Is it too much to hope that the GOP won’t succumb to short memories that have become so typical of our politics today? The party that widened its tent in 2024 with a forceful economic message will lose its appeal and tear away at American society by tolerating antisemitism and bigotry from its politicians and thought leaders.
Bo French recently announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection as Tarrant County GOP chair. But he didn’t do it for the reasons we’d hoped. It wasn’t because his party finally had enough of the bigoted garbage he spews on the internet. Nope. He’s running for statewide office instead.
Earlier this year, French posted a poll to social media platform X asking his audience, “who is a bigger threat to America?” The response options were: Jews or Muslims. Rightfully, the since-deleted post drew calls for his resignation from prominent GOP leaders including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. John Cornyn.
But all the hubbub fizzled out. French never faced any substantial consequences. Now he’s running to become a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, the state’s top oil and gas regulator. He said on social media that “this will be the best way that I can defend Texas, stop the Islamic invasion, and defeat the left.”
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In August, French launched a bigoted attack against state House Rep. Salman Bhojani, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan. On social media, he called on the feds “to denaturalize and deport” Bhojani. He accused the Muslim state representative of trying to “further jihad.”
Will GOP leaders remember their anger at French? The rebukes of him after his poll came years after French began posting hateful messages into the virtual void. But that wasn’t enough to diminish his presence within the Texas GOP.
The current environment of permissiveness has only emboldened people like French.
Take Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes. Once a fringe figure in the conservative movement, Fuentes has been getting more attention in recent years.
During a friendly interview with Carlson, one of the most prominent faces of the modern Republican Party, Fuentes made statements about “organized Jewry in America” and a need to be “pro-white” on some level.
Staffers at the high-profile Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, lashed out at their boss, Kevin Roberts, after he defended Carlson’s interview, according to news reports.
Republican leaders should take note and summon the same courage as those staffers. The hate promoted by people like Fuentes, Carlson and French merits unequivocal repudiation at every turn. We cannot forget or look away, and we shouldn’t let those people carry the mantle of the Republican Party.
In his interview with Carlson, Fuentes said something telling: “The conservative movement is going to have to move to me; I will not move towards them.”
The GOP is doomed if it does not stop that from happening.