“In a hearing on Wednesday (October 27), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland over his recent efforts to understand and curb the risk of violence at public school board meetings about coronavirus policies and race-based lessons.
“Attempting to illustrate that the threats do not warrant Justice Department involvement, the Texas Republican referenced a letter from the National School Boards Association that listed examples. 'They involve things like insults,' Cruz said. 'They involve a Nazi salute – that’s one of the examples.'
“Slamming his hands on dais and raising his voice, Cruz continued: 'My God! A parent did a Nazi salute at a school board because he thought the policies were oppressive.'
“The senator was referring to an August incident in which police removed a man from a Birmingham, Mich., school board meeting about a student mask mandate after officials said he flashed the Nazi salute and chanted 'Heil Hitler.'”
(Julian Mark. “A man gave a Nazi salute at a school board meeting to oppose mask rules. Ted Cruz defended it as a form of protest.” The Washington Post. October 28, 2021.)
Then Cruz asked Garland, “Is doing a Nazi salute ... protected by the First Amendment?”
Garland responded calmly. “Yes, it is.”
Background
On August 18, 2021, the derogatory actions were made at a heated Birmingham Board of Education meeting after the superintendent announced that students, staff, and teachers will be required to wear masks indoors for the start of the school year.
According to the Detroit Metro Times …
“Parents packed two rooms at the school, and dozens were not wearing masks …
“Unruly anti-maskers booed and hurled insults at board members and speakers, including a high school student, who spoke in favor of face coverings during the meeting.
“The anti-maskers spewed
falsehoods about COVID-19, telling board members that masks are
dangerous and that children aren't at risk of spreading the virus,
despite a plethora of evidence to the contrary. Several parents said
they're removing their children from school because of the mandate …
“While a Black woman and Jewish woman were addressing the
board about their support for the mask policy, a man in the audience
flashed the Nazi salute and repeated 'Heil Hitler.' Two men behind
him also uttered the phrase.
(Steve Neavling. “Nazi salute, insults hurled at chaotic Birmingham schools meeting over mask mandate.” Detroit Metro Times. August 19, 2021.)
The person in the audience who gave the salute this August was immediately removed from the meeting and building by the Beverly Hills Police Department, according to the district's email.
"Birmingham Public Schools emphatically denounces and will not tolerate any act of racism, disrespect, violence, and/or inequitable treatment of any person, including actions and statements made at Board of Education meetings," Superintendent Embekka Roberson wrote.
Cruz's Comments
The comments drew criticism from observers who said Cruz was endorsing the use of the Nazi salute, with some pointing out that he made the comments exactly three years after a man yelling antisemitic slurs killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
"You have to hand it to Sen. Ted Cruz," wrote Frida Ghitis. "His timing was impeccable. On the anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.”
But free speech isn't the real issue here, Ghitis observed. "The issue is whether Americans and their political leaders will act on the basis of a higher principle than political point-scoring, and ultimately be able to douse the flames of hatred and division that are weakening the country. Ted Cruz, it seems, doesn't get it."
(Richard Galant. “Mel Brooks' prophetic warning.” CNN. November 1, 2021.)
Nazi Salutes and Other Division
What is this hubbub really all about? Well, for leaders like Ted Cruz, it's certainly not about the First Amendment and parents' rights. The truth of the matter is far more wide-ranging and pertinent to national uprisings.
Republicans are pushing the “Replacement Theory.”
Tucker Carlson of Fox News has even gone so far as to declare the Democrats are implementing an actual plan to change the nation's racial makeup for some malign purpose." Former President Trump emboldened some believers, as well, including by retweeting accounts that identified themselves as believers in “white genocide.”
Carlson's anti-immigrant rhetoric has embraced subtle appeals to racism and, at times more blatantly has put him on the same side as white supremacists. Carlson offered his viewers a full-throated defense of the antisemitic QAnon conspiracy theory. In December 2020, Carlson parroted white supremacist and antisemitic conspiracy theories by blaming Jewish philanthropist George Soros for Americans being “robbed, raped and killed.”
Carlson’s recent defiance, in the face of the Anti-Defamation League’s calls for him to resign, have put these conspiracies back into the spotlight, along with the pronouncements of some high-profile elected officials.
(Suzanne Scott. “ADL Letter to Fox News Condemns Tucker Carlson's Impassioned Defense of 'Great Replacement Theory.'” Anti-Defamation League. April 09, 2021.)
Replacement Theory
The “Replacement Theory” is the idea popular in white supremacist circles that “nefarious forces” – Democrats, "globalists," immigration advocates, et al. – intend to systemically replace white people in the United States by welcoming people of color from other countries. The conspiracies associated with the theory encompass strains of anti-Semitism as well as racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. Not surprisingly, the ugly idea has been popular in white-supremacist circles.
In 2017, the term was abruptly thrust into the national spotlight when hundreds of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and far-right activists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest their perceived disenfranchisement, chanting slogans like "Jews will not replace us." That "Unite the Right" rally, which erupted into violence that led to the death of one leftist counter-protester as well as many injuries.
For years, the theory was relegated to infrequent mentions by fringe Republicans. When it was mentioned, it was dressed up as something besides replacement theory, per se.
Jon Skolnik of Salon writes …
“In the years following (Charlottesville), various Republicans have supported various versions of the "great replacement" theory, including Florida state Sen. Dennis Baxley, former U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa and Maine Republican vice chair Nick Isgro, all of whom suggested that supporters of legal abortion were deliberately causing a decline in the birth rate among white Americans.
