Flagstaff Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers made headlines last week for celebrating the victory of far-right parties in Germany by posting lyrics from the country’s national anthem that were banned because they are a rallying cry for the Nazis, but the lawmaker has long befriended and amplified racists and antisemites. Last week on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Rogers posted the phrase “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles” after far-right German parties won multiple elections in the country. Those lyrics were banned in Germany after World War II as they were used by Hitler’s Nazi party to stir up nationalism and as a rallying cry. Some local and national media picked up on Rogers’ use of the phrase, and the lawmaker denounced the criticism in a lengthy post on social media. “I don’t usually waste my time responding to Soros-funded smear campaigns from the Marxist press, but it seems they’re desperate for traffic this week,” Rogers said, referring to antisemitic conspiracy theories around billionaire George Soros and the longstanding antisemitic trope that Jewish people control the media. Rogers often attempts to link Soros, a prominent liberal philanthropist and target of Republicans, to her criticisms of media she dislikes. Rogers went on to say her great grandfather served in World War I against Germany and that her grandfather served in Germany after WWI. She also commented that her father served during WWII against Germany and that she, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, was stationed in Germany. “So, when it comes to military history and Germany’s role, I have a bit more experience than my Soros-funded Marxist press friends,” Rogers said, adding that any “affiliation” she has with “National Socialism” is “laughable” and “absurd.” “I reject that narrative entirely. Liking Germany, a current U.S. ally, doesn’t equate to aligning with Nazis,” Rogers said, avoiding the actual criticism of the pro-Nazi lyrics she posted. “Maybe if these Arizona press trolls actually visited Germany, they’d loosen up a little. It’s a beautiful place and lots of fun.”
via azmirror: Wendy Rogers posted pro-Nazi lyrics. She has a long history of amplifying antisemites online