Nutpicking, yes, but such nuts. Billmon, after a spate of ‘how can you equate the Tea Party with terrible people like the KKK?’ twit-saults, linked to this article from the Texas Observer, dated last Saturday:
… There were hundreds of Second Amendment enthusiasts gathered at San Antonio’s Alamo Plaza, many carrying loaded rifles and assault weapons to the public square. They stood before one of the most revered sites in Texas to protest what they see as unconstitutional curbs on displaying weapons in public.
The highest-profile speakers at the event were current land commissioner and lieutenant governor candidate Jerry Patterson, who carries a handgun in his boot, and conspiracy purveyor Alex Jones, an assault rifle on his back. Patterson and Jones reflected the inherent tension between the two camps at the rally: gun-owners who struck a more conciliatory tone and emphasized personal responsibility mingled with fringe elements who expressed a more profound anger at the government, and hinted at a dark future….
…[R]ally attendee Captain Mac… identified himself as the founder of the Tea Party Militia and a member of the Austin Rifles of the Texas Brigade. “For this, the FBI has had me under surveillance,” he said jovially…
I had wanted to talk to Captain Mac because of his large Ted Cruz sign, visible from throughout the rally. But Cruz isn’t Captain Mac’s only cause. He pointed out an addendum to the sign, with symbols for major fascist and white supremacist organizations.
“I’m also recruiting for these organizations,” he said. “There’s the National Socialist Movement — their slogan is, ‘deport them all, let God sort them out.’” He points to the number 88, indicating the 8th letter of the alphabet (that would be the letter ‘h’ or ‘HH’). “Heil Hitler. We’re anti-fascist, of course. But he was doing pretty good until he started taking everyone’s guns and attacking his neighbors. Imagine if none of that had happened.”
At this point, a fresh-faced young volunteer, noticing Captain Mac’s Ted Cruz sign, ambled over with a ballot petition. “You look like you would support Attorney General Greg Abbott in his race for governor,” the volunteer said.
“Absolutely,” said Captain Mac, taking pen in hand as he returned to his pitch. “We’re not fascist. We’re about Deutschland for Deutschlanders, and America for Americans.” The petition wrangler flashed a nervous look at my recorder, before correcting Captain Mac’s residency information and walking away.
Mac ran down the rest of the list, which includes the now-outlawed Greek fascist party Golden Dawn and a true fan’s appreciation for the “Butcher of Bosnia,’” Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadžić. Then he ambled back into the crowd to show admirers his rifle…
See?!? Not one word about the KKK!…
Actually, it’s kind of interesting — I don’t depth-dive RW sites much, but I’m getting the impression that the KKK has been downrated among the “Heritage Defender” crowd in favor of more high-profile fascist groups. (There’s no ‘Godwin’s Law’ for the cross-burners.) Has the Klan turned into the RW equivalent of the fat drunk trailer-trash uncle that nobody wants their new wife or potential employer to know about, even among the Confederate-flag-waving set?
Open Thread: Remember the Alamo, Teabaggers!Post + Comments (201)