"At first I saw it as a "dog bites man" story. A posse of "young" Republicans (as old as 40) got caught by Politico on a 28,000-post text thread praising Hitler, threatening their (fellow Republican) enemies with "gas chambers" and "rape," slurring Black people as monkeys and "watermelon people," denouncing LGBTQ people as "fags" and worse, and also insulting Indian women as "dirty." Are we really supposed to be surprised?"
""The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys," Vance said on The Charlie Kirk Show. "They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That's what kids do. And I really don't want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke-telling a very offensive, stupid joke-is cause to ruin their lives." Earlier he posted on X: "I refuse to join the pearl clutching.""
"You're 41; the creepy Peter Giunta, who started the group chat to gin up support for his doomed bid to head the Young Republicans, is 31. An aide to New York Assemblyman Mike Reilly, Giunta got fired today. Giunta's bid to run the Young Republicans was backed by Representative Elise Stefanik, MAGA weathervane, who is likely to challenge New York Governor Kathy Hochul, as well as the original Young Republican "ratfucker" Roger Stone."
A large Telegram chat among Young Republican leaders contained thousands of posts with praise for Hitler, explicit threats of rape and gas chambers, and repeated racist, sexist, and homophobic slurs. Participants included individuals in their late twenties through forties, some of whom hold or worked for elected officials. Several participants faced denunciation and job loss. Some party members defended the behavior as youthful stupidity and edgy joking, arguing such remarks should not permanently ruin lives. The chat spanned more than seven months and involved activists and leaders in multiple states.
Read at The Nation
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