A white nationalist group linked to the organizer of the white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia is coming to Colorado.
Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs is under intense political pressure to back out of hosting the VDARE conference next year.
VDARE wants to limit immigration. Its articles often expound the virtues of white people, and criticize minorities.
Jason Kessler, prior to leading the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, wrote for VDARE on anti-white genocide and the plight of white people in America.
This weekend, VDARE blamed violent counter-protesters and police, but cast no blame with white supremacists, which it said had a pro-white message.
Tom Tancredo, the former Colorado congressman who ran for President as a Republican on an anti-illegal immigration platform, is scheduled to speak at the VDARE conference at Cheyenne Mountain Resort next April.
He said the efforts that forced the group out of one conference location already are leftist attempts to suppress speech and incite violence.
In a phone conversation between Kyle Clark and Tancredo, he said this:
The people on the Left – their hopes – they’re obsessed actually with trying to stop people from saying things with which they disagree. They’re obsessed with it to the extent that they stop it on college campuses, speakers from coming. They try to stop it at public venues, like the one we’re talking about – conferences. It’s not surprising that they would have looked at the events in Charlottesville, and said, ‘Oh good. Where can we go now and raise some other trouble and pretend that these things are connected?’
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Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve never read it. I’ve never read the stuff you’re talking about. I don’t know. I do know the conferences I have attended in the past, and I have attended VDARE conferences in the past, have never presented themselves – or no one, I should say, ever got up and talked about anything I felt uncomfortable about, especially in the way you’re describing it. Usually white supremacists, or black supremacists, or brown supremacists, and there are people in all three categories, and there are more than that probably I’m sure, but those come to mind, they are all repugnant to me.
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I wouldn’t even try to stop a conference put on by those people. I wouldn’t go, but I would never try to stop it. It’s not in my DNA, I’ll tell you that. And, as for these other people, they can write what they want and say what they want, as long as I’m only held to account for the things I do and say, that’s all that’s important to me.
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(White supremacy) is horrible. It’s ugly as hell. The things they say are repugnant to me. The image they portray is repugnant to me. But Kyle, the First Amendment … is to protect and defend unorthodox – speech you don’t like. You don’t need a First Amendment to protect speech everybody feels good about. You only need it to protect the ideas that you know a lot of people may disagree with.
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There are two sides to this ugliness.
KC: The President got flayed pretty good for saying that.
Yeah, he did. And he shouldn’t have been because he was absolutely right. I think it was right to say, you know, this is – this ugly behavior is unacceptable no matter who is doing it. And if you want me to say white racist, okay, or white supremacist. Today he kind of came back out and said, ‘Okay, you want to hear these words? I’ll use them, if you think that that matters. If you think that they’re somehow, that makes it that I’m opposed to this kind of behavior.
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But Kyle, I am telling you, I have seen it. Believe it. I have seen it with my own eyes, the hatred that is on the other side, and it is damn ugly. It’s going to get worse. As I say, it’s the balkanization of America.
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Kyle, this conference that they’re trying to stop. I am positive of this, that there’s not going to be a soul from VDARE out on the streets with pitchforks and torches. You know, or flags, or not paraphernalia, or any other crap like that. And who will show up, who’s most likely to show up and cause problems if indeed problems are caused? I don’t think it’s going to be VDARE.
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I’ll guarantee you this. If I hear anything to me that sounds like white supremacist talk, I’m out of there, you know, but I’ve never heard that from them.
A Cheyenne Mountain Resort spokeswoman said they are preparing a response for Next. As of Monday night, they have yet to send one. VDARE told Kyle that the event is still on, and the contract calls for penalties against the resort if they cancel.
Media Matters, a national liberal organization, got VDARE booted from a resort in California, and is turning its pressure on Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said Monday evening that the city does not condone hate speech, and will not provide any resources for the VDARE conference:
The City of Colorado Springs does not have the authority to restrict freedom of speech, nor to direct private businesses like the Cheyenne Mountain Resort as to which events they may host. That said, I would encourage local businesses to be attentive to the types of events they accept and the groups that they invite to our great city.
The City of Colorado Springs will not provide any support or resources to this event, and does not condone hate speech in any fashion. The City remains steadfast in its commitment to the enforcement of Colorado law, which protects all individuals regardless of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, harassment and physical harm.
