(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Michigan GOP chair laughs off Holocaust tweet, proves Republicans are still hopelessly out of touch [1] [] Date: 2023-06-21 Michigan is one of the handful of swing states that are key to both parties’ 2024 electoral prospects, and so you’d think both parties would be keen to find leaders who could help deliver its 15 electoral votes. But in February of this year, Wolverine State Republicans went another way, tapping Kristina Karamo, a prominent election denier, bonkers anti-vaxxer, extreme forced-birther, and big-time proven loser, as its newest chair. And now Karamo—who lost her 2022 bid for Michigan secretary of state to Democrat Jocelyn Benson by a gaudy 14% (and refused to concede)—is proving that the Michigan GOP’s faith in her was not misplaced. They wanted a frothing, wild-eyed radical with a tenuous grip on reality who knows next to nothing about winning elections, and that’s what they got. And that’s not all! She’s also a huge fan of deeply offensive Holocaust tweets! Score another big win for shambolic evil. RELATED STORY: Michigan's new Republican Party chair takes election denial to the next level The Daily Beast: Speaking at a party function on May 17, Karamo laughed off concerns about a tweet from the Michigan GOP that invoked the Holocaust to condemn gun control measures, according to audio obtained by The Daily Beast. The tweet amplified the popular right-wing argument that the Nazis’ campaign of systematic mass murder was possible because of gun ownership restrictions. On top of an image of wedding rings left behind by murdered Jews, the Michigan GOP tweet reads: “Before they collected all these wedding rings… they collected all the guns.” Okay, hands up everyone who’s concerned about common-sense assault weapon regulations inexorably leading to brutal, systematic genocide. Nah, still more worried about getting shot in the head in the mall food court because someone hated their Glamour Shots. But nice try, Republicans. Figures in both parties criticized the tweet as an offensive trivialization of the Holocaust; the head of the Republican Jewish Coalition called it “absolutely inappropriate” and called on the Michigan GOP to take it down “immediately.” You know, once upon a time, near-unanimous outrage over something this transparently offensive would be enough to chasten the perpetrators. But this is not your grandfather’s GOP. It’s somehow even more unhinged and racist. And that’s really saying something, especially if your grandfather, like most modern Republicans, is currently sitting on the front porch with a Big Gulp of Johnnie Walker, hurling racial epithets at bumblebees. But Karamo and Co. waved it all away. As CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi wrote on March 22: Karamo doubled down on the controversial post at a Wednesday night press conference, saying that “people get way too offended. I will never capitulate to the outrage culture.” “What amazes me is that people are troubled by drawing comparisons between historical events and current events. We love the phrase that history repeats itself. But yet when we point to history, somehow that’s controversial. I will not tolerate that. I will not apologize for that,” she said. And she’s kept that promise! The Daily Beast reports that during the Lincoln Day dinner—held in very white and very Republican Montcalm County—Karamo waved off concerns about the Holocaust tweet, calling the kerfuffle that erupted in its wake “hilarious, completely hilarious.” In the leaked audio, the recently sanctioned Karamo also said, “They’re still going on and on about that. ‘Are you going to apologize?’ I’m like really, are you guys still going on about this?” Karamo, who is Black, also said, “I get this mail and it’s about how I’m encouraging white supremacy and xenophobia all this … I just laugh so hard.” Presumably in an attempt to explain away the tweet, Karamo also leaned hard into one of the right’s stock rationales for arming themselves to the teeth: The government is out to get you. “Us being armed is not about stopping a burglar,” she said. “It’s not about hunting. It’s about stopping a tyrannical government. And if you know a thing or two about history, we know that governments have a tendency to be very abusive to the citizenry.” Yeah, they do. Particularly fascist governments that came to power in extralegal coups after losing free and fair elections. But what could Karamo possibly know about that? So what have Republicans learned from their electoral pratfalls in 2020 and 2022? Not much, it turns out. While 2022 could have, and likely should have, been a GOP landslide—based solely on historical precedent—Democrats did remarkably well. They even increased their majority in the Senate, thanks to awful MAGA-style candidates like Herschel Walker and Blake Masters. Indeed, Karamo is a great example of the party’s determination to stick to what doesn’t work. Despite ample evidence that the GOP’s take-no-prisoners abortion stance hurt them in the midterms, they’re charging full steam ahead with their radical policies. Meanwhile, according to one study, election denialism cost statewide Republicans 2.3 to 3.7 percentage points in those same elections, likely throwing several elections to the Democrats. RELATED STORY: Republicans are digging own grave on abortion So who’s the GOP’s current undisputed frontrunner for the 2024 presidential nomination? You guessed it. The guy who was more responsible than anyone else for killing Roe v. Wade. Karamo and Trump’s thumb in 2022 That same dude also happens to be the father of the Big Lie, as well as its most vehement proponent. And as a recent Washington Post analysis pointed out, Donald Trump is getting more and more fringe-y by the minute. On ... a host of subjects, from sexual assault to foreign and domestic policy, Trump’s positions have become even more extreme, his tone more confrontational, his accounts less tethered to reality, according to a Washington Post review of Trump’s speeches and interviews with former aides. Where he was at times ambiguous or equivocal, he’s now brazenly defiant. Embracing extreme positions is nothing new for Trump: Since launching his 2016 campaign by calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and then pledging to ban Muslims from entering the country, he has promoted divisive policies, made inflammatory comments and prompted constitutional showdowns with Congress and the courts. But a return to the White House, in Trump’s own articulation, would be his chance to take revenge on his political opponents and push even further on his most polarizing programs. Granted, exacting sweet, sweet revenge on those who disagree with you politically isn’t usually a top kitchen table issue, unless you happen to be Rand Paul’s neighbor. But Trump will do his best regardless. Assuming he doesn’t confess to too many more crimes between now and November 2024. There has to be some limit, right? RELATED STORY: Trump confessed to crimes in Fox interview And, hey, Trump’s seething, white-hot hatred for democracy and low-flow toilets could still play big in the suburbs, assuming that’s where the zombie apocalypse starts. But in a typical election year, such issues are unlikely to gain much traction. So go ahead, GOP. Keep doing what doesn’t work. It’s what you’re best at anyway. Check out Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE. 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