Local opinion: Young Republicans' racist and extremist comments a bad sign for Arizona

In recent years, as the country has become more diverse, I had hoped that we would be able to accommodate our differences as younger, more tolerant political leaders would push aside people who held antiquated and racist views of “The Other”. Unfortunately, an October 14 article in Politico upended my faith in Arizona’s and the nation’s political leadership.

In that article, as members of the Young Republicans club discuss ways to make the organization more pro-Trump in its orientation, the chat’s participants made a series of vile comments that were very disturbing, particularly for Arizonans.

Participants in the chat referred to Blacks in racist terms such as “monkeys” and “watermelon people,” and to Chinese people as “chinks.” They also made repeated antisemitic remarks about Jews, including a participant’s “I love Hitler” comment and jokes about the Holocaust and gas chambers. There were also derogatory comments about homosexuals and anti-Hispanic slurs.

Of particular concern to Arizonans were the remarks of Luke Mosiman, Arizona Young Republicans chair, and Rachel Hope, the Arizona Young Republicans events chair. Mosiman proposed that they help a Republican candidate win by falsely attributing Nazi ideas to the candidate’s opponent. His disdain for fair elections and unethical approach to politics was seconded by Hope, who enthusiastically responds with “Omg, I love this plan”.

Mosiman then reconsiders his smear campaign because he thinks Kansas Republicans are so prejudiced they might actually vote for the supposedly pro-Nazi candidate. Hope responds with a smiley face emoji to this thought.

Mosiman’s questionable grasp of history and views of Hispanics are apparent when he writes that “The Spanish came to America and had sex with every single woman,” later clarifying that he meant the Spanish raped these women. Mosiman also did not push back against other chat participants when they called him a “beaner” and a “spic”. His intolerance and disrespect for the outcome of the democratic process were on display when he opposed Hayden Pagette, the recently elected chairman of the Young Republican National Federation, by saying, “RAPE HAYDEN.”

Hope makes clear her anti-democratic sentiments by responding with a heart emoji when a candidate running for chairman of the Young Republican National Federation said of his opponents, “Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.” Hope’s extremist views were on display when she approvingly responded with a heart emoji to the news that some members of the Michigan Young Republicans would vote for “the most right wing person”.

Mosiman and Hope did not respond to Politico’s requests for comments. But as an Arizonan, I would like to know if they stand by their bigoted and intolerant comments and share their colleagues’ racism towards minorities. The comments in this chat are particularly worrisome because the chat participants represent the next generation of Republican leaders in Arizona and the nation. I believe public officials have a duty to stand up for the rights of everyone, including minorities. The comments Mosiman and Hope made do not indicate they will do that.

True leaders should also stand up for what is morally right. The failure of Arizona’s Young Republican leadership to speak up and oppose their colleagues’ obscene and racist comments makes me question if they will speak up if someone in their party proposes racist policies.

As emerging leaders of their party, Arizona’s Young Republicans will set the tone for their party’s policies in the state. Since those policies will affect all Arizonans, we must ask ourselves: Do we really want the next generation of Arizona’s Republicans to espouse and accept the kinds of views expressed in this chat?

We should demand better of our future leaders. I hope that the Arizona Republican Party will take steps to disavow the comments of Mosiman and Hope and to actively pursue policies that benefit and include all Arizonans.