Ladies and gentlemen, the next racist Republican generation

A large cache of private messages from Young Republican leaders across multiple states revealed extensive use of racist, antisemitic, and violent language, which prompted swift condemnation and resignations across the GOP. Of course, this would never surprise anyone witnessed an Old South party in Lex back in the day.

As the scandal shows casual virulent racism was the price of admission

According to reporting by Politico, the leaked Telegram chat known as "RESTOREYR WAR ROOM" contained approximately 2,900 pages of messages exchanged over seven months among leaders from Young Republican chapters in New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont. The messages, which totaled more than 28,000 exchanges, included repeated racial slurs, Holocaust jokes, and violent rhetoric directed at political opponents.

New York Magazine's Intelligencer described how the participants "agreed on one thing — to text each other the most racist things imaginable" while engaged in a power struggle over leadership of the Young Republican National Federation.

The messages contained disturbing patterns of hate speech. Politico reported that slurs including variations of the N-word, homophobic epithets, and the word "retarded" appeared more than 251 times combined throughout the conversations. Participants referred to Black people using dehumanizing terms and made references to slavery, gas chambers, and sexual violence. Did I forget to mention misogyny?

Peter Giunta, former chair of the New York State Young Republicans, emerged as one of the most active participants. New York Magazine noted that after a flight landed, Giunta advised fellow chat members that "if your pilot is a she and she looks ten shades darker than someone from Sicily, just end it there." When asked about watching an NBA game, he responded that he'd "go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey play ball."

William Hendrix, vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, used racial slurs more than a dozen times in the chat. In one July exchange reported by Politico, Hendrix wrote stereotypical comments about food preferences while using offensive language.

The messages also included an exchange where Giunta wrote "I love Hitler" and references to white supremacist symbols, including the number 1488. This number conflates a white supremacist slogan with coded references to Nazi ideology.

The scandal reached beyond grassroots organizers to include individuals in government positions. Vermont State Senator Samuel Douglass participated in exchanges that included offensive stereotypes. His wife Brianna Douglass, the Vermont Young Republicans' national committeewoman, also contributed antisemitic remarks. And anti-semetism is their cudgel against DEI. Maybe they are so concerned about it after all.

Immediate repercussions

The revelations triggered swift consequences across Republican organizations. The Kansas Republican Party deactivated its Young Republicans chapter following the report, and Hendrix lost his position as communications assistant to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.

Peter Giunta, who had served as chief of staff to New York State Assembly member Mike Reilly, was fired. Bobby Walker, who was to manage a congressional campaign in upstate New York, had the offer rescinded.

The Young Republican National Federation issued a strong condemnation. It called the behavior "disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and standing in direct opposition to the values our movement represents." The organization demanded immediate resignations from all those involved.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott called on Senator Douglass to resign, stating that the "vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue" was "deeply disturbing" with "no excuse for it."

GOP leadership's response

Prominent Republicans condemned the messages. Representative Elise Stefanik, who had previously endorsed Giunta for national Young Republican leadership, said she was "absolutely appalled" by the alleged comments. Her adviser described them as "heinous, antisemitic, racist and unacceptable."

New York State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, whose former staffer participated in the chat, called the behavior "indefensible" and demanded resignations.

Kansas GOP Chair Danedri Herbert, who is Black, said party leadership was "disgusted by the comments," emphasizing they "do not reflect the beliefs of Republicans and certainly not of Kansas Republicans at large."

All the protestations aside, these comments were a thread that had future party leaders from across the nation. Surely they must align in some way to the overall drift of the party. Or as a famous film character once said, "I am shocked—shocked!—to find that gambling is going on in here!"

It's always a conspiracy isn't it?

Several participants issued apologies while simultaneously claiming the leak was politically motivated. Giunta characterized the release as "a highly-coordinated year-long character assassination" led by rivals in New York's fractured Young Republican ecosystem. He specifically named Gavin Wax of the New York City Young Republican Club.

According to Politico, Giunta apologized for "the insensitive and inexcusable language" while expressing concern that "the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored." Walker similarly suggested portions of the chat "may have been altered, taken out of context, or otherwise manipulated." Taking responsibility is never an option apparently.

However, Bobby Walker himself acknowledged the potential consequences in the chat:

"If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked."

And cooked they right are. Well done, we hope.

Nothing happens in vacuum

Of course, this scandal occurred within the context of the rapid devolution of political discourse on the right. This "private" converstation came to light, as Politico notes, "amid a widespread coarsening of the broader political discourse and as incendiary and racially offensive tropes from the right become increasingly common in public debate."

The chat members engaged in an internal campaign to control the direction of the Young Republican National Federation. Their chats mixed campaign strategy and vote counting alongside the offensive content.

Giunta lost his bid for the national chairmanship by six points. Add he had endorsements from Representative Stefanik and longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone. Neither of theem cared enough about thee rhetoric to withold their endorsement of him (as presumably his views, despite their words to the contrary).

The leaked messages highlighted existing divisions within Young Republican circles and raised questions about the culture among emerging GOP leaders. After all, they are positioning themselves for future political careers.

Maybe we can find some non-racist meembers to carry the standard? Hahahahahaha!

Non in cautus futuri.