SAN DIEGO — I love the smell of vindication in the morning. I'm getting a strong whiff now that at least some conservatives are finally acknowledging something I've tried to get them to confront for years: Anti-Semitism is alive and well within the Republican Party.

As a Mexican American who is horrified by ethnocentric immigration raids, I would have preferred if the right-wingers had also admitted their racism. But I'll settle for baby steps.

In Dec 2023, I appeared on a Texas-based radio show co-hosted by a pair of conservatives (one Republican, one Democrat) who were eager to grill me about anti-Semitism on the left.

All the hosts wanted to talk about was the scary women of color and members of Congress on "The Squad." They include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. They have all been critical of Israel, even before our ally in the Middle East launched its bombing campaign and ground war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, in response to a devastating attack by Hamas terrorists.

I reminded the hosts that anti-Semitism exists in every family, including their own. I brought up Pat Buchanan, the conservative commentator and former presidential candidate who, while stumping in Iowa, blamed the farm crisis on the "money boys up in New York." In 1991, Buchanan was called out by William F. Buckley for insinuating that American Jews had prodded the United States into the first Gulf War, a charge that Buckley said "amounted to anti-Semitism."

On the right wing, hatred of the Jews isn't tied to Gaza. Rather, much of it is fueled by the groypers. The term refers to a posse of Christian white nationalist idiots who think Jewish-Americans have too much influence over media, business, and politics. The groypers show they're "America First" by bashing Israel and anyone who defends it.

The movement is led by Nick Fuentes, a 27-year-old podcaster and provocateur with more than 1 million followers on X and a strong following among angry young white men in Generation Z. In other words, the groyper-in-chief serves the same constituency as President Donald Trump, who dined with him at Mar-a-Lago in November 2022.

Fuentes' public comments about Jews, women, immigrants, Blacks, Latinos, LGBTQ folks and other marginalized groups are gross.

He has praised Adolf Hitler as "very cool" and "awesome," and mocked the Holocaust by likening the six million Jews who died to cookies in an oven.

Fuentes is disgusting. Yet Tucker Carlson — who has also been accused of anti-Semitism — recently invited him onto his online talk show. For about two hours, Carlson tossed softballs at Fuentes in an interview that has now been viewed more than 20 million times.

That conversation sparked a civil war over anti-Semitism which is — as noted by an editorial in the Wall Street Journal — "growing on the new right" and "spreading wider and faster than we thought."

In one camp, you'll find Carlson and Candace Owens, another critic of Israel who has dabbled in anti-Semitism. They are joined by Megyn Kelly and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, both of whom defended Carlson for interviewing Fuentes. In the opposing camp, there are radio hosts Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro, who are both Jewish, as well as author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza, all of whom disavow Fuentes and condemn Carlson for giving him a platform.

And in the middle of this gang turf war is Vice President JD Vance, who is a friend of Carlson but who called Fuentes "a total loser."

Fuentes has repeatedly attacked Usha Vance, who is Indian American, and slammed the vice president as a "race mixer." Just last month, the podcaster mentioned JD Vance and said this: "Who is this guy, really? Do we really expect that the guy who has an Indian wife and named their kid 'Vivek' is going to support white identity?"

Writing for the Free Press, Victor David Hanson, yet another conservative, bemoans the "new anti-Semitism" on the right.

Look who just woke up from his nap. There is nothing new about anti-Semitism on the right. It's been there for years. Same with racism. The only difference is that now the group being attacked is one that some conservatives actually care about. As a mostly white party, Republicans won't raise their voices in defense of Blacks and Latinos.

Big mistake. This is one battle. The haters might start with us, but they will eventually make their way to history's original scapegoats.

Many conservatives have been slow to acknowledge the anti-Semitism within the Republican Party. How about now?

To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Mr Cup / Fabien Barral at Unsplash