Tila Tequila (on the far right) throws up a Nazi salute. (Photo from Twitter)

Neo-Nazis Demand White Nationalist GOP Be More Racist — But They Can’t

While there is talk of this country’s fractious political climate descending into a civil war, there’s a largely overlooked actual civil war going on in the Republican Party. This is a war between the Deplorables and the Despicables. The Republican Party is already a neo-fascist organization, but apparently that’s not far right enough. Some of the radical right want the Republican Party to be openly fascist and that includes blatantly white supremacist policies. (I don’t use the euphemistic term white nationalist, I prefer calling them white supremacists/neo-Nazis.)

This split was evident a few weeks ago when Donald Trump Jr. was chased off stage during a UCLA book promotion for his ridiculous tome “Triggered.” I thought the protestors were left-wing activists, but it turns out they were from the far-right, who were upset the Trump administration’s policies were not extreme enough.

The protestors are a particularly nasty bunch. They were led by an internet activist called Alex Fuentes who has espoused white supremacist and anti-Semitic views. These activists, who call themselves “Groppers,” have also attacked other mainstream Republicans, such as Rep. Dan Crenshaw, for being too “liberal.” (Read reasonable.)

The GOP is in a bind with white supremacists. They’ve tolerated them and even, thanks to Jewish neo-Nazi Stephen Miller, managed to implement some white nationalist policies. (Miller and Spencer were also friends at Duke University.) But that’s not enough, the neo-Nazis are not satisfied with immigrant concentration camps, they want a total immigration ban.

The presence of open racists and white supremacists in the GOP is not surprising. They’ve been there for a long time. Ever since Richard Nixon pushed the Southern Strategy, all the Dixiecrats, who advocated racial segregation and policies that exclusively benefitted white men, moved en masse to the GOP. That’s why the GOP is now also considered a Southern party and it's difficult for Democrats to win south of the Mason Dixon line. However, Trump’s unpopularity is doing a lot to turn things around. Democrats won victory in the Kentucky gubernatorial race and came close in Mississippi, even after Trump had campaigned heavily down there.

But these kinds of abhorrent views shouldn’t surprise anyone. They’ve been bubbling underneath the surface in the GOP for decades, ever since Pat Buchanan said that an influx of “ one million Zulus” would be disruptive to the country. I was stunned when I watched a young white man stand up at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and demand a return to segregation. He was perfectly serious.

This has been a constant issue at CPAC with neo-Nazis demanding the GOP become a “white party.” Patrick Casey, another neo-Nazi political activist, also attended CPAC and told NBC News, his long-term goal is to take over the Republican Party. There was a reason why Trump declared there were good people on both sides during the Charlottesville Unite the Right march that led to the death of Heather Heyer, who was killed by a neo-Nazi terrorist. He didn’t want to annoy white supremacists because that’s his base!

Even though Republicans strenuously deny racism, racists are welcome in their ranks. Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin was recently fired from Young Americans Foundations for supporting Fuentes. This isn’t totally surprising because Malkin, who is a second-generation Filipina, published a book where she backed the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. To compound matters, even though Malkin backs anti-immigrant views, she is literally an anchor baby as both of her parents are immigrants.

But we are in very bizarre territory. Malkin isn’t the only Asian who backs white supremacists. Tila Tequila, a deranged reality TV star of Vietnamese heritage, has worn Nazi outfits and was pictured throwing up a Nazi salute at a convention where photogenic white supremacist Richard Spencer shouted “Heil Trump.” He also delivered a Nazi salute, which he later called “ironic.”

If you think that’s mind boggling, consider the fact that disgraced Internet troll Milo Yiannopoulis is gay, part Jewish and married to a black man, yet he has associated with neo-Nazis and been pictured throwing up Nazis salutes. (No, I don’t get it either.)

The GOP is in a bind with white supremacists. They’ve tolerated them and even, thanks to Jewish neo-Nazi Stephen Miller, managed to implement some white nationalist policies. (Miller and Spencer were also friends at Duke University.) But that’s not enough, the neo-Nazis are not satisfied with immigrant concentration camps, they want a total immigration ban. And according to Spencer, they’d like to deport anyone darker than George Lopez.

I’d like to believe this will never happen, but with Trump you never know. Anonymous’ recent expose said Trump wanted to declare undocumented immigrants “enemy noncombatants” and jail them at Guantanomo Bay. I can’t imagine the human rights abuses that would have caused!

The Republican civil war is between the barely sane people and the totally insane people. The GOP can never implement the policies demanded by white supremacists without breaking the law and facing national and international condemnation.

Right now, neo-Nazi political activists are a Frankenstein’s monster created by the GOP and it’s their problem to solve. All we can do is grab some popcorn — and hope the sane Republicans win the civil war.