Danger Zone

Hate Goes Mainstream

Misinformation and propaganda become truth. Facts do not matter. Liars become truthtellers. And the real truthtellers become the enemy under the rules of the right-wing extremists who have set up shop across social media. Their fear-mongering and hateful rhetoric has captured the psyche of the weak-minded and ill-informed, who share and spread this propaganda under the guise of free speech.
We must stop referring to extremist GOP legislators as "fringe." They are not fringe anymore. They are the new face of the new GOP, a party under the complete control of the most extreme 
right-wing element.

The Latest News is Anything But Good

The latest report on hate groups from the Southern Poverty Law Center may seem like good news on its face. It shows a continuing downward trend in the number of hate groups operating in the U.S. from a historic high of 1,021 in 2018, to 940 in 2019, to 838 in 2020, and now 733 in 2021. However, this is anything but good news.


Instead, it is indicative of hate and violence being more accepted in the mainstream than ever before. The genie is out of the bottle.

Increased violent rhetoric

Just before the January 6, 2021 insurrection, Donald Trump whipped up his followers by stating that if they didn't "fight like hell" there would be no country left. At a GOP event in August of 2021, Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) continued to promote "the big lie" about the 2020 election being stolen when he openly warned, “You know, if our election systems continue to be rigged, and continue to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place, and it’s bloodshed."

New research by PRRI shows that Republican voters are now  more accepting of political violence as a solution. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, 30% of Republicans and 39% of those who believe the election was stolen from Trump believe that “true American patriots might have to resort to violence in order to save our country.”

Threats via violent imagery

Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) tweeted out a video of a character with his face killing a character with the face of Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY). Knowing that Ocasio-Cortez has been threatened many times before, it was reprehensible for Gosar to use such imagery, and it is unacceptable that he is allowed to walk away from it without any kind of repercussion from GOP leadership.


Wendy Rogers, Arizona state senator, appeared via video at a Florida conference hosted by Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and Holocaust denier, where she advocated for the hanging of her political enemies. "If we try some of these high-level criminals, convict them, and use a newly built set of gallows, it’ll make an example for these traitors who have betrayed our country."

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Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenage thug who illegally obtained a weapon using a stimulus check, crossed into another state where he was not invited to allegedly protect buildings from looters during a protest, and killed two protestors and maimed a third, has been touted as a hero by both mainstream GOP politicians and radical right-wing groups such as The Proud Boys. Right-wing campus organization Turning Point USA welcomed Rittenhouse on stage during their America Fest 2021 with a clamorous standing ovation from the conservative attendees, a pyrotechnics display, and his own theme song.

Out of The Closet and Into Government

Embracing white nationalism

On February 25, 2022, the America First Political Action Conference was held in Orlando. AFPAC III, as it is called, is always scheduled to coincide with the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is also held there. AFPAC was founded by white supremacist Nicholas Fuentes in 2020, 'America First' can mean a lot of things to different people, but it is clear just exactly what Fuentes' organization is all about, even though he positions it as a Christian conservative organization.

This year, four elected officials legitimized this gathering of white supremacists by speaking at the event, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ), along with Lt. Governor Janet McGeachen of Idaho, and Arizona state Senator Wendy Rogers. It is time to stop referring to these public officials as "fringe" members of the GOP. They, and others like them, are now the embodiment of the GOP.  


White supremacy hiding behind Christian conservatism

 As a 'Christian conservative' organization, America First claims to want to return to America's traditional values. The organization is opposed to immigration (both illegal and legal), as well as LGBTQ and transgender rights. It is anti-feminist, and Fuentes does not believe women should have the right to vote. 

"The Founders never intended for America to be a refugee camp for nonwhite people."

Fuentes often uses his platform to promote the dismantling of the white race, calling it "white genocide" and espouses the  the great replacement theory. 

Although initially inspired by the rhetoric of Donald Trump, America First grew disenchanted with the administration's relationship with Israel, and the traditional conservatives' embrace of globalism, which the radical right defines as a cabal of elites who are in control of the world. The goal of America First is to replace the current GOP with the help of his Groyper Army of young, angry white men who will truly bring about the change that puts America First. 

"To the people that have thrown out and disrupted our country. We are coming for you. Your days in power are numbered. You think you can replace us? You are wrong. We will replace you!...We are willing, ultimately, to die for our cause…And I don’t say that glibly, I am willing to die for this cause."

Prior to leaving the stage, Fuentes whipped up the crowd by engaging them in a cheer for Vladimir Putin and his invasion of the Ukraine. 

It is one thing for the usual suspects to be present at the AFPAC Conference, like conservative blogger and pundit Michele Malkin, Andrew Torba,  the CEO of Gab (the right-wing alternative to Twitter), and conspiracy theorist Stew Peters, it is another thing when U.S. government officials legitimize this ideology and organization by not only attending, but speaking in support. Marjorie Taylor Greene did her usual 'play dumb' routine by using the excuse that she wasn't aware of Fuentes' ideology. This is more than highly unlikely given her position on "the great reset" conspiracy theory and the fact that she was a poster girl for QAnon. Paul Gosar, however, made no excuses. He has a history with Fuentes and his organization. 

Criticizing those in attendance, even censuring these vipers, is not enough. Although the GOP leadership says there is no room for this in the Republican party, the fact is that there is plenty of room for this in the GOP. All of the AFPAC attendees are still very much a part of the party and our government, and every time they are "censured" they become more popular with their cult-like followers. In contrast, Republicans like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are censured merely for doing their jobs as part of the January 6 Commission.

The American people must make it clear that there is no room for this ideology in our government or in our nation. The only way to ensure this cancer is prevented is to remove those who support these organizations from office and see to it that they can never run for public office again.




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