--- title: CPAC: Conservative Group Head Calls Alt-Right 'Fascists' description: The head of a major conservative organization argued that the so-called "alt right" is a cover for a "hate-filled left-wing fascist group" canonical: https://time.com/4680236/cpac-alt-right-left-wing-fascists-dan-schneider/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-23T15:30:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:17:58.396Z article:section: Politics og:title: A Top Conservative Said the Alt-Right Are Actually 'Left-Wing Fascists' og:description: "There is a sinister organization that is trying to worm its way into our ranks" og:url: https://time.com/4680236/cpac-alt-right-left-wing-fascists-dan-schneider/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt178d15f702d70ef7/6988bb84196cf48cb803efbc/gettyimages-488323130.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Dan Schneider, executive director of The American Conservative Union, speaks during a briefing in the Rayburn Building on mandatory minimum drug sentences, September 15, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Top Conservative Said the Alt-Right Are Actually 'Left-Wing Fascists' twitter:description: "There is a sinister organization that is trying to worm its way into our ranks" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt178d15f702d70ef7/6988bb84196cf48cb803efbc/gettyimages-488323130.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Top Conservative Said the Alt-Right Are Actually 'Left-Wing Fascists' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=416f2ce3-f662-4207-9d04-41d47b04b4d9&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A Top Conservative Said the Alt-Right Are Actually 'Left-Wing Fascists' [Watch (HLS stream): A Top Conservative Said the Alt-Right Are Actually 'Left-Wing Fascists'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AfkB5ZnK.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2017-02-23. In a hard-hitting speech, the head of a major conservative organization argued that the so-called "alt-right" is actually just a cover for a "hate-filled left-wing fascist group" seeking to undermine conservatism._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 23, 2017 3:30 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 23, 2017 3:30 PM UTC In a hard-hitting speech, the [head of a major conservative organization](http://time.com/4679396/cpac-donald-trump-conservatives/) argued that the so-called “alt-right” is actually just a cover for a “hate-filled left-wing fascist group” seeking to undermine conservatism. Speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference just outside Washington, D.C., American Conservative Union Executive Director Dan Schneider sought to cast the [loosely organized movement](http://time.com/4569895/donald-trump-stephen-bannon-alt-right/) with ties to white nationalists that played a role in last year’s elections out of the conservative coalition. “There is a sinister organization that is trying to worm its way into our ranks and we must not be duped,” he told thousands of grassroots conservatives. “Just a few years ago, this hate-filled left-wing fascist group hijacked the very term ‘alt-right.’ That term has been used for a long time in a very good and normal way.” **Read More:** [_How Donald Trump Is Bringing the Alt-Right to the White House_](http://time.com/4569895/donald-trump-stephen-bannon-alt-right/) The speech was the latest salvo in an ongoing war among conservatives about what to do about the alt-right, which was galvanized by President Trump’s populist campaign for the White House. Some members of the American Conservative Union’s board, including President Matt Schlapp, rallied around Trump despite concerns about his breaks from conservative ideology. CPAC also controversially invited—and then disinvited—[right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos](http://time.com/4677624/milo-yiannopoulos-breitbart-resigns-pedophilia/) to give a speech at the annual event. Citing a [meeting of white nationalists](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/richard-spencer-speech-npi/508379/) in Washington in November in which attendees made Nazi salutes and yelled “Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory,” Schneider said that they “spew hatred.” “They are anti-Semites. They are racist. They are sexist,” he said. “They hate the Constitution. They hate free markets. They hate pluralism. They hate everything and despite everything we believe in.” Schneider said that conservatives value individual rights, while the alt-right are “fascists” who “want big government control to impose their will on you.” He argued that “fascism is actually more akin to socialism” and said the alt-right is “not like anybody here.” “This specific group that has hijacked a once-decent term, they are not us,” he said. “The alt-right ain’t right at all.” ## Transcript There is a sinister organization that is trying to worm its way into our ranks. Just a few years ago, this hate- filled left- wing fascist group hijacked the very term alt- right. That term alt- right, it had been used for a long time In a very good and normal way. But this group has hijacked it, hijacked the term. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] And they did it intentionally because they want to deceive the media and they want to deceive you all about what they stand for. So they can try to become normalized, and we must not allow them to be normalized. They are not part of us. They stole the term specifically to confuse us. We know who this people are. Thy met just a couple of months ago in Washington, D. C to spew their hatred and make their Heil Hitler salutes. They are anti- Semites. They are racists. They are sexists. They hate the Constitution. They hate free markets. They hate pluralism. They hate everything and they despise everything we believe in. They are not an extension of conservatism. They are nothing but garden variety left wing fascists. 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