In the wake of the 2016 Presidential and General Election, the number of hate crimes in the Philadelphia rose dramatically, and all of them went back to the top of the ticket, Donald Trump. A store in South Philadelphia the night of the election was tagged with things such as “Sieg Heil Trump 2016” and “Trump Rules” on buildings and cars. I’ve had friends verbally assaulted by Trump supporters and even told to “start packing your bags.” In York, PA, white students marched through the hallways with a Trump sign saying, “White Power”. A group of white college students blocked a black woman in Villanova Station chanting “Trump” over and over again and then physically assaulting her. Black students at the University of Pennsylvania received a group text message for a “Nigger Lynching.”
Yet in all of this the Philadelphia Republican Party was silent.
Well, that isn’t true. Actually, the Philadelphia Republican Party was spending the days immediately after seeing Pat Toomey win re-election and the Republican party have what was its strongest night since the 2003 mayoral election celebrate and tell people that “PhillyGOP exposed voter fraud & drove 1000s of NEW R’s to polls to turn PA red!”
By Friday, when the Upenn story broke, Holly Otterbein, a reporter for Philadelphia Magazine, asked “Will the @PhillyGOP condemn attacks on black students? The anti-Trump UPenn GOP did.”
The initial response form the Philadelphia GOP was, “sure. it is reprehensible but tell us again what this has to do with us?” A little later they came back with, “handy statement on all future racism unrelated to us so you don’t publish us as “not having responded”: We don’t support it”.
@hollyotterbein sure. it is reprehensible but tell us again what this has to do with us?
— Philly GOP (@PhillyGOP) November 11, 2016
.@hollyotterbein handy statement on all future racism unrelated to us so you don’t publish us as “not having responded”: We don’t support it
— Philly GOP (@PhillyGOP) November 11, 2016
Yes, despite the racist attacks done in the name of their candidate, the Philadelphia GOP did not understand, nor saw any reason, to denounce the attacks that were happening. When confronted, they instead decided to act glib and mock a reporter. Yet, somehow, it gets worse.
While responding to a comment, “Behavior is direct result of the candidate that you supported getting elected. Show some fucking responsibility.”, they came back with the classy statement, “Huh guess the increase in POCs voting Republican this year would disputed that liberal media narrative”.
Huh guess the increase in POCs voting Republican this year would disputed that liberal media narrative @thatgirljennab https://t.co/uxrI1cXg1m
— Philly GOP (@PhillyGOP) November 11, 2016
And followed by this gem: “Once again @thatgirljennab speaking for all the POCs who voted Republican this year. Whitesplaining or libsplaining, or both?”
Once again @thatgirljennab speaking for all the POCs who voted Republican this year. Whitesplaining or libsplaining, or both? ? https://t.co/epHtH8HSX0
— Philly GOP (@PhillyGOP) November 12, 2016
Followed by this re-tweet: “The Left: Trump is a racist, misogynist, xenophobic bigot…but Mike Pence is worse. This is why no one takes you seriously”
The Left: Trump is a racist, misogynist, xenophobic bigot…but Mike Pence is worse.
This is why no one takes you seriously
— ::brittany:: ?? (@brittanynb_) November 12, 2016
By Monday they finally released a press release condemning the actions, but the press release may be one of the most poorly crafted apologies and condemnations I’ve ever seen. If you were to only read the first paragraph and the first sentence of the second, you would easily walk away saying that this was perfect, the ideal reaction to the situation. Sadly, the second you went past that mark it was obvious it was from that same sore-winner attitude from before.
Some choice quotes:
“Our supporters and voters are diverse and come from every ward in the city. Our party is made up of these people – so how could we, on the whole, stand for racism or oppression of any kind? Moreover, let’s remember this: despite the media narrative that Trump’s campaign was entirely racist, he improved his vote counts among Latino, Black and Asian-American voters. Perhaps something is wrong with the media narrative that lumps all dissent from ‘progressive’ values in with the most virulent racists.”
