Dangerous Discourse: Rise in Extremist Civil War Rhetoric
PART I: Beware of Proud Card-Carrying America First, Replacement Theory, White Supremacist, White Nationalist, and all other far-right extremists.
Until a few years ago, people rarely worried about extremist groups. After all, these organizations thrived on anonymity. For the most part, madmen kept to themselves. Crazies like Timothy McVeigh and Randy Weaver were uncommon. Or so the average American thought.
At the time, no one could have imagined a renewed call for a second Civil War, let alone an invasion of the U.S. Capitol and attempted insurrection.
Does Donald Trump deserve credit for the increase in white supremacist bravado? Or was it a coincidence that their visibility grew?
The simple answer is no. The former president did not cause their increased presence, but he did nothing to dissuade them. On the contrary, his 2018 election energized the alt-right. Trump used them in his attempt to overthrow the 2021 election.
Moreover, they were more than happy to accommodate the former president. He was an ally in their war for survival. Trump solidified their loyalty after he did not take sides in the aftermath of the Unite The Right rally’s violence in Charlottesville. He declared there were fine people on both sides of the deadly clashes in August 2017, which was not too much of an overreach but reassured the alt-right folks.
However, these modern extremists have attached themselves to the Republican Party since the Civil Rights era. The GOP’s predominately white demographics also comforted their fear of becoming a minority. And the more radical the party’s leaders became, gave them cause to build their following with like-minded individuals.
Militia Preps for a New Civil War
Militia and militia-style right-wing terror organizations in the United States started long before the Revolutionary War. If not for the Regulators, England might still rule the New World. Today’s militia’s angry ideology falls along the same lines.
Extremists demand governmental and social changes to promote white superiority. But unfortunately, their hate-based foundation is based on lies, fear, and misinformation.
According to Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), 733 hate groups across the United States were on the Hate Watchlist in 2021. While these groups’ ideologies vary, they focus on securing their all-white heterosexual dominance. In addition, they are determined to suppress immigrants, the LGBTQ community, non-Evangelical Christians, the Black Lives Matter movement, other marginalized groups, and anyone standing in their way, including the government.
Beware: Extremists Masquerade as Congress Members
Since the Reconstruction era (mid-to-late 1800s), voters elected white supremacist politicians to local, statewide, and national offices.
On-lookers can easily split Congressional Republicans into three categories:
Proud card-carrying America First, Replacement Theory, White Supremacist, White Nationalist, Anti-Government, and other militant groups.
Closeted extremists.
Enablers who “See No Evil,” like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). He repeatedly releases statements denouncing such ideology but fails to rebuke its participants.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) is one of Congress’s most vociferous. On Presidents Day, she used her favorite social media platform — Twitter — to express the day’s “separatist” fantasy. Her first is a microphone.
MTG is but one of many extremist Congress members. Many of them participated in the insurrection on January 6, 2020, and continue promoting the Big Lie whenever possible.
Last year, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar joined Greene in reminding the world of their white supremacy when they spoke at the America First Political Action Committee (AFPAC), a far-right organization founded by “America First” Nick Fuentes.
Another conspiracy the GOP promotes is The Replacement Theory. This idea is used by mass shooting assailants to justify choosing their victims. Claiming that they feared being replaced, these murderers targeted people based on the color of their skin. The Replacement Theory supports this irrational fear and is part of every Right Wing extremist group’s platform.
Once conservative media started to bolster the Replacement Theory, GOP politicians embraced the conspiracy. It is likely they talked with Fox News host Tucker Carlson about their plans to protect Republicans from an imaginary threat — “white genocide.”
In fact, between 2016 and 2022, Carlson reportedly mentioned the theory more than 400 times. Proponents of this theory believe that leftists (Democrats) plan to change the demographics to win elections and maintain power.
According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the theory has motivated mass murders globally. “It was forced from the dark corners of white supremacist platforms into the mainstream by Trump, his administration,” and many GOP Congressional members from leadership down.
CAP Action listed Congresspersons and noted: “What's more concerning and harder to capture in a list are the enablers in the Republican Party who have stayed silent while this conspiracy has gathered momentum.”
Dangerous Discourse Part II will dive into the history of right-wing terrorism in the United States, and Part III will address left-wing extremists. Subscribe to be notified when these are published.