Richard Spencer Quotes A Jewish, Gay Composer When Trying To Invoke Nazis
Image by Getty
By Thea Glassman March 20, 2017
White supremacist and anti-Semite Richard Spencer isn’t having a great week.
Nope, he wasn’t punched in the face again — but he did lose tax-exempt status for his National Policy Institute “think tank” and accidentally tweeted out a song written by a Jewish, gay composer.
It all started when Josh Marshall, editor of Talking Points Memo, told Spencer over Twitter to take his “trash philosophy back to the 1930s.” Spencer responded: “1930s? No, tomorrow belongs to us” and then posted a clip of the “Cabaret” song “Tomorrow Belongs To Me”
Image by twitter
On the surface, the song, sung by a Nazi youth and known as the unofficial anthem for white supremacists, is pretty fitting.
Then, came a response from Jason Kander, nephew of John Kander, the song’s composer. Jason Kander is a Democratic politician and Army veteran from Missouri who narrowly lost a race to represent the state in the United States senate in November. He’s considered a rising Democratic party star.
“Hey buddy, that song you love was written by my uncle. He’s been married to my other uncle for 40 years. And he’s a Jew. Sing it proud.”
Image by twitter
Oh yeah, and bonus points, Kadner added that it was his uncle’s 90th birthday that day.
His tweet has since garnered almost 127,000 likes — and a whole lot of happy commentators.
“Best. Tweet. Ever.”
@JasonKander Best. Tweet. Ever.
— Anita Creamer (@AnitaCreamer) March 18, 2017
“Not all Nazi-punching is physical. Well done, sir.”
@JasonKander Not all Nazi-punching is physical. Well done, sir.
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) March 18, 2017
“I love how Richard Spencer can love Cabaret and somehow not realize it’s like the gayest musical ever, in a good way.”
@JasonKander I love how Richard Spencer can love Cabaret and somehow not realize it’s like the gayest musical ever, in a good way
— Benjamin Schouten (@benGSchout) March 18, 2017
Maybe time for a new Nazi anthem?
Thea Glassman is an Associate Editor at the Forward. Reach her at glassman@forward.com or on Twitter at @theakglassman.
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