As RNC Gathers, More Prominent GOP Members In Bed With Extremists
Update: The RNC voted yesterday to censure its member Dave Agema for posting material on social media that is insensitive to gays, Muslims and African Americans. Ironically, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is working closing with a group, American Family Association, that could be described in the exact same way.
It鈥檚 only been a few weeks since we learned that majority whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) to a white supremacist group in 2002, and again the Republican Party has a scandal about race on its hands.
As the RNC gathers today in San Diego for its annual strategy meeting to draft plans for its future, particularly how it will improve its outreach to minorities, another prominent GOP lawmaker has been discovered to be a fan of white supremacist thinking.
, a member of the Republican National Committee from Michigan, republished an essay by the white nationalist publication American Renaissance in a New Year鈥檚 Eve Facebook post. The racist article, par for the course for American Renaissance, said 鈥渂lacks are different by almost any measure to all other people. They cannot reason as well. They cannot communicate as well. They cannot control their impulses as well. They are a threat to all who cross their paths, black and non-black alike.鈥
Agema found it 鈥渧ery enlightening.鈥 Can that possibly be true?
Agema has since pulled the piece down, but he refuses to apologize or resign from the RNC. And this isn鈥檛 his first racist rodeo.
According to the National Journal, Agema has a well-documented history of making inflammatory and false remarks, such as that President Obama is a Muslim. The Journalpoints to another Agema Facebook faux pas. He apparently shared what he called an 鈥渆ye opening鈥 essay that posed the question: 鈥淗ave you ever seen a Muslim do anything that contributes positively to the American way of life?鈥
At least in this case, some in the RNC have reacted appropriately by calling for Agema to resign or be removed. They include RNC head Reince Priebus and Michigan鈥檚 entire GOP delegation. That鈥檚 all well and very good, but where鈥檚 the outrage from Priebus or other prominent Republicans over Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal鈥檚 plan to hold a prayer rally with the American Family Association (AFA)? Emails to Priebus' and Jindal's offices asking for comment were not returned.
On Jan. 24, Jindal, with AFA backing, will be praying at Louisiana State University in an event billed as 鈥淭he Revival.鈥 His partner, AFA, has defamed immigrants, the LGBT community and women. And just like American Renaissance, it has had horrible things to say about black people.
Let鈥檚 take a look at Jindal鈥檚 prayer partners.
- An AFA leader has said, 鈥淗omosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and 6 million dead Jews.鈥
- The same staffer said African Americans 鈥渞ut like rabbits鈥 and women have no place in politics or the military.
- Another has argued that Hispanics are 鈥渟ocialists by nature鈥 and come to the United States to 鈥減lunder鈥 our country.
- And the group has repeatedly made the point that non-Christians are second-class citizens鈥斺渨e are a Christian nation, and not a Jewish or Muslim one.鈥 (Find a comprehensive look at AFA鈥檚 extremist statements and positions here).
Given a track record like that, I have to ask where鈥檚 the outrage from Jindal鈥檚 fellow Republicans? American Renaissance is clearly racist, but so are these statements about black people and Latinos. Shouldn鈥檛 they be condemned as well? And what about blaming gay people for the Holocaust?
So, if Agema is the big Republican elephant in the room stalking the GOP鈥檚 efforts to reach out to minorities, isn鈥檛 that true as well of any politician who is close to AFA?
Sadly the hypocrisy goes much deeper. As RNC Chair Priebus has berated Agema, rightly saying, 鈥淭he tone and rhetoric from Agema is consistently offensive and has no place in politics or any rational conversation,鈥 the chairman is also working closely with AFA.
At the end of this month, Priebus is an all expenses paid trip to Jerusalem for RNC members. So far, about 60 members (about 36 percent) of the RNC have accepted the offer, according to .
And guess who is picking up the tab for this 鈥渋ncredible opportunity鈥 Priebus is offering his fellow RNC members? You guessed right: the AFA.