The rapid rightward plunge of the Rethuglican / New Confederate Party can't be denied. In the past, establishment Rethugs have tried to control their more racist/nativist/unhinged followers, but with the rise of the "Tea Party," they've lost the fight. Case in point: the Luzerne County (PA) Rethuglican Party has elected an avowed white supremacist and skinhead to its county committee. A co-founder of the Keystone State Skinheads, Steve Smith makes no bones about his racist beliefs (including physical attacks on black people), and credits the "Tea Party" with his success (we're shocked, shocked!). Smith said the "Tea Party" provided "fertile grounds for our activists" -- made fertile, of course, by prodigious amounts of Rethug bullcrap.
Let's see what the Luzerne County Rethuglicans do with Mr. Smith. Maybe they'll show him the door out of embarrassment, or maybe he's truly one of their own.
