Current Events > Republican congressman quotes neo-nazi, believing it's Voltaire

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/repthomasmassie/status/1487872940431527941?s=21

lol whoops

and before any mod decides to suspend me here, Kevin Strom was a literal neo-Nazi (and pedophile!), and proudly so

Ofc the less charitable interpretation here is that he knew exactly who he was quoting

Indoril posted...

Ofc the less charitable interpretation here is that he knew exactly who he was quoting

Its probably this

remember, theyre not stupid, they are evil

The most surprising thing about a Republican quoting a neo-Nazi and a pedophile is that they sometimes don't.

That's not an actual Voltaire quote? I thought it was his most famous one.

In 2008 Strom was sentenced to 23 months in prison for possessing child abuse material. He served four months.

Looks like it's a popular enough misconception that there's an article nearly every year from the last decade clearing it up. Honestly, probably would do more good not to clear it up so any association to him can be forgotten at this point.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

The first known instance of it was from his 1993 writing:
https://twitter.com/realPhoenixFire/status/1488031268621242368

Regardless of the source, doesn't the quote backfire on Massie since nobody in the Republican party is allowed to criticize Trump?

Ruvan22 posted...

Regardless of the source, doesn't the quote backfire on Massie since nobody in the Republican party is allowed to criticize Trump?

Nah, Republicans will completely ignore that.

TheGoldenEel posted...

Its probably this

remember, theyre not stupid, they are evil

Theres still plenty of stupid in the upper echelons. I think Herman Caine is still tweeting.

It sounds like something Voltaire would have said.

Placed in its proper context, it makes sense that it would be spoken by a Nazi shithead claiming that resistance to his unsolicited anti-Semitism was "proof"that Jews secretly run society. In that regard, it's an absolutely terrible quote. To make matters worse, there are many in the Republican party who would still gladly use the quote given its originally intended meaning. Those protestors who walked around chanting "Jews will not replace us" immediately come to mind.

At least the quote can't be used as a dog whistle. Now that a light has been shined on the origins of the quote, nobody's going to be allowed to continue using it thinking it was a cynical intellectual's criticism of society's elite.

And even if the quote had been Voltaire, using it to support anti-vax attitudes is deplorable.

If you feel "controlled" because you're asked to preserve the safety of the people around you, you're a fucking sociopath.