It is a long-standing Republican tradition to do and say racist things and then complain when called out on it that the real racists are the ones complaining. You can call a Republican a white supremacist, a white nationalist and literally any other term, but they just hate it when they're called racists. Hate. They kick and scream and yell, "You're the real racist!"
So here we have Kellyanne Conway, defier of subpoenas, purveyor of lies, defender of racism, going to bat for Her Hero Donald Trump by putting her own racism on display during a Fox News interview.
"What the president's doing is we are tired - sick and tired - of many people in this country. Forget these four, they represent a dark underbelly in this country of people who are not respecting our troops, are not giving them the resources and respect they deserve," Conway told Bill Hemmer.
Yes, she said "forget these four" and then went on a rant about how those exact four were the "dark underbelly" of this country. I cannot imagine saying anything more racist and over the top than that against those four women of color who simply disagree with Donald Trump.
She included a reference to Colin Kaepernick and also possibly Megan Rapinoe when she tossed in the fact that they're "sick and tired" of people showing disrespect (wrong, Kellyanne!) for the flag etc. etc ad infinitum.
Wrapping up her rant, she told Hemmer they're also sick and tired of "some of these women palling around with terrorists," referring to a photo of Rep. Rashida Tlaib with Abbas Hamideh, a Palestinian activist who backs Hezbollah.
The real message Conway and Trump are sending here is pretty straightforward. If you dissent, you are un-American.
In my book, dissent is the essence of this country. It is essential to a healthy democracy.
What is anti-American: Kellyanne Conway standing there and pretending she's not putting those four women of color who are also duly elected Representatives in a half-American (or 3/5ths, if you prefer) box. She's as racist as he is.
With all the hoo-ha around this, it's worth noting that Vice News reported last week that the alt-right has moved on from their love affair with Trump. According to that report:
Extremism experts say their apparent lack of interest in Trump is partly because the heyday of the “alt-right” as a coordinated bloc is over — and partly because they feel betrayed by Trump, who, by operating in the political mainstream, is now tainted by the very swamp he promised to drain. Many also feel like he has failed to deliver on the sweeping immigration enforcement he promised during the campaign.
It makes me wonder if the vicious attacks he mounted on these four freshmen served two purposes. First, it allowed him to suck up to the alt-right; and second, he can try to define the entire Democratic party by these four for purposes of carving out a few more racists to put in his column. Had it not been for the dark underbelly of alt-righters, incels, and men's rights activists along with some Russians, Donald Trump would never have been within 5 miles of the White House.
