WASHINGTON — Over the past week, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the third-ranking House Republican, has falsely claimed that President Biden is shipping infant formula to undocumented immigrants at the expense of Americans amid a nationwide formula shortage.She has described Democrats as “pedo grifters,” borrowing language from the baseless pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory that claims there is a Satan-worshipping cabal of liberal pedophiles, which has evolved into a movement on the right.And after the deadly mass shooting in Buffalo, where a heavily armed white man is accused of killing 10 Black people at a supermarket in a racist rampage, Ms. Stefanik is under scrutiny for campaign advertisements she has circulated that play on themes of the white supremacist “great replacement” theory, which holds that the elite class, sometimes manipulated by Jews, wants to “replace” and disempower white Americans.Ms. Stefanik, a onetime moderate Republican who worked in President George W. Bush’s White House and was a protégé of former Speaker Paul D. Ryan, has long been seen as a rising star in her party, and she still is. But as she has ascended, the Republican Party has transformed, lurching to the right along with her district in upstate New York, and she has shape-shifted along with it.Now, she proudly describes herself as an “ultra MAGA” warrior and aggressively appeals to the hard right, sounding nativist themes that animate the Republican base.The racist massacre, which unfolded in a district not far from her own, has shone a spotlight on Ms. Stefanik. In the days since, Democrats and even some Republicans have suggested that Ms. Stefanik and her party have stoked the beliefs that led to the killings, by catering to a base that will not tolerate outright condemnation of the most fringe ideas.Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, who was ousted last year as conference chair and replaced by Ms. Stefanik, said on Monday that House Republican leaders had “enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and antisemitism.” In a posting on Twitter, she called on her party’s leaders to “renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.”But as Democrats decried the white supremacist ideology that gave rise to the mass killing, Ms. Stefanik and other House Republican leaders were largely silent about the racism that apparently motivated the shooter.Far from apologizing for the nativist language and themes she has amplified, Ms. Stefanik, who has been floated to former President Donald J. Trump as a potential running mate and who is widely seen in Congress as a candidate to become her party’s next House whip, is following Mr. Trump’s example.Like Mr. Trump, Ms. Stefanik’s response when under fire is to attack her attackers. Like Mr. Trump, she vehemently defends herself against charges of holding any racist views, while at the same time using rhetoric that energizes far-right and fringe groups.On Monday, she released a lengthy statement attacking the media for reporting on statements she has made that echo replacement theory claims, but never disavowed the ideology, and did not condemn racism or white supremacy.Later, pressed at the Capitol about the criticisms from Democrats, Ms. Stefanik said, “I condemn racism.” But when asked specifically if she rejects replacement theory, she sidestepped the question.“I’ve never made a racist comment,” she told CNN, noting that she had supported Black and Hispanic candidates.Last year, Ms. Stefanik ran an ad on Facebook in which she accused “radical Democrats” of planning what she described as a “PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION.”“Their plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington,” the ad said.Aides to Ms. Stefanik said the advertisement was addressing the need for stronger border security, and referring to Mr. Biden’s proposal to offer a pathway to U.S. citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented people and a proposal to give 800,000 noncitizens in New York the right to vote in municipal elections.Democrats were quick to point out that attacks like those Ms. Stefanik have lodged have at their core the same grievance as replacement theory.“The subtext is clear,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said in a speech. “These hard-right MAGA Republicans argue that people of color and minority communities are somehow posing a threat — a threat — to the American way of life.”Ms. Stefanik has also refrained from calling out extremists in her party’s ranks who are explicit about such views. Earlier this year, she refused to denounce Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene,By: Annie Karni
Title: Racist Attack Spotlights Stefanik’s Echo of Replacement Theory
Sourced From: www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/us/politics/stefanik-replacement-theory.html
Published Date: Tue, 17 May 2022 00:24:40 +0000
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