Reza Aslan Slams Bill Maher for Facile Arguments’ About Muslim Violence

Why the GOP is Hesitant to Denounce Trump's Bigotry

Why the GOP is Hesitant to Denounce Trump’s Bigotry

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Jimmy Franco Sr.

Trump has defended his racist attacks against Mexicans while his appeal within the GOP is increasing.

The recent campaign statements made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that “Mexican immigrants are primarily “criminals, drug smugglers and rapists” have generated a much needed political debate. This present controversy and national dialogue related to Trump’s bigoted campaign comments and particularly his racial slurs aimed at Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have done the country a service by bringing his white chauvinist views and those of others in his party out into the open rather than hypocritically keeping them hidden below the surface. The broad public can now clearly see and hear the ugly ethnic hatred and policies of divisiveness that are firmlyingrained within the Republican Party and privately held by many of its members as well as the support shown for them by certain sectors of the conservative media. Trump has promoted and fiercely defended this poisonous and traditional US ideological trend of xenophobia, race baiting and immigrant bashing which has deep historical roots within our society. His comments have quickly raised his poll numbers among large numbers of Republicans and broadened his conservative appeal to rapidly become the second ranked GOP contender behind front runner Jeb Bush. 

Arizona, bigots, and racism

Sometimes columns just seem to write themselves. The world is aflame, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East, and as a result, extremist Arizona legislators seem to be getting a complex… nobody seems to be paying as much attention to them compared to just several weeks ago. Even Wisconsin has managed to upstage the rogue Arizona legislators. Utah too. As such, theArizona rogue legislators have stepped forward to once again capture the 19th century spotlight.

Arizona put itself on the map last year for passing several bills that appear to send out the message that brown people are not welcome. The bill, SB 1070, the one that compels local police to seek out the legal status of suspects based on the nebulous concept of “reasonable suspicion,” is as close to official ethnic cleansing as one can get. Because the “migra” or immigration services have long had that power, on the streets, “reasonable suspicion” translates to brown skin and the use of the Spanish language.

The HB 2281 bill is an attempt to deny the teaching of Ethnic Studies in Arizona. Its first target is Tucson’s highly successful Mexican American Studies K-12 program. The attack on this program amounts to cultural genocide, though many people bristle at that description. Yet, how else to describe an attempt to forcefully assimilate any population?

But all that is so 2010.

2011 in Arizona began with not simply declaring Mexican American Studies illegal – with an April 18 deadline to dismantle the program – but with a flurry of bills that make both of these bills seem Mexican-friendly.

The following will give you an example of the environment we are living – this, in the midst of a huge nationwide state-by-state budget crisis in which Mexicans always become convenient scapegoats.

Fox News- Rachel Maddow

Anti Muslim bigotry - value voters

Bryan Fischer, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the American Family Association, wrote a blog post yesterday that argues that "Germany is giving us a template on how we handle Muslims: just like we handle neo-Nazis," which amounts to German police carrying "out 30 predawn raids against the nation's largest neo-Nazi group two days ago."

Fischer is known for his Islamophobia, previously arguing that the U.S. should have "no more mosques, period," because "every single mosque is a potential terror training center or recruitment center for jihad" and thus "you cannot claim first amendment protections if your religious organization is engaged in subversive activities."

On his Renew America blog, Fischer wrote that "German authorities are determined to 'stamp out' this movement because it is 'potentially violent.'"