(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Apparently only 'former' elected Republicans have the guts to condemn Trump's Nazi rhetoric [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-13 For a space of perhaps ten seconds after reading the headline to Washington Post reporter Azi Paybarah’s article on Monday, describing the reaction to Trump’s use of dehumanizing, Nazi rhetoric to describe those who oppose him, one might conclude that “some” members of the Republican Party might have registered at least some meekly expressed objections or reservations. Since Trump deliberately targeted as “vermin” those whom he describes as “radical left thugs” who (he contends) “lie and steal and cheat on elections,” there is little doubt that this was an attempt to demonize much if not most of the Democratic party and, by association, its voters. After all, the article is titled “Trump calling opponents ‘vermin’ draws rebukes from White House, some in GOP.” But those who venture to read the actual article will find something curious. Yes, Paybarah cites exactly two Republicans who found such rhetoric appalling and offensive: Former WY Rep. Liz Cheney and former Republican National Committee Chairman, Michael Steele. What do these two Republicans, who apparently exemplify “some in [the] GOP,” have in common? Ah yes. Neither is a relevant figure within the modern Republican Party. Neither one holds any office or position within that party any longer. So, the Washington Post couldn’t come up with a single elected Republican who up to this point has distanced themselves, let alone disavowed or condemned Trump’s fascist, hateful and eliminationist rhetoric towards Democrats and other voters who oppose him. Not a single one. Because thus far, it appears there is none. The Trump campaign, as Paybarah notes, has, unsurprisingly, doubled down. In fact, as pointed out by the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, for example, the reaction of Trump’s campaign was to spew more dehumanizing rhetoric against, well, Democrats: In response to criticism that Trump was calling for violence against his enemies, his campaign doubled down. Spokesman Steven Cheung told the Washington Post that “those who try to make that ridiculous assertion are clearly snowflakes grasping for anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome and their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.” Their “entire existence will be crushed,” according to Mr. Cheung. But perhaps the Republican party’s own chairman would weigh in on this unprecedented hate spew from their party leader? Sorry, not a chance. As Paybarah reports: Cheney shared a video of Ronna McDaniel’s Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” in which the Republican National Committee chairwoman declined to comment on what Trump said. Cheney criticized McDaniel’s refusal to condemn Trump “for using the same Nazi propaganda that mobilized 1930s-40s Germany to evil, it’s fair to assume she’s collaborating,” “It’s unfortunate yet not shocking that Liz Cheney is parroting DNC talking points,” RNC spokesman Anna Kelly told The Post in response to Cheney’s comments. Cheney’s use of the word “collaborating” to describe the RNC party chairman is worth noting. Because this is just that — a collaboration — between the entire Republican Party, as it exists today, and Donald Trump. It’s a message to their voters that this rhetoric is just fine with them, no matter what the consequences. Trump made these statements on Saturday. Their silence, 48 hours later, speaks volumes. This is the behavior of a cult that has chosen to abandon reason, decency and humanity. It makes no difference whether that choice was made out of political expediency, devotion or simply abject fear. They have — as their silence demonstrates -- embraced this hate, and they have embraced the violence that it is intended to conjure. We’re still a year out from the 2024 election, and Republicans have already crossed their Rubicon. If they refuse to condemn Trump they are not simply part of the problem, they are the problem. And Democrats — and anyone else who Republicans have chosen to target with this kind of hate speech — need to find and galvanize their communities, understand and communicate the stakes, and prepare themselves. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/13/2205634/-Apparently-only-former-elected-Republicans-have-the-guts-to-call-out-Trump-s-Nazi-rhetoric?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web 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/