Experts say the language in platform of the would-be America First Caucus recalls past and current overtures to white nationalism.
The language used in the would-be Republican congressional America First Caucus’s platform has alarmed many lawmakers and civil rights advocates who say its white nationalist message shows the growing clout of extremism in the right wing of the Republican Party.
Reports of the new faction in Congress first broke last Friday, when Punchbowl News shared a 7-page document outlining the group’s call to continue former President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“It is the firm belief of this caucus that American policy-making needs to get back to first principles, restore a long-term time horizon amongst our nation’s leaders, and instill a greatly internalized sense of service to the American people on part of our elected leaders,” the document said.
Marilyn Mayo, a senior researcher at the Anti-Defamation League, said the combination of the caucus’s platform and its association with lawmakers who’ve been embroiled in controversies over race since taking office are a troubling signal.
“To say you want to promote Anglo-Saxon values already indicates a certain kind of ideology, and that certainly is a dog whistle to white supremacy and white nationalism,” she said.