The Political Cesspool
Genre | Talk show |
---|---|
Running time | Three hours |
Country of origin | United States |
Home station | WLRM |
Syndicates | Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network[1] |
Starring | James Edwards, Keith Alexander, Bill Rolen, Winston Smith, Eddie "The Bombardier" Miller[2][3] |
Created by | James Edwards, Austin Farley[2] |
Produced by | Art Frith |
Recording studio | Millington, Tennessee |
Original release | October 26, 2004 – Present |
No. of episodes | One per week |
Website | thepoliticalcesspool.org |
Podcast | Podbean |
The Political Cesspool is a weekly
According to its statement of principles, the show stands for the "Dispossessed Majority" and represents "a philosophy that is pro-White."
The show features Edwards and his co-hosts Keith Alexander, Bill Rolen, Winston Smith, and Eddie Miller, as well as producer Art Frith. Former staffers include Geoff Melton, Jess Bonds and co-founder Austin Farley. Its guests have included author
Background
James Edwards
Edwards is a far-right political activist from Memphis, Tennessee, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a rising star of the modern white-nationalist movement. They write that he is articulate, charming, and at ease in front of the public, as well as in television and radio studios. He attended Briarcrest Christian School, a private school in Memphis, and in ninth grade transferred into a Christian-nationalist homeschooling program, a decision that he said led him into political activism.[10] In 2000 he volunteered for Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign, and in 2002 ran unsuccessfully for the Tennessee House of Representatives. It was during this campaign that he met fellow activist Austin Farley, who was on the ballot against him.[5] In October of that year, he and Farley established The Political Cesspool.[11]
In 2007, Edwards was part of a panel that appeared on
In 2010, he became involved with a new party, the American Freedom Party, which advocates white nationalism and a form of economic nationalism known as the Third Position.[13] Also in 2010 he self-published a book, Racism, Schmacism: How Liberals use the "R" Word to Push the Obama Agenda, distributed by CreateSpace, a self-publishing printer.[14]
Staff and show history
Other staff at The Political Cesspool include Bill Rolen, Eddie "The Bombardier" Miller, Keith Alexander,
In 2005 the group moved to WMQM's Millington-based sister station, AM 1380
Statement of principles
The Political Cesspool describes its philosophy as "pro-White" and "against political centralization". Its statement of principles, with material borrowed from the Council of Conservative Citizens,[20] reads:
The Political Cesspool Radio Program stands for The Dispossessed Majority. We represent a philosophy that is pro-White and are against political centralization. You can trust The Political Cesspool to give you the "other side of the news"—to report on events which are vital to your welfare but which would otherwise be hushed up or distorted by the controlled press.
We make no attempt to give you "both sides." We'll leave the establishment side to your daily newspaper, television and other radio shows. We will bring to you some of the most renowned thinkers, writers, pundits, activists, entertainers and elected officials each broadcast as our guests. Furthermore, we pledge that The Political Cesspool will correct any meaningful error or fact. Make up your own mind who is being honest with you: the establishment media or The Political Cesspool Radio Program.
- The United States government should be independent of any international organization of governments and American law should not be imposed by organizations such as the United Nations.
- America would not be as prosperous, ruggedly individualistic, and a land of opportunity if the founding stock were not Europeans.
- Since family is the foundation of any strong society, we are against feminism, abortion, and primitivism.
- Private property rights are inviolable. They come from our God-given right to life.
- We wish to revive the White birthrate above replacement level fertility and beyond to grow the percentage of Whites in the world relative to other races.
- Issues such as education, environmental law, and police should be decentralized down to the lowest level to insure natural rights and efficiency.
- Secession is a right of all people and individuals. It was successful in 1776 and this show honors those who tried to make it successful in 1865.
- We are cultural conservatives because we have certain morals to which we adhere. We are against homosexuality, vulgarity, loveless sex, and masochism.
- We wish for American government to stop interfering politically, militarily, and socially outside of the borders of the United States of America. We want non-interventionism.[6]
Guests
The Political Cesspool has over the years featured many guest appearances, including political activists,
Author Jerome Corsi was interviewed in July 2008. During the discussion he spoke about his financial newsletter, and promoted his book The Obama Nation, which includes several statements that have been widely described as racist; for example, he opined that US President Barack Obama identifies more with his "African blood" than his American roots[25] and that the President "rejects everyone white, including his mother and his grandparents".[26] Corsi scheduled another promotional appearance on The Political Cesspool, but one month later he canceled this appearance, citing "travel plans that changed".[27] Edwards said that he believed the incident "just goes to show what incredible pressure everyone in public life is under to never have anything to do with anyone who speaks up for the interests of white people."[28][29] Fellow authors John Derbyshire[30] and Steve Sailer[23] have also been guests. In July 2011, WorldNetDaily columnist Ilana Mercer appeared on the show.[31]
On May 8, 2006, Minuteman Project leader
Paul Babeu, the sheriff of
Paleoconservative activist and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan has appeared twice as of 2011.[42] In a June 2008 interview initiated and arranged by his publicist, he promoted his book Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War. During the broadcast, Buchanan defended Charles Lindbergh against charges of antisemitism, stating that his reputation "has been blackened because of a single speech he gave and a couple of paragraphs in it where he said that ... the Jewish community is beating the drums for war but frankly, no one has said what he said was palpably untrue." At the end of the interview, James Edwards said, "Mr. Buchanan, thank you so much for coming back on our program, for fighting for our people."[8] Previously, in September 2006, Buchanan had made an appearance to promote his book State of Emergency; during this interview, he said that "we are being invaded by people of different cultures" and argued that Americans "cannot survive a bifurcated culture or a heavily Hispanicized culture, tilted towards Mexico ... I think that's the beginning of the end of the United States." [43][44]
