(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Alabama's Sen. Tuberville won't say White nationalists are racists [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-11 The Republican Party has apparently grown weary of dissembling when someone calls out the blatant racism that informs their entire political platform. Long before Donald Trump bestowed his praise on hundreds of white supremacist thugs who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, the GOP had struggled with the travails of living a double existence, crafting its policies to benefit its overwhelmingly white voter base on the one hand while maintaining some thin, public veneer of equanimity towards the party’s worst specimens on the other. The emotional toll on them must have been devastating. No more, it seems. They needed to get this off their chests once and for all. They’re a party of racists, they’ve been that way for decades, and they shouldn’t be afraid to wear that flag loudly and proudly. And who better than Sen. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama to lead the charge? As reported by John Wagner for the Washington Post: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said that the definition of a “white nationalist” is a matter of “opinion” during a television interview Monday night in which he was given the opportunity to clarify remarks from this spring, when he appeared to be advocating for white nationalists to serve in the U.S. military. During the CNN interview, Tuberville repeatedly said that he rejects racism but pushed back against host Kaitlan Collins when she told him that by definition white nationalists are racist because they believe their race is superior to others. Tuberville at one point in the back and forth characterized white nationalists as people who hold “a few probably different beliefs.” And indeed, Tuberville is right: White Nationalists doubtlessly hold “a few probably different beliefs.” In fact, as the Southern Poverty Law Center defines the term, “White Nationalist,” it’s very easy to be confused. White nationalist groups espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhite persons. Their primary goal is to create a white ethnostate. Groups listed in a variety of other categories, including Ku Klux Klan, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi, racist skinhead and Christian Identity, could also be fairly described as white nationalist. [***] Members of the white nationalist movement are placing much of their energy into harnessing the anger and resentment of Trump supporters into a broad authoritarian movement. They hope to convince white Americans that they are persecuted by “anti-white” ideas and policies, including the adoption of inclusive education in schools. This movement could cause further disruption and violence, especially as the country heads closer to the 2024presidential election. The white nationalist movement has been greatly aided by the continued radicalization of the GOP, exhibited by the party’s embrace of racist concepts like the “great replacement,” vilification of immigrants, attacks on reproductive care and demonization of queer and trans people. In the interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Tuberville helpfully supplemented prior statements in which he characterized “White Nationalists” as “Trump Republicans.” Asked for his opinion, Tuberville said: “My opinion of a white nationalist, if someone wants to call them white nationalist, to me, is an American. It’s an American. Now if that white nationalist is a racist, I’m totally against anything that they want to do because I am 110 percent against racism.” Again, Tuberville doesn’t waste time mincing words: many White nationalists are, in fact, most definitely “Americans.” But if, God forbid, any of them are racists, well, he’s “110 percent” against that. After all, he was a football coach. What could possibly be less racist than that? Here’s the interview: x Asked to clarify his comments on white nationalists in the military, Sen. Tommy Tuberville's response: pic.twitter.com/deTfS4XKnR — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 11, 2023 Millions of Republicans must be grateful that they’re finally free to breathe a little easier, now that Tuberville has clarified things. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/11/2180477/-The-Republican-Party-continues-to-rot-Tuberville-won-t-say-White-nationalists-are-racists Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/