Candidate: That's not my brand of anti-Semitism
July 12, 2018
US Congressional candidate and Holocaust-denier John Fitzgerald rejected commissioning recorded calls instructing California voters that Jews "must be stopped" before they take over the world. The Republican, who has spread conspiracy theories alluding to a Jewish takeover, said the robocalls were the work of "a despicable hate-filled" neo-Nazi podcaster in the Northwestern state of Idaho who saw a shared critique in his denial of the Holocaust.
The calls were first reported late Tuesday on Twitter by the journalist Robert Gammon, who wrote that the recording was "easily the most racist political ad I've ever come across in the Bay Area."
On Wednesday, Fitzgerald — who, until the extent of his politics on Jewish topics became clear, was endorsed by the California Republican Party — released a blog post claiming to have received the call himself at home in the suburbs east of San Francisco. He said he didn't hear everything but added that he didn't appreciate the support. He wrote that, although he publicly supports such high-profile anti-Semites as Germany's 89-year-old "Nazi Grandma," Ursula
Social media users quickly pointed out that by courting the anti-Semitic vote, Fitzgerald was inviting the support of such people.
Other posts on Fitzgerald's website reveal that he believes that "Jewish elitists" are conspiring with Democrats to push "multiculturalism and race mixing in America and Europe" and that his opponent "would rather represent other nations' Muslim communities" than his own constituents.
Media reported that the podcaster, known as Road to Power, previously commissioned calls for Patrick Little, a Holocaust-denier whose bid to unseat the California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein — who is herself Jewish — had received just 1.2 percent of the statewide primary vote.
mkg/sms (Forward, Fitzgerald campaign)