NC GOP candidate a racist ‘theologian’
Earlier this week, Republicans in North Carolina withdrew support for state assembly candidate Russell Walker, whose campaign site included claims like “God is a racist” and “[Jews] all descend from Satan.”
While these statements sound like random bigoted nonsense, they are rooted in an entire racist theological system called Christian identity, the central tenet of which is the “two seedline” doctrine.
Adherents believe that whites are the direct descendants of Adam—the “Adamic” race—while other races, including Jews, originated from a union between Eve and Satan. It’s a throwback to old racialist theories based on religion like the Hamitic hypothesis.
His site references Deut. 7:6 “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are.”
This verse is central to Christian identity theology. It is cited as the biblical basis of white supremacy, providing scriptural support for the idea that members of the white Adamic race are the true Israelites chosen by God to rule the earth.
Along with the quasi-religious Creativity movement, Christian identity held a place of prominence in white supremacy during the latter half of the 20th century, but it is now in decline, with leaders dying off and congregations disbanding.
SPLC reports there are now 20 Christian identity organizations operating in the US—down from a peak of 58 in 2011. The younger generation prefers pseudoscientific justifications for their racist worldview, i.e. “human biodiversity,” or if they go the religious route, they’re more likely to choose trendier beliefs like “folkish” heathenry.
Walker, who appears to be in his 60s, is a relic. And even among the outcasts that populate Christian identity circles, he’s considered somewhat of a pariah and a troll.
A few years back he got into an online slapfight with Martin Lindstedt, a Christian Identity pastor from Missouri who was arrested for sex with a child in 2005. The dispute, which played out on white nationalist forums and Youtube, mostly revolved around bizarre theological questions.
For claiming that Jesus was not descended from the tribe of Judah, Lindstedt labelled Walker a “heretic” and “a Jew.”
So how do openly racist wingnuts like Walker and Illinois Republican candidate Arthur Jones keep winning primaries? Aside from the ongoing normalization of far-right ideas brought on by Trump’s presidency, these fringe candidates point to vulnerabilities within the democratic system itself.
Low voter turnout in the primaries can allow someone with minimal support to claim victory. Walker won with 65 percent of the vote, but in this case that was little more than 800 voters.
Far-right candidates often run in races in which there is a strong Democratic incumbent and Republicans aren’t likely to present a serious challenger. Garland Pierce, Walker’s opponent in the general, has been in office since 2004.
Others like Paul Nehlen and Patrick Little have had little success at the polls but these “meme candidates” have attracted a cult following on the alt-right. It’s tempting to see the denunciations by the GOP establishment as a sign that the system is working and that people like this will never be seated in the halls of power, but they’ve cleared the first hurdle of that objective. Their foot is in the door.
