The Political Cesspool

James Edwards Edwards is a far-right political activist from Memphis, Tennessee, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a rising figure of the modern white-nationalist movement. He attended Briarcrest Christian School, a private school in Memphis, and in ninth grade transferred into a Christian-nationalist homeschooling program, a decision that he said led him into political activism. In 2000 he volunteered for Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign, and in 2002 ran unsuccessfully for the Tennessee House of Representatives. It was during this campaign that he met fellow activist Austin Farley, who was on the ballot against him. In October of that year, he and Farley established The Political Cesspool. In 2007, Edwards was part of a panel that appeared on CNN's Paula Zahn Now, along with Roland S. Martin and Jesse Lee Peterson. The purpose was to discuss racial segregation in American cities. He told Zahn that white children should seek out those who share "the same values and traditions and heroes," and that "forced integration" was a "march toward totalitarianism." He said: "Crime and violence follow African-Americans wherever they go, and if you think that is racist, then spend some time on the mean streets of south Memphis." Edwards made a second appearance on Paula Zahn Now in 2009, during which he said: "Whites are in for the fight of their lives. America is becoming balkanized. We are being robbed of having a future in the very nation our ancestors carved from the wilderness." Also in 2010 he self-published a book, Racism, Schmacism: How Liberals use the "R" Word to Push the Obama Agenda, distributed by CreateSpace, a self-publishing printer. Staff and show history Other staff at The Political Cesspool include Bill Rolen, Eddie "The Bombardier" Miller, Keith Alexander, and Winston Smith. According to the show's website, most of the staff claim descent from Confederate soldiers. The show was initially broadcast on AM 1600 WMQM, a Memphis-based radio station, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Edwards and Farley invited friends Bill Rolen, a board member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, Two years later, Geoff Melton, a former co-host, joined to help set up the show's website and the show entered syndication with Dixie Broadcasting Radio Network. The program went on hiatus on February 15, 2008, because staff members said they needed a break, As of August 2009, Bonds and Melton are no longer affiliated with the program. The show is listener-supported and, according to Edwards, receives more donations from Florida than from any other state. ==Statement of principles==

The Political Cesspool describes its philosophy as "pro-White" and "against political centralization". Its statement of principles, with material borrowed from the Council of Conservative Citizens, reads: ==Guests==

The Political Cesspool has over the years featured many guest appearances, including political activists, Holocaust deniers, have featured. Author Jerome Corsi was interviewed in July 2008. During the discussion he spoke about his financial newsletter, and promoted his book The Obama Nation, which includes several statements that have been widely described as racist; for example, he opined that US President Barack Obama identifies more with his "African blood" than his American roots and that the President "rejects everyone white, including his mother and his grandparents". Corsi scheduled another promotional appearance on The Political Cesspool, but one month later he canceled this appearance, citing "travel plans that changed". Edwards said that he believed the incident "just goes to show what incredible pressure everyone in public life is under to never have anything to do with anyone who speaks up for the interests of white people." Fellow authors John Derbyshire and Steve Sailer Constitution Party nominee Michael Peroutka used his appearance in 2004 to promote his presidential campaign. Party member Michael Goza described the show as "Christian/Constitutionalist", and "a great blessing to our cause". Thomas Naylor, of the Vermont secessionist organization Second Vermont Republic, appeared on the show to celebrate Confederate History Month in April 2007, while American Freedom Party Chairman Bill Johnson appeared to promote his party. Gilchrist's colleague in the Minuteman movement, Chris Simcox, has also been a guest of the show. Paul Babeu, the sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, appeared on The Political Cesspool on July 10, 2010 to discuss illegal immigration; during the interview, he referred to James Edwards as a "great American". Following Babeu's spokesman's apology, Edwards alleged that Babeu was aware of the show's true ideology prior to appearing on the show, saying: "For Sheriff Babeu to change his mind and now regret coming on our show, for whatever reason, is his right. For him to act as though he had no idea of our ideology is a lie." As a result of the controversy surrounding Babeu's appearance on the show, Arizona U.S. Senate candidate J. D. Hayworth asked his primary opponent, John McCain, to drop several campaign ads featuring McCain and Babeu. In 2011, another sheriff, Dennis Spruell of Montezuma County, Colorado, also apologized after appearing on the show without knowing its actual agenda. Paleoconservative activist and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan has appeared twice as of 2011. Self-proclaimed "racial realist" Jared Taylor, whom James Edwards considers to be a close friend, Although describing itself as "America First", the show has also hosted foreign guests, including Croatian white nationalist Tomislav Sunić, Australian white nationalist Drew Fraser, Russian Austrian School economist Yuri N. Maltsev, British lawyer Adrian Davies, Canadian white supremacist Paul Fromm, Canadian conservative blogger Kathy Shaidle, and British National Party (BNP) leaders Simon Darby and Nick Griffin; Griffin appeared as a guest before and after his election to the European Parliament. During his post-election appearance, Griffin attributed the BNP's electoral successes to a fear of "creeping process of Islamification". Actor Mel Gibson's father, Hutton Gibson, has also appeared on the show. During his appearance, he referred to Pope Benedict XVI as a "homosexual" and claimed that "half the people in the Vatican are queer." ==Controversy and criticism==

