Nazis, racists, bigots: Extremism on the American ballot in 2018



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WASHINGTON: Arthur Jones is a declared Nazi. John Fitzgerald says that the Holocaust is a myth. Rick Tyler wants to "make the white America again."

Their marginal ideas are reminiscent of another age, but the men without empathy who marry them are all on the ballots of the United States in 2018.

Extremism and sectarianism, even white supremacy and anti-Semitism, have found new life in American politics of the 21st century and the era of President Donald Trump, beyond the toxic rhetoric of some little known cranks.

They received more exposure this year on the national scene than at any time in recent memory. And conservative supporters of electoral hatred turn out to be a major embarrassment for the Republican Party.

In Illinois, Jones, who described the Holocaust as "the biggest lie in history," published an ad in a large swastika in the middle, is the Republican candidate in the Congress, after winning the main party by running unopposed in a largely democratic district.

Russell presidential candidate for North Carolina proclaims "there is nothing wrong with being a racist" and that Jews are "descendants of Satan."

In Wisconsin, Paul Nehlen, the current Republican leader to occupy the seat at Congress currently occupied by outgoing President of The House Paul Ryan has emerged as a leader of the alt-right movement one who, according to critics, wants to give white nationalists and anti-Semites a stronger anchor in American culture and politics.

For Tyler, a Trump supporter of the Tennessee Congress, he represents the Confederate flag flying at the top of the White House. One of his campaign billboards said, "Make America still white."

Experts say that there is an unprecedented number of overtly sectarian candidates this year, and that their main facilitator might be the President of the United States himself. "The unorthodox use of Trump's racist and anti-Muslim stuff – all that sectarian language – has opened a door to politics that did not exist before," Heidi Beirich, who as an expert at Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been tracking hate groups since 1999.

"We have always had a handful of neo-Nazis … but that makes the situation go up a lot higher than before."

NO "TABOOS"?

The blatant fanaticism of a candidate would mean his "death knell" until recently, said Mr. Beirich. But in the hyper-partisan political environment of today, such rhetoric may no longer be a breaker of the bargain.

In crossing these taboos and winning the presidency, Trump showed a path to electoral success that people supposedly did not work. she said.

This sectarianism is widespread in public life. Several videotaped incidents showing whites calling the police on African Americans to embark on their business became viral

One, which shows two young men dragged out of a handcuffed Starbucks cafe, unleashed a dialogue national race.

Racial and ethnic cleavages are clearly visible politically in places like Virginia, where Republican Senate nominee, anti-immigration county supervisor Corey Stewart, is being criticized for his provocative associations.

Stewart praised Nehlen "One of My Personal Heroes", and appeared with Jason Kessler, the man who organized a white supremacist murderous rally in Charlottesville last August.

However Stewart has since disavowed the two men, and the move may have influenced some voters. Last week, he found himself on the stage of debate with Democratic Senator Tim Kaine – Hillary Clinton's 2016 vice-presidential candidate – where Stewart insisted that he did not want to go to the polls. There was no racist bone in my body. 19659002] But he argues that he is a vigorous advocate of Virginia's "heritage" and strongly opposes the removal of Confederate monuments.

Extremist candidates tend to flourish when they and their supporters feel unrepresented and ignored by major American parties. In 1965, Trump appealed to millions of blue-collar voters, coal miners, or laborers or farmers whom Trump called a "forgotten man"

. They felt betrayed by globalization and US trade agreements. , concerned about illegal immigration, and aware that their communities were changing.

Stewart says Democrats have been fortunate to reach these voters. But their inability to do so has contributed to a scenario where far right candidates can prosper.

Democrats "abandoned the worker," Stewart told CNN. "They slammed the door in the face, and now it's President Trump and the new Republican party that supports American workers."

The GOP disavowed several extremist candidates, including Jones and Nehlen

. Trump embraces controversial Republicans like former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has headed concentration camp prisons for undocumented immigrants and now shows up in the Senate after being pardoned by Trump, is a Whistle for the marginal elements of his party. in the political discourse.

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