House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), or KKKevin McCarthy, as one House Democrat is calling him, has been in the spotlight for his decisions on how to deal with some of the worst behaviors of his party. Now his refusal to address certain racist behaviors is netting him the label “leader of the white supremacists.”
[Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images]
How is the GOP handling white supremacy? The Washington Post pointed out last year that McCarthy’s position, in particular, seems to have shifted, citing his 2019 decision to strip Representative Steve King (R-IA) of committee assignments after King’s open musing about how unfair it is that he can’t openly support white nationalism, and his more recent refusal to scold Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) for associations with a political activist who argues in favor of racial segregation.
They’re not the only ones noticing that McCarthy seems to come down lightly on displays of racism and white supremacy. In particular, Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is now calling him “KKKevin,” tweeting the appellation in response to to McCarthy’s attack on the January 6th Committee.
KKKevin is a KKKoward.
When pressed on what exactly leads him to that conclusion, Swalwell laid out the ‘math,’ saying that the GOP is harboring white supremacists, and McCarthy refuses to denounce or reprimand them for blatant displays of racism, so that makes him the white supremacist leader.
Why call him KKKevin McCarthy? Let’s do the math. @GOPLeader leads GOP + White Supremacists in GOP (@RepGosar, @replouiegohmert, MTG, etc) + McCarthy won’t denounce them = KKKevin is a leader of white supremacists
In fact, McCarthy has sworn revenge on Democrats for actually holding some members of his party accountable for their behavior. House leadership has removed Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from committees after a series of conspiracy theories as well as anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic social media posts and removed Paul Gosar from committees after he posted an anime video edited to portray him killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). In return, McCarthy has promised, according to Business Insider, that if Republicans regain control of the House, they’ll remove Swalwell, as well as Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from committee assignments.
Steph Bazzle reports on social issues and religion for Hill Reporter. She focuses on stories that speak to everyone's right to practice what they believe in and receive the support of their communities and government officials. You can reach her at Steph@HillReporter.com