The show has frequently been criticised by anti-racist groups and individuals (such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Stephen Roth Institute, and journalist Max Blumenthal) over its stated ideology. The Political Cesspool was added to the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group watch list in 2006. James Edwards was "ecstatic", saying "I don't think you've arrived in the conservative movement until you've made it to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hate Watch". Edwards describes the SPLC as a group composed of "communists and civil rights hustlers". and as "the nexus of hate in America". The Anti-Defamation League has also criticized the show; Edwards has attacked the ADL as "America's most powerful hate group" and has claimed that its definition of a "neo-Nazi [is] any white person who disagrees with a Jew". Author John Avlon, a former speechwriter for Rudy Giuliani, has described The Political Cesspool as "avowedly white supremacist". Max Blumenthal, who reported on an attempt by one of the show's staff to advertise at a rally for Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, described The Political Cesspool as having a "racist ideology", and highlighted anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic comments that Edwards had made on his blog. The Stephen Roth Institute has also commented on the show, noting that "[James] Edwards openly espoused many of his guests' views and during speeches to extremist audiences, including members of the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens and the racist League of the South, he gained the support of a wide array of extremists." In an article about antisemitism in Belgium, the Institute commented on the show's interview with Filip Dewinter, a member of the Belgian Parliament and a leader of the extremist Vlaams Belang movement. Newsweek used one of Winston Smith's statements to argue that the rise in popularity of white nationalism and supremacy is due to the combination of the late-2000s recession and the election of a black president. Many such groups have been attempting to gain new recruits and increase their political influence by rebranding themselves as defenders of "white heritage" while de-emphasizing their dislike of minorities and Jews. Smith states, "[t]he emphasis is different now. We don't talk as much about what blacks have done to us; we're more focused on ourselves and our own culture." City Park demonstration In 2005, the staff of The Political Cesspool organized a rally at the Tennessee area known as Confederate Park, which, along with two other Confederacy-themed parks in downtown Memphis, has been the subject of a longtime controversy for honoring Confederate soldiers and ideals. from downtown Memphis to another park honoring Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest who was involved early in the organization of the Ku Klux Klan. Sharpton canceled the march after Edwards and The Political Cesspool staff obtained a permit to demonstrate in Confederate Park, located along Sharpton's planned march route. Le Journal du Dimanche interview In an interview with the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, cohost Eddie "Bombardier" Miller described the United Nations as "Satan on Earth". Donald Trump Jr. interview In 2016, Edwards co-hosted a Super Tuesday broadcast that interviewed Donald Trump Jr., the son of Republican party then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Edwards praised the elder Trump and encouraged his supporters to vote for him. ==Radio stations that air the show==

As of 2011, The Political Cesspool airs on WLRM in Memphis, Tennessee, KHQN in Spanish Fork, Utah; and the Florida-based Accent Radio Network. The Accent Radio Network and KHQN air a shortened two-hour version of the show, ARN and Liberty News Radio Network broadcasts their feeds on separate channels on the Galaxy 19 communications satellite. ==See also==