A new ad campaign paid for by a new Republican super PAC that seems to promote simple fascism was broadcast on some ABC affiliates during the Democratic debate Thursday night, filling television screens with a new spin on fire and brimstone, and sparking harsh criticism due to violent imagery aimed at a sitting member of Congress.
Clearly, the Republican Party has a problem: They are the party of white male supremacy. And like most white supremacist groups, the GOP does not like being called out for their white supremacist policies or white male-dominant power structure and membership. To avoid this, the party, like the NRA, often utilizes people who aren’t white men to convey their messaging for them. The problem is, what kind of people of color are going to support the Republican Party and further white supremacy? People who like fascism, that’s who.
Stepping out from the shadows of this construct is Elizabeth Heng of central California. Heng ran unsuccessfully in 2018 against Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Costa. Heng’s loss, unfortunately, didn’t send her back to the private sector. Like most of the Republican Party, if you are a failure of a person but filled with enough fear and loathing, you can fail upward In Heng’s case, she failed right into a political action committee called New Faces GOP. Thursday’s ad appears to be the PAC’s first, despite launching in March.
The ad opens with a photo of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which catches fire as Heng declares that, “This is the face of socialism and ignorance. Does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez know the horrors of socialism?”
That’s followed by black-and-white footage of the horrific carnage at the hands of Cambodian dictator Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. Heng explains that her father was a refugee of the Cambodian genocide (see “asylum seeker”) before explaining how un-racist the GOP really is.
Heng: Mine is the face of freedom. My skin is not white. I’m not outrageous, or racist, or a socialist. I’m a Republican.
This gave me vomit chills. It turns out that Heng and the Republican Party have done what most fascists do: equated fascism with socialism, all in order to become the next batch of ruling fascists. By making a woman of color the face of the super PAC and the voice of this horrific ad, the right can predictably use the “I have a black (Cambodian) friend!” defense to dodge accusations of racism.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was quickly alerted to the advertisement, of course, and she saw the truth right away.
You can watch the video below but be warned: it’s dumb as shit.