On Saturday, a California GOP candidate for Senate who is a holocaust denier and praised Hitler was removed from the Republican Party Convention by security. Patrick Little, running ahead of his GOP competitors and second only behind Diane Feinstein, was seen by witnesses dragging an Israeli flag as he was escorted out.
The YouTube video in which Little confirmed he was removed from the convention and showed him spitting on the Israeli flag has been removed for violating hate speech policy.
From The Orange County Register
“I’ve got more than twice the support of any of those candidates in there,” Little said in the video. “They just had me expelled from the building because I won’t serve Israel. I want to serve my country… The GOP of California is nothing but Zionist stooges.”
Little, 33, of Albany in Alameda County, made headlines in recent weeks after the self-described “white advocate” finished second in an April SurveyUSA poll of California’s U.S. Senate contest, supported by 18 percent of state voters. He finished behind only Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and the survey said Little was backed by 46 percent of Republicans polled.
Partially to blame for those results is a dearth of prominent Republican candidates in the race. Of the 11 GOP hopefuls for California’s U.S. Senate Seat, none have significant name recognition or money. In 2016, Republicans didn’t earn enough votes to advance past the state’s top-two primary in that year’s Senate race, placing two Democrats on that year’s November ballot.
Little’s campaign website advocates for “limiting representation of Jews in the government” and he has been endorsed by David Duke. In a Newsweek interview, Little stated he admires Adolf Hitler, denied that millions of Jews were killed in the Holocaust, called for a country “free from Jews” and advocates for the deportation of Jewish Americans.
The California Republican Party has denounced Little and sought to distance themselves from him.
From The LA Times
Cynthia Bryant, the executive director of the California Republican Party, told the Times that Little was not welcome at the annual convention.
“There’s no room for that kind of hate speech that that man uses,” Bryant said.
“Mr. Little has never been an active member of our party. I do not know Mr. Little and I am not familiar with his positions,” party spokesman Matt Fleming said when the convention began on Friday. “But in the strongest terms possible, we condemn anti-Semitism and any other form of religious bigotry, just as we do with racism, sexism or anything else that can be construed as a hateful point of view.”
Why It Matters
The GOP has become a sometimes reluctant, sometimes willing, political voice for the Alt Right since Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Intentional or not, the dog whistles of anti-immigration and political correctness drew out a contingent of racists looking for a political home.
Fundamentally, the notion of racism – against African Americans, Jews, and immigrants – is antithetical to a belief in the founding principles of America. The belief that all men are created equal is the bedrock on which this country is founded and is what makes us different than other nations. The Alt Right – Neo Nazis, white supremacists, the KKK – reject that fundamental belief.
The current crop of GOP candidates across the country includes a bombastic, crude, and sometimes criminal roster that is often either overtly or covertly racist. West Virginia GOP candidate, Don Blankenship, who has done jail time, has made some truly remarkable comments and is also polling well in advance of Tuesday’s primary.
No party that tolerates this sort of thinking or this kind of candidate can also claim to support the Constitution. So, while the California Republican party was right in kicking Patrick Little out of their convention and denouncing him, it does not begin to solve the problem the GOP faces. The party is in a fight for its heart and soul. The GOP cannot win seats with Alt Right candidates representing them and no one should want them to.
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