# Repubs have formed an openly racist caucus **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 17, 2021, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207 "2021-04-17T12:56:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/21 "2021-04-17T13:45:56Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > . They also say that “societal trust and political unity are threatened when foreign citizens are imported _en-masse_ into a country, particularly without institutional support for assimilation and an expansive welfare state to bail them out should they fail to contribute positively to the country,” which — sounds pretty sensible, actually. Could you expand on what feels sensible about this to you? Do you believe foreigners are being imported en masse? How does this threaten “political unity”? What does “political unity” mean? How does it threaten “societal trust”? What does “societal trust” mean? How does a “welfare state” that “bails out people who fail to contribute positively to the country” have any unique relevance to immigrants versus [implied] no-good Americans who don’t contribute. Do safety nets for Americans threaten political unity and societal trust, or is it just when immigrants are beneficiaries? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/22 "2021-04-17T13:46:30Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Who can refute a sneer? I posted a link to their platform-Is there anything in there you would care to refute? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/23 "2021-04-17T13:48:42Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > > Gladly! > > > > The OP’s quote says we’re “a nation with a border,” which I’m — okay with, I guess? Oh, “and a culture,” which — okay, sure. > > You’re not concerned that these otherwise mundane-sounding assertions are exactly in line with the rhetoric spouted by white supremacists? Well, no. If someone makes a bunch of assertions I disagree with, and also makes a bunch of assertions I agree with I’ll of course express concern or even disdain or whatever about the former assertions while shrugging at the latter. Ask me about a white-supremacist assertion that’s _not_ mundane-sounding and see if _it_ concerns me. > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > They also say that “societal trust and political unity are threatened when foreign citizens are imported _en-masse_ into a country, particularly without institutional support for assimilation and an expansive welfare state to bail them out should they fail to contribute positively to the country,” which — sounds pretty sensible, actually. > > This is also white supremacist rhetoric… and it’s total bullshit. ::shrugs:: They say they want folks who’ll contribute positively to the country, and not folks who won’t; I also want folks who’ll contribute positively to the country, and not folks who won’t. And I’d gladly phrase that in race-neutral terms rather than white-supremacist ones, because my interest is in the positive contribution rather than, y’know, whiteness. > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > I’m not a fan of the Anglo-Saxon line > > Why not? Because I think it’s inaccurate. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/24 "2021-04-17T13:55:09Z")
Sounds like you’d have been the type, 50 years ago, to have totally bought the KKK’s line that they were only about protecting and helping white families. ‘Hey, I’m for protecting and helping white families! Sounds good to me.’ Seems to me that a smart person should recognize that if someone who spread bullshit about Jewish-controlled lasers in space is now spreading bullshit about immigrants and supposed Anglo-Saxon culture and values, then they’re probably no different than the assholes who were spreading the same bullshit 50 years ago while also spreading bullshit about Jews and black people. Or am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/25 "2021-04-17T14:12:06Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Could you expand on what feels sensible about this to you? > > Do you believe foreigners are being imported en masse? I guess I’d say that illegal aliens are _arriving_ en masse; “imported” seems like an odd way of phrasing it, but that seems like a quibble compared to the fact of it. > [@](#): > > How does a “welfare state” that “bails out people who fail to contribute positively to the country” have any unique relevance to immigrants versus [implied] no-good Americans who don’t contribute. > > Do safety nets for Americans threaten political unity and societal trust, or is it just when immigrants are beneficiaries? _Illegal_ immigrants. I thought the whole point was, Republicans and Democrats would both pitch their proposals in terms of what’s in the best interests of immigrants who’ve obtained citizenship legally, or second-generation citizens who are here legally, or third- or fourth- or fifth- or sixth-generation citizens who are here legally, and so on — and not on what’s best for others, except insofar as you can bring that back around to arguing that, _no, see, here’s why I believe that helping them out will help us out._ I want to hear _that_ argument. I want to hear an argument over whether a given safety-net proposal for me and my fellow citizens will help _me and my fellow citizens_ — and, heck, I even want to hear an argument over whether helping out folks who are here illegally will help _me and my fellow citizens_. But I’m not especially interested in hearing about whether helping folks who are here illegally will help folks who are here illegally; if it involves leaving _me and my fellow citizens_ worse off, then I don’t want to hear it; and if it involves making _me and my fellow citizens_ better off, then I want to hear _that_. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/26 "2021-04-17T14:13:37Z")
