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“I’m Not a Racist” Says Republican Politician Who Repeatedly Uses N-word to Discuss Black Lives Matter

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Tom Eckerle

Tom Eckerle—a Republican road commissioner for Leelanau County, Michigan—is reportedly resigning after political pressure for repeatedly using the n-word, an anti-Black racist slur, to describe racial justice protestors.

Before a meeting of the road commission started last Tuesday, Eckerle was asked by a commission member why he wasn’t wearing a mask. He responded, “Well this whole thing is because of them (n-words) down in Detroit.”

When Bob Joyce, the commission’s chair, told Eckerle he couldn’t say that, Eckerle said, “I can say anything I want. Black Lives Matter has everything to do with taking the country away from us.”

Let’s be clear: the social aims listed on the Black Live Matters (BLM) website do not mention white people. According to its website, the BLM movement seeks to unite Black communities worldwide to oppose state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism while also create creating healing, empathetic communities free from prejudice.

When asked about his comments during a Thursday interview with Interlochen Public Radio, Eckerle said didn’t realize the public found out about his comments and said, “No, I don’t regret calling it an (n-word). A( n-word) is a (n-word) is a (n-word). That’s not a person whatsoever.”

Eckerle also told the Associated Press, “I’m not a racist. Black Lives Matter is racist. If I believed in Black Lives Matter, I would be racist. … Black Lives Matter has no heart. And that is as offensive to me as the N-word,” before saying the actual n-word again, just to make his point.

“If I could get a few people that, when they see a Black Lives Matter sign up, to think the N-word, I have accomplished what I’m after,” he added.

Eckerle was elected to his eight-year position in 2018. Of Leelanauhas County’s 21,700 residents about 90 percent are white. Black people are less than 1 percent of its population.

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'DEEPLY EMBARRASSING'

Arizona GOP Spits on John McCain’s Grave, Says No to Era of “Civility”

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4 years ago

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January 2, 2021

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John McCain at a town hall in Phoenix, Arizona.

In a New Year’s Eve tweet, the Republican party for Arizona’s 28th legislative district encouraged its followers to “respect of all our elected Republicans living & deceased,” adding, “Hostility will not grow the Party or win elections. Home to the most current & former elected officials we honor their service & memory. Civility matters.”

But the state’s main Republican party chapter wasn’t having it.

In response, the Arizona Republican Party Twitter account commented, “As the sun sets on 2020, remember that we’re never going back to the party of Romney, Flake, and McCain. The Republican Party is now, and forever will be, one for the working man and woman! God bless.”

Republican Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona were all known for their willingness to work with Democratic colleagues. But the Arizona GOP doesn’t want the likes of those three, including McCain who was a former military prisoner of war who died of brain cancer in 2018.

During the 2008 presidential election, McCain won Arizona by 10 points. In the 2020 presidential election, Trump lost Arizona by 0.3 points. So much for civility!

Keep in mind, the Republican Senate has largely not passed any signature legislation during the Trump Administration, save a tax break for the wealthy and two decreasingly helpful COVID-19 stimulus bills. That is, the inability of Senate Republicans to work with Democratic colleagues has largely made the institution useless, not even advancing an infrastructure bill that most Americans support.

It’s no surprise that the state party is taking this inflexible, hardline approach seeing as its top members had largely signed onto an absolutely bonkers and bogus lawsuit seeking to grant Vice President Mike Pence the ability to singlehandedly declare President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 elections even though Trump lost by over 7 million votes.

That case, which even Pence himself wanted thrown out, was duly thrown out by a Trump-appointed federal judge last night.

 

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'DEEPLY EMBARRASSING'

Trump’s $3 Million Wisconsin Vote Recount Actually Increased Biden’s Lead Over Him

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4 years ago

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November 28, 2020

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The re-election campaign of soon-to-be-former President Donald Trump spent $3 million for a recount of votes in Wisconsin in the hopes of throwing out tens of thousands of absentee and early ballots cast in support of President-elect Joe Biden.

But Trump’s $3 million dollar gambit hasn’t paid off. In fact, it actually increased Biden’s lead over him by 132 votes. As Slate explains, Trump was specifically asking for recounts in Dane and Milwaukee Counties, two Democratic strongholds where Biden beat Trump by over 360,000 votes total.

“By the end of the recount in Milwaukee County, Biden’s total had increased by 257 votes, from 317,270 to 317,527. Trump also saw an increase in votes, boosting his total by 125 votes to 134,482,” Slate wrote, showing how Biden ended up even further ahead. The new votes were originally excluded from the county’s total due to “human error.”

“In Dane County, Trump has gained 68 votes over Biden but the recount there isn’t expected to finish until Sunday,” Slate continued. The state is expected to certify its election results on Tuesday, December 1.

On Tuesday, Republicans filed a lawsuit not only asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stop the certification of the presidential election results, but also aiming to grant the power to name presidential electors to the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature, the Associated Press reported. But if Trump’s over 30 failed lawsuits seeking to overturn the election are any indication, this one won’t be any more successful.

The lawsuit was filed by Erick Kaardal, an attorney and former Minnesota Republican Party official, who filed as a representative of a conservative group called the Wisconsin Voters Alliance. He filed the suit on behalf of the organization and several Republican voters. He also led an unsuccessful lawsuit before the election to get rapper Kanye West on the ballot.

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'DEEPLY EMBARRASSING'

“A March for Fascism”: Social Media Users Disable #MillionMAGAMarch Hashtag with Pancake Pics

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4 years ago

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November 14, 2020

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pancakes

Today is the Million MAGA March, a gathering of neo-Nazis, White Supremacists and other Trump supporters into Washington D.C., apparently unaware that Trump lost the last election by over 5 million votes.

But to make it hard for these unsavory folks to organize via social media, people on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram have been flooding the hashtags #MillionMAGAMarch and #MarchForTrump with images of pancakes. Here’s a tasty selection:

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