On Trump and Clinton supporters
“Are some people that voted for Donald Trump racist? Undoubtedly. Do some people that voted for Hillary (or Bernie in the primary) spit on the flag and justify violence against police officers as a political tool, as examples? Also, undoubtedly.”
It then closes with “The Philadelphia Republican Party opposes the one-party rule that has held back our city for decades, and is dedicated to building a more diverse and inclusive party. Contrary to the media narratives we’ve heard, we believe our President-Elect will actually be helpful in that regard.”
The last part alone is insanely tone-deaf: The Republican Party has, in fact, just won the Presidency, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Senate which is, you guessed it, one-party rule of the federal government. Is it something this party will only condemn when its the opposition party?
Within their entire “condemnation”, they attack the media multiple times, they state that some of their party members are racist, they state that some liberals are people who spit on flags and hate cops. They take the time to attack the Democratic Party, and then state their President-Elect will help be more “diverse and inclusive”, despite the fact this press release came out after he said he was going to appoint Steve Bannon, the Alt-Right former Editor of BrietBart.
So, lets sum this up: They spent Friday wondering why they need to condemn for the actions of people who support their President-Elect committing hate crimes, they insulted a reporter and another random person, re-tweeted someone making divisive statements that seemed to undercut their condemnation, and then when they actually did condemn the attacks they then proceed to attack the media and everyone else and even throw in the old, “we’re not bad, some of my best friends are” card into it.
I have to question the people who think this is an appropriate reaction from a political party to hate crimes, and even more so, I have to question the overall tone-deafness of this statement. It seems to ignore all of the reasons that people are worried and concerned and instead attacks them while bolstering their own win.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is why the Philadelphia GOP doesn’t win elections anymore.
Here, in its entirety, is the Philly GOP Press Release:
Philadelphia GOP Statement on Hate Speech & Hate Crimes:
In response to the hateful cyber-attack on black Penn students, and those at other universities, and concerns about violence against minority communities, Joe DeFelice, Chairman of the Philadelphia Republican Party, has issued the following statement:
“We have heard worries about an uptick in hateful activity after this extremely divisive election. Any violence towards somebody because of who they are or who they are perceived to be is wrong, and we condemn it. We must remain vigilant.
“In our city Republican party we have Ward Leaders who are members of the African American, Latino, Asian, Muslim, Jewish and LGBT communities. Our supporters and voters are diverse and come from every ward in the city. Our party is made up of these people – so how could we, on the whole, stand for racism or oppression of any kind? Moreover, let’s remember this: despite the media narrative that Trump’s campaign was entirely racist, he improved his vote counts among Latino, Black and Asian-American voters. Perhaps something is wrong with the media narrative that lumps all dissent from ‘progressive’ values in with the most virulent racists. Maybe it’s the same reason why nobody in the media accurately predicted a Trump win – because they’re more focused on narratives than on reality. If we can learn one thing from this election it’s that people with well-thought-out, unprejudiced political views are tired of being branded as oppressors by progressives with no empathy and a penchant for hyperbole.
“People voted for Trump because they have been left out during the Obama years. They admire his willingness to address tough issues that affect our country, such as illegal immigration, which have previously been branded ‘off limits’. They see America’s place in the world shrinking and heard a candidate of the left who promised more of the same. They hear intense derision and condescension from the mainstream media and the progressive elite. They were appalled by the lack of transparency and corruption of the Clintons. Are some people that voted for Donald Trump racist? Undoubtedly. Do some people that voted for Hillary (or Bernie in the primary) spit on the flag and justify violence against police officers as a political tool, as examples? Also, undoubtedly. The media needs to be careful that they’re holding everybody accountable, and not just conservatives, for extremism that exists at the fringe of every political movement.
“The Philadelphia Republican Party opposes the one-party rule that has held back our city for decades, and is dedicated to building a more diverse and inclusive party. Contrary to the media narratives we’ve heard, we believe our President-Elect will actually be helpful in that regard.”
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