Why, It's White Lightnin'!
The Texas GOP, white supremacy, media stakeouts & serious blunders.
White supremacists. Suspicious office buildings. Incriminating evidence. Dirty money. Palace intrigue. Intrepid journalists.
Welcome to the Texas Legislature’s 21st special session.
According to the Texas Tribune, Jonathan Stickland, uber-conservative head of some right-wing consulting firm and major Republican donor, held a meeting for activists including white supremacist Nick Fuentes last Friday. It went on for “several hours,” meaning there were definitely icebreaker games going on like Two Truths and a Lie.
How fun! I’ve gotten to know everyone at this office retreat! And now I know that my colleague has webbed feet! THAT WASN’T THE LIE!
The meeting was organized by the Defend Texas Liberty PAC and took place in the offices of Stickland’s consulting firm, Pale Horse Strategies. (Interesting fact: “Pale horse” refers to death in the bible, which is weird but not as weird as naming your company Death Strategies.)
The one-story building located in a non-descript business park outside of Fort Worth was staked out by Texas Tribune reporters disguised as potted plants. They caught Matt Rinaldi, chair of the Texas GOP, entering the building.
(I can’t tell you how much I love this paparazzi gotcha photo from the Trib. I mean, some poor intern had to spend the night in a dumpster covered with banana peels and shredded documents to get this shot.)
They reached out to Rinaldi about the meeting and he said he was only “borrowing a conference room” and had no idea that a couple of white supremacists were inside.
That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. You were “borrowing a conference room” that happened to be across the hall from Fuentes? You didn’t know what was happening in there even though it had a sign saying, Reserved for White Supremacist Teambuilding Meeting?
Nick Fuentes is part of the America First nationalists, working to preserve white identity and culture. He’s also one of those anti-semite “Christians,” which is funny since Christ was a Middle Eastern Jewish preacher.
Now the name “Fuentes” is clearly not your typical European-American name. In fact, the 24-year-old is of Mexican descent. A Mexican white supremacist. Sure, it might sound strange but self-loathing is a prerequisite of the alt-right, along with Let’s Go Brandon t-shirts and an autographed photo of Kirk Cameron.
Some conservative legislators have returned contributions from Defend Texas Liberty, led by Stickland, but some have not, saying that while they denounce racism, they still really need the money to win reelection.
Defend Texas Liberty is bankrolled by three oil billionaires, Tim Dunn and the Wilks brothers. They are major donors to Ken Paxton ($4M) and Dan Patrick ($3M). Paxton and Patrick have immediately returned the donations in disgust and I’m just kidding.
According to the Trib, Patrick said that following the meeting with Fuentes, Dunn assured him that it was a “serious blunder” and that the group would have no future contact with the chair of the Adolf Hitler fan club.
How does this “blunder” count as an “oops” moment? Like, oops! I forgot my wallet so you’ll have to pay for my drinks! Or, oops! I threw away your cat! Not, oops! There’s a white supremacist at our meeting! Pass the Tiff’s Treats!
"Paxton and Patrick have immediately returned the donations in disgust and I’m just kidding."🤣 What a cesspool the Lege continues to be, only more cesspooly than ever.