| Notes |
Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), the ultra-conservative congressman tapped by Donald Trump to run the Office of Management and Budget, recently accepted a speaking invitation from the notorious John Birch Society, an extreme right-wing group known for peddling outlandish conspiracy theories for more than half a century.
In July, Mulvaney spoke at a dinner held by a local chapter of the group, which has long been exiled from mainstream conservatism.
His July speech, flagged by the Democratic opposition research group American Bridge, was billed as an address on “the Federal Reserve’s role in bailing out Europe.” According to its website, the John Birch Society believes that the Federal Reserve is unconstitutional and should be abolished and that “the only constitutional money is gold and silver coin.”
After South Carolina Democrats criticized Mulvaney for appearing before the group, he defended the decision, saying, “I regularly speak to groups across the political spectrum because my constituents deserve access to their congressman. I can’t remember ever turning down an opportunity to speak to a group based on the group’s political ideology.” |