Conservative Media and Politicians Distance Themselves from Alt-Right After Charlottesville Rally
With the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia now turning deadly it has gained international news coverage. The rally was organized by a collection of alt-right and white nationalist groups to protest the proposed removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the city. The slogan of the rally was ‘you will not replace us’ which refers to alt-right’s opposition to what they see as white genocide. It was attended by prominent alt-right figures such as Richard Spencer, Augustus Invictus, Christopher Cantwell and Mike Enoch.
A rally of this nature was always going to attracted a counter-rally from the left and Antifa groups and that’s exactly what happened. City officials revoked the permit of the organizers to hold the rally however this was overturned by a federal court on free speech grounds thanks to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rutherford Institute.
A women has been killed and thirty two injured after a car plowed into the demonstration for which the driver has already been charged with second degree murder. A police helicopter also crashed which was monitoring the rally killing two Virginia state troopers, however the attendees at the rally cannot be blamed for this. The violence started when police tried to shut down the rally and Antifa counter protestors then made a run for the alt-right protestors.
What has occurred since violence unfolded is mainstream media and politicians lining up condemning this rally of hate, Nazism and white supremacy as they called it. This is of course is no surprise but what is more noteworthy is the number of conservative media outlets and politicians condemning the rally.
Fox News personality Judge Jeanine Pirro aired a two hour special of her show which featured a variety of guests condemning the alt-right white supremacy.
.@LawrenceBJones3 on #Charlottesville protests: “I think the alt-right has elements of white supremacy in it.” @JudgeJeanine pic.twitter.com/2iQHf13WNC
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 13, 2017
Editor at Large for InfoWars Paul Joseph Watson although condemning those trying to shut down free speech also stated his rejected of all movements based on racial identities.
I vehemently oppose any movement based on racial identity politics, including this one. I defend their right to free speech. Simple.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) August 12, 2017
US President Donald Trump while vowing to restoring law and order to Charlottesville although condemning violence on both sides stated that race should not matter in America and the nation needed to come together.
We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST. pic.twitter.com/FesMiQSKKn
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2017
Nigel Farage was probably the conservative politician who condemned the rally the strongest
Cannot believe we’re seeing Nazi salutes in 21st century America.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) August 12, 2017
It would appear although mainstream conservatives are sick of the totalitarian antics of left wing groups such as Antifa and the fact that violence at events like this is always instigated by them, they want to distance themselves from the speakers and organizers of this rally whose goal is create a white homeland.
This means that rather than uniting the right this really might lead to a more formal schism between the mainstream conservative movement and the alt-right. The fact that Trump has condemned these alt-right protestors is particularity noteworthy. Trump himself has been blamed for creating the politicial environment for such a rally which perhaps explains his response. Trump’s condemnation has already drawn a rebuke from long time white nationalist David Duke.
The political fallout from this is likely to be dramatic and one suspects we may also seen an internet crackdown on these alt-right groups from the likes of Facebook and Google. It will also mean that many conservatives, alt-lite and anti-SJW personalities may get lumped in with these alt-right groups and they could also be targets of both government and non-government authorities. This is why they have been eager to distance themselves more prominently in the aftermath of this rally.
