Is it fair to stereotype the GOP as the party of white supremacists and neo-Nazis?

Updated 5/25/23

Is it fair to stereotype the GOP as the party of white supremacists, Christian nationalists, and neo-Nazis? It is not fair, but so long as those running for office do not disown them and tacitly or actively dog whistle to get their support, they are vulnerable to looking like it.  The leading contenders for the Republican nomination for president at this time, Trump and DeSantis, are in the active column, you say? The  NAACP just issued a travel warning to visitors to Florida that Florida is hostile to black people as the result of DeSantis' attempt to grab more of those that Trump had previously corralled. The prime reason Biden said he ran was Trump's calling fine people the neo-Nazis and other white nationalists in the Charleston tiki torch march, and Trump underlined his support by expressing his love for those similar participants on January 6. Recently he was heard saying if elected, he would pardon most of those who pleaded or were found guilty, some imprisoned for seditious conspiracy. 

 I agree with Charlie Sykes this AM on MSNBC that the more in the race that divides up the non-Trump votes and ensures Trump is the candidate in the primary. That was the lesson of 2016.  However, so long as candidates depend on the votes from these elements to win a contest and win the GOP primary too, and either dog whistle or tolerate them publicly, ..that will add fuel to anyone stereotyping the GOP.  They will leave others of are still loyal to the GOP and who object to the overt racism of some candidates sadly in a minority of their own party.. Some in my immediate and extended family are supporters of Pence and old-line Reagan Republicans (as were my parents and brother). They would be appalled at what the GOP has become dominated by Trump and fellow travelers. 

 Both Trump and DeSantis may not be white nationalists, Christian nationalists, or neo-Nazis, but they are skillful demagogues and invite, tolerate, or welcome their support. Any vote is a vote they might need. The rest of the field so far has failed to raise a voice against them, Trump, DeSantis, or the white nationalist dog whistles they utter. In that sense, their silence is complicit.  I am waiting to see any GOP aspirants speak out or attack Trump or DeSantis for appealing to these elements. It will take courage and possibly risk a certain loss in the primaries. Tell me this is not true.

A word about Christian Nationalists. They are theocrats. They want a government controlled by their religions and religious leaders. I call them theocrats because they want the government to force their citizens to comply with their interpretation.  There is no room in their world for those who follow the words of Jesus instead of those who make up or revise what He said.  There is no room for Jews, Buddhists, or atheists.  It is an exclusionary view of their democracy that is twisted to mean the priority of granting rights is for their groups of believers, and the rest should not apply, or they should just keep quiet and comply.   

It is particularly disturbing for practicing Christians like me when the theocrats of the extreme religious right go off on tangents that are not even discussed in the New Testament.  I recall growing up in the Bible Belt dominated by Southern Baptists in my youth, where only those who were baptized by dunking were considered by them to be saved or real Christians, condemning to hell or some second-class status not only my Jewish friends but those who got sprinkled such as  Presbyterians like me and Episcopalians and Catholics.  The greatest debate theological debate among my Baptist friends in the dying days of the Jim Crow South was whether Christians should go to movies on Sunday. 

 I am trying to find where Christ discussed homosexuality and abortion.   Both were practiced in His time.    In Jerusalem, the theocracy and the money changers at the Temple ruled while Caesar's appointees washed their hands of interference when Jesus preached against the corruption of the locally reigning Jewish officials and claimed He was the Son of God..a blasphemy,  paving the way to His crucifixion.  In instances where the government did play a role as a lawgiver and an enforcer, such as tax collection, as Christ said, render unto Caesar what was Caesars, but unto God that is God's. 

 The founders of our Constitution wrote the First Amendment (no establishment of a state church) in their revolt against the Church of England being the English government's "established" religion.  Examples of theocracies in today's world are in Iran, the current Afghanistan of the Taliban, and Saudi Arabia, where the mullahs or men only are the rulers and enforcers of both the temporal and religious laws.

An example of a particular theocracy-run amuck is Afghanistan.  Years ago, I saw an American version of the Taliban on the horizon and wrote a column about it. It was reposted with a note about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade in 2022.  https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gop-is-becoming-american-taliban.html

From the theological standpoint, Christ did say the two most important Jewish laws to obey (when asked by a Temple scribe) were "Love your God with all your heart" and the Golden Rule, treat your neighbors as you would like to be treated yourself. Matt. 22:37-40 He also preached, "We are our brothers' keeper'"Amen to this remarkable opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times recently.  A Wyoming Republican revolted against Christian nationalism and asked: Are we our brother's keeper? The correct answer is "yes", the writer said..    The meaning of this dating to Genesis is long debated, but I stand with this: Christ Says We Are Our Brother’s Keeper | The News and Times Politics  It is a sin to ignore this by not addressing related issues, and the writer of this piece felt so called to do so.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/opinion/wyoming-republicans-christian-nationalism.html?unlocked_article_code=7LWh8WY5ZLab6-0OI43IWcqNb0Tv74ReOU2QxN0YRcnoiMky90949LkCyYbfxDZAaWYLPWN4F_2O0tcLt4axtOG3jpqURwRn3zDkgZoHGUQoSneMROQuEUV2LF85usbpslIQnTvc8-tvMHhRFqEwnEr8V9WkVGpHQvLACbeHTUw1Mbt3uv9D3WHD6tTA07QETLBDZHxTxuuwASPKDQaTXDcRu3VeulwbtIfD5gyjKzcb4NNs3FxD2NvJQM53ieMNM157PJyapwNsldF3k5QOiirln8YvXx24wwKYzaPNJpz-kj4U_eDa6b-26EmkiymzKmhVqPDMP66FHmznGycUpGsdzC8qqf9w8ua5YYiRNAkWh4A&smid=url-share

An example of a particular theocracy run amuk is Afghanistan.  Years ago I saw an American version of the Taliban on the horizon and wrote a column on it: https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gop-is-becoming-american-taliban.html

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