Missouri House Primary Winner Once Said “Hitler was Right”

Local Missouri radio host Steve West, who once declared “Hitler was right” on air, has been nominated as the Republican candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives. West won the GOP nomination by nearly 25 points in Missouri’s 15th District.

West uses his Monday morning radio show on KCXL to promote right-leaning conspiracies about “Jewish cabals” that are “harvesting baby parts” through the use of Planned Parenthood. On Jan. 23, 2017, West said, “Looking back in history, unfortunately, Hitler was right about what was taking place in Germany. And who was behind it.” West also uses his YouTube channel and website to promote his hate-filled agenda. In his YouTube videos, he wears a wig and straps on a beard, calling himself Jack Justice. West’s YouTube persona is prone to spewing hate speech, including (but not limited to) bigotry such as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and full-on racism. Meanwhile, his website includes articles such as, “The Coming Battle with Islam.”

Now, West is an official candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives. His platform revolves around the same agenda he promotes on the radio and online: racism. One of the main planks of his platform is Islam, about which he says, “Most working men and women agree that Islam is a problem, but may not know how to address or explain it. I can do that, and I can lead a thoughtful discussion and without malice.” Another issue West is concerned about is pornography. Yes, that’s actually in his platform. He says, “Most working men and women can agree that porn is poisoning and detrimental to our young, creating all kinds of problems.” His platform also includes “education reform,” which at first, seems like a pretty normal political platform. However, the section reads:

When you talk about public education, most parents don’t want their children recieving alternative sex ed, or having to deal with or be around the LGBT clubs and staff at all the public schools today. Parents know their children are very impressionable and can easily be led down self destructive and wrong paths. It’s OK that some parents and students approve it, they’ve got their public schools, but many, and I would say most parents don’t want their children around it especially at a time when they are changing dramatically, are so vulnerable, and don’t understand themselves what’s happening to them. The last thing they need is gender confusion being peddled in our public schools. 

West’s campaign website lacks any sort of statistics or polling when referring to “most people” throughout this platform.

The Kansas City Star has reached out to West for a statement concerning his history of hateful statements. He refused to comment but said, “You guys want to make it an issue, you can go there, but I’m not going to comment on that. I’m not running as a radio show host, I’m running for state representative. I’m sorry. I’m not going to have this discussion.”

However, as he continued to talk, he just couldn’t contain his opinions. “Jewish people can be beautiful people, but there’s ideologies associated with that that I don’t agree with,” he told the Star. “Jews today are a remnant of the tribe of Judah that rejected Christ.” When asked about representing the Jewish citizens of Missouri, he said, “Well, maybe they shouldn’t vote for me.”

On Thursday, the Missouri Republican Party released a statement:

Steve West’s shocking and vile comments do not reflect the position of the Missouri Republican Party or indeed of any decent individual. West’s abhorrent rhetoric has absolutely no place in the Missouri Republican Party or anywhere. We wholeheartedly condemn his comments.

The Democratic incumbent for Missouri’s House Rep. Jon Carpenter responded to Wests’ statements:

The fact that Mr. West won the primary should highlight to people—did they really know what they were voting for? One thing I’ve said for years about extremists is that they’re out on the fringe and we should keep them there. It is my hope that folks who voted for Steve West in the Republican primary weren’t aware of any of this stuff. I sincerely hope that’s true. … I can’t think of a single American political candidate in the 21st century who has engaged in this level of hate speech and unhinged conspiracy-mongering who actually won a primary election. I just want everyone who lives in this community to know that they’re welcome here. Muslims, Jews, Catholics, the LGBTQ community, people of all races and national origins, and everyone else Steve West has targeted with hate. His views do not reflect our values. We’ll stand together and love will conquer hate, as it always does.

Let’s hope the people of Missouri feel the same way Carpenter does.