I can tell you where 'The Squad' leads

The terms “racist” and “Nazi” have been bandied about as of late so cavalierly that I thought the whole affair deserved closer examination. Up until now I’ve always thought these words were the equivalent of running out of bullets and throwing your gun at the other person. I’ve decided—in today’s context—there’s much more to it.

The Trump haters fall into several different camps with entirely different agendas. First there’s the Never-Trumpers. These are usually conservatives, or at least moderates, who find Donald Trump to be a vulgarian and beneath the dignity of the White House. I can sympathize with this group. I get it. He’s certainly not like any other president we’ve ever had. Who among us hasn’t wished that he would tweet less? I think this group is allowing their personal animus toward the president to blind them to perhaps the most amazing economic resurgence of our lifetimes, but I get why they don’t like him.

Then there’s the power class in Washington. This includes people like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. These are the political game-players. They’re accustomed to shifts in power, and they position themselves to take full advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses. They’ll throw in the occasional barb of racism just to stir the pot, but it’s unlikely their hearts are in it. They’ll simply say and do anything for political expediency. 

We start to move into dangerous territory with this next group. These are the Trump-deranged. The people like Rashida Tlaib who, in 2016, was pulled kicking and screaming from a Trump rally like a raving lunatic. Two years later she’s elected to Congress. A few months after that she’s part of ‘The Squad’ who essentially run things in the House of Representatives. These are the firm believers that Trump is a Nazi and a racist despite no evidence to support it. They are just one degree separated from the most dangerous faction which seems to be a fringe group to the casual observer. But remember, Rashida Tlaid was foaming at the mouth at Trump rallies just three years ago.

I’m talking about Antifa. This is the Gestapo arm of the movement. The irony is Antifa supposedly stands for anti-fascist. This band of violent thugs is the very embodiment of fascism, except they’re actually communists. This is something that confuses most people. They believe communism and fascism are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. In reality they’re two wings of the same ugly bird of prey, and they’re fighting over control of you.

The Squad has refused to denounce the violent thugs of Antifa. They routinely descend on rallies like a swarm of locust, faces covered in black bandanas, wielding clubs, rocks, and fists against anyone who opposes them. Because if you’re against the anti-fascists, they reason, you must be a fascist. In other words, you must be a Nazi.

And this is the interesting revelation I’ve discovered. These hurled insults of “racist” and “Nazi” are not so much designed to inflict pain on those they’re thrown at. They’re designed to solidify the resolve of the one who hurls them. These invective epithets are their way of convincing themselves that you are the worst scum imaginable in order to justify any means necessary to destroy you.

After the recent dust-up between the Squad and President Trump I saw a commentator on MSNBC. He said that after the tweets there was no longer any doubt that anyone who voted for Trump was a racist.

Their justification for violence has been set. They simply now await their Kristallnacht.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show on SuperTalk 99.7WTN in Nashville. He's also co-host of The PodGOATs podcast.