“At least three mass shootings have apparently been inspired by the 'great replacement' idea: The Tree of Life synagogue killings in Pittsburgh in 2018, the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019, and the El Paso Walmart massacre in August 2019.”
(Jon Skolnik. “How the "great replacement" theory went from Charlottesville to the GOP mainstream.” Salon. September 29, 2021.)
And now, prominent Republican voices, like that of Ted Cruz, have been pushing the theory with increased vigor.
Tucker Carlson recently embraced the "Great Replacement Theory" on his show during a segment attacking President Joe Biden for the Haitian migrant crisis that played out on the southern border. He accused Biden of intentionally bringing immigrants into the country for political purposes and falsely said Biden supports open borders.
Another example: Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tweeted “[Carlson] is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America.”
Gaetz said he is concerned the Anti-Defamation League is "a racist organization."
Rep. Brian Babin, a Texas Republican, pushed a similar line, telling a television audience, "They want to replace the American electorate with a Third World electorate that will be on welfare." The GOP congressman suggested that President Joe Biden admitted that this was the Democratic plan.
January 6 Attack
According to a survey conducted by political scientist Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, a majority of those who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as The New York Times reports, were "awash in fears that the rights of minorities and immigrants were crowding out the rights of white people in American politics and culture."
“The Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) conducted two independent surveys in February and March, including a National Opinion Research Council survey, to help understand the roots of this rage.
“One driver overwhelmingly stood out: fear of the “Great Replacement.” Great Replacement theory has achieved iconic status with white nationalists and holds that minorities are progressively replacing White populations due to mass immigration policies and low birthrates.
“Extensive social media exposure is the second-biggest driver of this view, our surveys found. Replacement theory might help explain why such a high percentage of the rioters hail from counties with fast-rising, non-White populations.”
(Robert Pape. “Why we cannot afford to ignore the American insurrectionist movement.” Chicago Project on Security and Threats. August 6, 2021.)
The research shows, two central beliefs occur among adamant insurrectionists statistically significantly than more commonly found in the general population:
63% believe in the Great Replacement: “African American people or Hispanic people in our country will eventually have more rights than whites.”
54% believe in the QAnon cabal: “A secret group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles is ruling the US government.”
CPOST concludes …
“Concerning political affiliation, the adamant insurrectionists are not only Republicans.
While 51% self-identify as members of the Republican Party, 34% see themselves as Independents and 10% as Democrats.
“All this tells us is that the insurrectionist movement is more mainstream, cross-party, and more complex than many people might like to think, which does not bode well for the 2022 mid-term elections, or for that matter, the 2024 Presidential election.
“Ironically, the solution may be more local than national. Of the ardent insurrectionists, 47 percent see the Federal Government as an “enemy”, 56 percent feel the same way about state governments, but 73 percent see local governments as non-enemy actors.
“With the latter being the most trusted sources, mayors could have potentially out-sized influence over the future of the movement.
“Without a sound risk analysis of the drivers of American political violence, it is hard to see how developing policies, far less strategies to mitigate the risk of future election-related violence, could be genuinely possible.
“As the 2022 election season fast approaches – along with the potential for distorting election outcomes – understanding American political violence must surely be a national priority if democracy is to hold the line.”
(Robert Pape. “Why we cannot afford to ignore the American insurrectionist movement.” Chicago Project on Security and Threats. August 6, 2021.)
Cruz – The Salute Comes “Right Back At You”
Ted Cruz has problems with critical race theory? It's evident Cruz has a bigger issue: he is a deceitful individual peddling dangerous lies that ignite the actions of white supremacists. His white nationalist agenda pushes the theory that immigrants and minorities are undercutting the “unique identity” of the country. Therein is a clear link between the rhetoric of those like Carlson and Cruz and the beliefs espoused by extremists.
Don't buy it?
Consider that Ted Cruz chose Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King, who was already known for his long history of racist remarks, to be a national co-chairman for his 2016 presidential campaign.
Moreover, consider that Cruz was one of the instigators behind the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He has refused to break ties with True Texas Project, a divisive group that other conservatives have distanced themselves from. The Washington Post reported: “As Trump’s presidency normalized and elevated far-right, anti-immigrant voices, TTP’s messaging grew more extreme, at times echoing white-supremacist talking points.”
Cruz’s hands are all over the fraudulent effort of Republican members of Congress and senators to object to the official certification of President Joe Biden’s victory from offering to argue for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s voter fraud lawsuit before the Supreme Court to spearheading efforts to object to certification at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
And, lastly consider that Cruz played a major role in amplifying the false claims of voter fraud that drove the insurrection at the Capitol, and now he tries to play down the Jan. 6 insurrection while supporting other white supremacists themes. Cruz says critical race theory is “every bit as racist as a Klansmen in white sheets” and yet he claims he is “a Christian and an American who loves my brothers and sisters whatever skin color you are."
Really, Ted? CRT and the KKK? The Klan worked to put its racist beliefs into action through Jim Crow laws in the South and immigration restrictions for the nation as a whole; critical race theorists have devoted themselves to identifying the remainders of that racism in the law and rooting it out.
It is evident Cruz inspires those Klansmen by encouraging them not to be deterred or moderated by electoral defeat. His words make them ever more radical, weaponizing and embracing racist ideas, like the replacement theory,
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