How Do You Get Too Toxic for Breitbart?

I don’t know that Paul Ryan will even serve out his term let alone run for reelection, but you’ll have to find something other than a primary defeat to hope for if you’re rooting for Ryan’s political career to end soon.

A Wisconsin businessman challenging House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in next year’s congressional primaries denounced “globalists from both parties” Wednesday, after his anti-Semitic tweets prompted Breitbart News to distance itself from his campaign.

Paul Nehlen, who is challenging Ryan for the second time, responded to the accusations of anti-Semitism by saying he was “pro-white” and opposed to double standards.

“Allow me to answer with this question: If pro-White is White supremacy, what is pro-Jewish?” Nehlen told The Washington Post in a text message. “I reject being called a White Supremacist, because clearly Pro-White isn’t White Supremacy unless Pro-Jewish is Jewish Supremacy.”

Some arguments are too stupid to merit rebuttal, and this is one of them. Anyone who thinks that you necessarily believe in the innate superiority of your race, religion, or favorite baseball team just because you take an interest in them is not someone you want to debate.

It’s kind of funny that this guy is suddenly too toxic for Breitbart, though.

The hands-off approach to Nehlen’s campaign was a major shift; in 2016, Breitbart had sent reporters to Ryan’s congressional district to cover Nehlen’s challenge, running as many as 30 stories a week. Julia Hahn, one of the Breitbart reporters on the ground for the Nehlen race, followed Bannon into the White House when he became President Trump’s chief strategist. After Nehlen was defeated, taking just 16 percent of the vote, he contributed some commentary to Breitbart. His archive on the site has been deleted.

I guess I wish these folks would decide where they stand on the whole white supremacy thing and stick with it. We’re getting whiplash trying to follow their positions. At this point, we’re not even certain about where they stand on molesting kids.

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.