Semitism" was "too vague" and "could create future problems for the party, its leaders and candidates." Executive Committee member Dan Tully called the resolution a "slippery slope." 

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but when I read “Don’t associate with Nazis,” my first reaction is, “Well, DUH!!”

It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Cornell to be able to grasp the basic concept of “Nazis are bad.” So, why, then, do Texas Republicans find it so difficult to wrap their pointy little skulls around such a simple and easy-to-understand idea?

After the vote, the detachment from reality was apparent for all to see. And it wasn’t pretty.

Texas Senator Bob Hall (R) visited the hotel where the Executive Committee was meeting to lobby against the resolution. In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Hall indicated that the Texas Republicans should have the flexibility to meet with Nazis and anti-Semites. “I've had meetings with transgenders, gays and lesbians,” Hall said. “Does that make me a transgender, gay or a lesbian?” Asked if he was comparing LGBTQ people to white supremacists, Hall said they are all people "who are political hot potatoes." 

No, Senator, whether you intended to or not, you were comparing LGBTQ people to White supremacists. I’m not sure why you’d make that comparison, though, because Texas Republicans uniformly despise the LGBTQ community. Nazis? Not so much, it seems.

And presenting this as an “apples and oranges” comparison doesn’t do anything to support your case. All it does is underline the fact that you’re a homophobe and, quite possibly, a White supremacist.

Of course, in Texas, this message is neither shocking nor surprising.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) called the vote "despicable" and lamented that the Texas GOP "can’t even bring themselves to denounce neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers." He said the vote was evidence of an "anti-Semitic rot festering" in the Republican Party. (Phelan said there was a similar "rot" in the Democratic Party but did not elaborate.) 

At least someone in the Texas GOP was willing to face reality…at least, that is, until he decided to “both sides” it by accusing the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) of similar “rot.”

The TDP doesn’t make it a practice to associate with known Nazis and White Nationalists. Period.

The vote was also condemned by several members of the Executive Committee. Rolando Garcia, the Executive Committee member who drafted the language rejecting anti-Semitism, said the vote "sends a very disturbing message." 

D’ya think?? What part of “Republicans associating with Nazis” might be considered a good thing?

There’s no conceivable circumstance that might reflect positively upon Texas Republicans if it contains the phrase “Nazis.” That shouldn’t need to be established; that should be self-evident.

The need for the resolution stemmed from a meeting between a PAC with close ties to the Texas GOP and Nick Fuentes, a self-professed Nazi, White Nationalist, and not the type of person you’d want to bring home to meet the parents.

The resolution was prompted by a meeting between Jonathan Stickland — president of the far-right Defend Texas Liberty PAC and a former state representative — with notorious white supremacist Nick Fuentes last month. Fuentes describes himself as “just like Hitler,” denies the Holocaust, defends Jim Crow segregation, and says that he’s seeking a “total Aryan victory.” 

Yeah, he seems like a real sweetheart, eh? Bless his black li’l heart….

The meeting, which lasted seven hours, occurred at the headquarters of Pale Horse Strategies, a political consulting group owned by Stickland. Matt Rinaldi, the chair of the Texas Republican Party, was seen entering the building while Fuentes was there. Rinaldi denies meeting Fuentes but hasn't detailed what he was doing at Pale Horse Strategies. Strickland and Rinaldi are close associates.

The meeting between Fuentes and Strickland was not an isolated incident. The Texas Tribune reported that Shelby Griesinger, the treasurer for Defend Texas Liberty PAC, "claimed on social media that Jews worship a false god and shared memes that depict them as the enemy of Republicans." A social media coordinator for Pale Horse Strategies called Fuentes as the “greatest civil rights leader in history.” Defend Texas Liberty PAC also funds Texans for Strong Borders, an organization with ties to Fuentes. 

“[T]he greatest civil rights leader in history….” For those of you who didn’t just spew their morning beverage of choice over whatever electronic device you’re reading this on, Nick Fuentes doesn’t belong in the same pantheon of civil rights leaders as, say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nick Fuentes is in no shape, manner, or form to be considered a “civil rights leader.” He is to civil rights what a cockroach is to Nelson Mandela. White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexuals cannot be regarded as an oppressed majority, despite what Fuentes and his fellow lowlifes believe.

If you think I’m being unkind to Nick Fuentes, feel free to do your own research (I’m probably being unfair to cockroaches). I think you might find that, if anything, I’m being too kind. Fuentes is not only a White Nationalist; he’s a misogynist of the worst sort and a generally miserable and worthless human- something I don’t say lightly.

Defend Texas Liberty PAC is a major contributor to top Texas Republicans, including millions to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Phelan and 60 other Republican members of the Texas House called on "all elected officials who have benefited from contributions by Defend Texas Liberty PAC to immediately redirect those funds to charitable organizations." 

Popular Information previously reported that one Texas Republican, Representative Stan Kitzman, did redirect the money to charity. But the others appear to be keeping the money. In a short statement, Defend Texas Liberty PAC said it opposed Fuentes' “incendiary views” but did not explain why the meeting occurred. The PAC also rejected "Phelan's effort to combine Defend Texas Liberty PAC with Nick Fuentes." Patrick called on Phelan to resign for suggesting the money be returned. 

One Texas Republican, Rep. Stan Kitzman, did redirect the donation from Defend Texas Liberty PAC to charitable causes, but everyone else kept the money. That fact might lead one to believe that while Texas Republicans might publicly mouth words of revulsion at the thought that the Texas GOP might be in bed with Nazis, privately, they’re all for it.

Yeah, welcome to another “I’m shocked, SHOCKED, that there’s racism taking place here” moment. As shocking as it may (not) seem, the Texas GOP is stocked full of White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexuals who believe that the world is theirs by Divine Right and that all others need not apply.

If you’re Black, LGBTQ, Asian, atheist, Muslim, a Packers fan, some of the above, or all of the above, you’re going to learn (as if you didn’t already know) that you’re a second-class citizen in the Great State of Texas. Because Texas’ Republicans just let all of us know who they are, and when someone like that lets you know who they are, you’d best believe them.

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