On October 14, Politico published leaked group chats from leaders of the Young Republicans, an organization for members of the Republican Party who are aged 18-40.
The chats included displays of open racism and white supremacy, antisemitism, ethnic slurs, calls for murdering political opponents in gas chambers, and glorification of Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Politico also separately reported on a U.S. flag that had been altered to incorporate a swastika into the stripes, which was displayed in Representative David Taylor’s (R-OH) office.
Despite the name “Young” Republicans and Vice President Vance’s sickening attempt to dismiss them as “kids,” the people involved are not so young, ranging in ages from 24-35. These are grown adults espousing their true views amongst people who obviously share those views.
These events show the outright racism and sympathy for fascism that is prevalent in the core of the Republican Party. While Republicans try to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, actual violent rhetoric from within their party appears to be commonplace. With Trump to embolden them, these bigots feel safe openly expressing their racism, their desire for ethnic cleansing, and their admiration for fascism.
Although some of the chat participants were fired from their political positions within a few days of the chats being publicized, the ideas they stated out loud are the same as those behind many of the policies currently being implemented by other Republicans in power. For example, the Supreme Court ruled that ICE can legally target people based on race, which makes open racism an official policy of the U.S. government (although not for the first time). This administration has also gone out of its way to remove Black officials from their positions, at the same time promoting officials with openly antisemitic or racist views.
These leaked chats, outrageous as they are, merely provide a view of the ideology that supports what the administration is already doing with their policies.
Will we let their open racism continue to fester and spread and affect us all? Or will we organize ourselves to stamp it out?
