GOP solicits mailing lists from racist groups

Anyone who's visited right-wing blog world is fully aware of the racism that often appears. If not from bloggers themselves, then from readers who post angry, paranoid comments. That, in turn, has led many prominent right-wing blogs to either remove the comments geature all together or implement screening tools that eliminate comments containing certain keywords. Probably things like 'raghead.' Makes the readership look less like angry morons, ya see.

But the GOP has a reputation as the party of racism for a pretty good reason. Behold:

For eight years, a major direct-mail firm "specializing in the Christian and conservative markets" has been selling lists of the readers of America's leading anti-Semitic newspaper and, since about 2001, its successor publication.

Response Unlimited, based in Waynesboro, Va., and headed by Christian Right activist Philip Zodhiates, charges $100 for the rental of every 1,000 names of subscribers to the now-defunct Spotlight newspaper. Founded by veteran anti-Semite Willis Carto, The Spotlight carried anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic and wildly conspiracist articles interspersed with ads for Klan, neo-Nazi and related hate groups.

That isn't the only list of kook database that Zodhiates offers, but what a fun bunch! So who's buying these names?

Zodhiates did not respond to E-mail and telephone requests for comment from the Intelligence Report. But it's clear that the lists have sold well, especially to political groups on the right. According to Response Unlimited's website, Spotlight list purchasers have included the Republican Governors Association; the National Right to Work Foundation; the Mountain States Legal Foundation; U.S. English, an English-only group; and the hard-right Washington Times newspaper.