I believe an Anglo-Saxon political tradition is that you get to be king by ripping the arm off Gredel and then slaying his mother in a battle that you swam under the water for a day to get to. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/27 "2021-04-17T14:15:56Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Sounds like you’d have been the type, 50 years ago, to have totally bought the KKK’s line that they were only about protecting and helping white families. ‘Hey, I’m for protecting and helping white families! Sounds good to me.’ I’d like to think I’d be the guy who says “hey, I’m for protecting and helping families, but, y’know, regardless of skin color.” ---
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/28 "2021-04-17T14:20:23Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > illegal aliens are _arriving_ en masse Illegal aliens? First of all they’re not aliens, they’re People. Human beings. JUST LIKE YOU. Second, there is no American Anglo-Saxon tradition. The British and the French and the Spaniards went out colonizing, murdering the indigenous population and enslaving others specifically imported for that purpose. Anglo-Saxons were immigrants themselves. As are all the other groups who constitute the American people. Your whole country was made by immigrants. FFS learn your history. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/29 "2021-04-17T14:20:37Z")
I am willing to cut Reps Gosar and (Gang-)Greene some slack here. They are special snowfwakes with hurt feewings because bwack people and Asian people and Latino people all have caucus so why not the whiteness? Seriously, there is no “white” culture. Plenty of European-based communities like the Swiss, German, Swedish, etc. manage to maintain their heritage without feeling the need to attack immigrants (of which said communities were once part of). This is just straight-up attempting to mainstream racism by giving it an air of legitimacy as part of political discourse. It will fail. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/30 "2021-04-17T14:26:52Z")
Did you have a stroke and press reply or does that mean something? > [@Drsunflower1](#): > > PEOL@43 A Oh, I see, probably cat related. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/31 "2021-04-17T14:27:58Z")
I read the thread title as “Repubs have formed an openly racist cactus”, a thorny subject indeed. [https://patioplants.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/EUP-LWG-6-1.jpg](https://patioplants.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/EUP-LWG-6-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/32 "2021-04-17T14:27:59Z")
So you’d have been one of the masses of “moderate” white people who did absolutely nothing to help black people during the Civil Rights movement – at best you would have made this kind of useless rejoinder against the KKK. Not surprising, to be frank. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/33 "2021-04-17T14:28:28Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I believe an Anglo-Saxon political tradition is that you get to be king by ripping the arm off Gredel and then slaying his mother in a battle that you swam under the water for a day to get to. That would make caucuses much much more fun. ---
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/34 "2021-04-17T14:28:36Z")
No i had to fight off my kitten who was jumping me with claws extended. I’m good and have edited my post 😆 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/35 "2021-04-17T14:29:01Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > So you’d have been one of the masses of “moderate” white people who did absolutely nothing to help black people during the Civil Rights movement. I think that’s the opposite of what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/36 "2021-04-17T14:30:51Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > > I’m not a fan of the Anglo-Saxon line > > > [/quote] > > > > > > Why not? > > Because I think it’s inaccurate. It’s more than just inaccurate, though. It’s hateful. And as such, it taints everything else inside. Going through the document to pick apart which clauses you agree with makes you seem like an apologist. At some point, you have to throw the whole thing out and start from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/37 "2021-04-17T14:32:07Z")
Yeah right, apologist. If you won’t say anything against the white supremacists who spread bullshit about Jewish conspiracies and “Anglo-Saxon” nonsense today, you wouldn’t have said (much less DONE) anything against the KKK 50 years ago. You’re just a useless little man when it comes to the fight against white supremacists. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/38 "2021-04-17T14:35:54Z")
Wow, over-react much? Or is there a history between you two? I can promise you, your persuasion skills won’t change anyone’s mind to your viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/39 "2021-04-17T14:37:30Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I’m not a fan of the Anglo-Saxon line… Well, both the Angles and the Saxons were furr’ners, after all… … (Seriously, have the America Firsties thought that through? The culture they’re promoting is foreign, brought here through mass immigration…“imported en masse into a country”, in fact.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207/40 "2021-04-17T14:38:32Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > > > So you’d have been one of the masses of “moderate” white people who did absolutely nothing to help black people during the Civil Rights movement. > > I think that’s the opposite of what I’m saying. No, it isn’t. You’re showing yourself to be either a dupe of white supremacists or an ally trying to maintain plausible deniability. Either way: PLONK [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repubs-have-formed-an-openly-racist-caucus/940207.md?page=3)