Self-proclaimed "
Actor Mel Gibson's father, Hutton Gibson, has also appeared on the show. During his appearance, he referred to Pope Benedict XVI as a "homosexual" and claimed that "half the people in the Vatican are queer."[48]
Controversy and criticism
The show has frequently been criticised by anti-racist groups and individuals (such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL),[49] Stephen Roth Institute, and journalist Max Blumenthal) over its stated ideology. The Political Cesspool was added to the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group watch list in 2006. James Edwards was "ecstatic", saying "I don't think you've arrived in the conservative movement until you've made it to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hate Watch". Edwards describes the SPLC as a group composed of "communists and civil rights hustlers".[16][20] The SPLC's Hatewatch has referred to The Political Cesspool as "an overtly racist, anti-Semitic radio show hosted by [a] self-avowed white nationalist"[50] and as "the nexus of hate in America".[22] The Anti-Defamation League has also criticized the show; Edwards has attacked the ADL as "America's most powerful hate group" and has claimed that its definition of a "neo-Nazi [is] any white person who disagrees with a Jew".[22][51]
Author John Avlon, a former speechwriter for Rudy Giuliani, has described The Political Cesspool as "avowedly white supremacist".[42] Max Blumenthal, who reported on an attempt by one of the show's staff to advertise at a rally for Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, described The Political Cesspool as having a "racist ideology", and highlighted anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic comments that Edwards had made on his blog.[52][53] The Stephen Roth Institute has also commented on the show, noting that "[James] Edwards openly espoused many of his guests' views and during speeches to extremist audiences, including members of the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens and the racist League of the South, he gained the support of a wide array of extremists." In an article about antisemitism in Belgium, the Institute commented on the show's interview with Filip Dewinter, a member of the Belgian Parliament and a leader of the extremist Vlaams Belang movement.[54]
Newsweek used one of Winston Smith's statements to argue that the rise in popularity of white nationalism and supremacy is due to the combination of the late-2000s recession and the election of a black president. Many such groups have been attempting to gain new recruits and increase their political influence by rebranding themselves as defenders of "white heritage" while de-emphasizing their dislike of minorities and Jews. Smith states, "[t]he emphasis is different now. We don't talk as much about what blacks have done to us; we're more focused on ourselves and our own culture."[55]
City Park demonstration
In 2005, the staff of The Political Cesspool organized a rally at the Tennessee area known as Confederate Park, which, along with two other Confederacy-themed parks in downtown Memphis, has been the subject of a longtime controversy for honoring Confederate soldiers and ideals.[11] The park had been criticized earlier by a black Shelby County official, which attracted the notice of New York-based activist Al Sharpton, who was invited by the Reverend LaSimba Gray to hold a demonstration in Memphis. Sharpton planned a march called the Rally for Dignity[56] from downtown Memphis to another park honoring Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest who was involved early in the organization of the Ku Klux Klan.[57] Sharpton canceled the march after Edwards and The Political Cesspool staff obtained a permit to demonstrate in Confederate Park, located along Sharpton's planned march route.[5]
Sharpton settled for a protest at Forrest Park. At the demonstration, he argued that "We need to show the rest of the world that the day for honoring people like this is over", and said in an interview that his objections were not related to race but to Forrest's Civil War-era (1861–1865) actions against the United States.[56] Estimates of attendance at the rallies vary; according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, James Edwards attracted about 200 white counter-demonstrators to the Confederate Park vigil, while Sharpton's protest at Forrest Park attracted a few dozen black demonstrators, whom Edwards referred to as "rabble".[5] The Memphis Flyer estimated that Sharpton attracted about 250 supporters.[56] In the aftermath of the city park controversy, show affiliates Edwards, Farley, Bonds, and Rolen received the "Dixie Defender Award" from the Sons of Confederate Veterans.[2]
Later that year, Memphis city councilman E. C. Jones awarded Edwards and Farley with a certificate "in appreciation of outstanding contributions to the community". Edwards and Farley also received an honorary city council membership from Jones, who had previously appeared on The Political Cesspool. According to The Commercial Appeal, Jones had not listened to the show before the incident, and was unaware of its ideology. After a reporter informed him of the program's agenda, Jones initially refused to apologize. However, after another reporter confronted him with more details about the show's ideology, he changed his view, saying that he probably would not appear again.[20] Carol Chumney, another member of the Memphis City Council, was also invited to appear on The Political Cesspool, but ultimately declined the invitation after listening to an episode of the show; Chumney said, "what I heard was about advocating for prostitution ... So I told them I had other commitments."[20]
Le Journal du Dimanche interview
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, cohost Eddie "Bombardier" Miller described the United Nations as "Satan on Earth".[58][59]
Donald Trump Jr. interview
In 2016, Edwards co-hosted a Super Tuesday broadcast that interviewed Donald Trump Jr., the son of Republican party then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Edwards praised the elder Trump and encouraged his supporters to vote for him.[60]
Radio stations that air the show
As of 2011, The Political Cesspool airs on WLRM in Memphis, Tennessee,[61] KHQN in Spanish Fork, Utah;[62] and the Florida-based Accent Radio Network.[63] The Accent Radio Network and KHQN air a shortened two-hour version of the show,[62][63] in contrast to the three-hour Liberty News Radio Network (WLRM) version.[64][65]
ARN and Liberty News Radio Network broadcasts their feeds on separate channels on the Galaxy 19 communications satellite.[66]
See also
References
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External links