Editorial: Trump's appointment of Steven Bannon signals power to alt-right

There have been two conflicting stories brewing in the week since Donald Trump shocked the world by winning the general election. The first story has revolved around Trump's encouraging  suggestions that he may ease back on some of his more extreme proposals, mentioning in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal that he would be open to keeping parts of Obamacare intact and that he had no immediate plans to follow through with a Clinton email server investigation. This narrative, which implies that a Trump presidency may be as normal as any Republican presidency, is directly contradicted by the other narrative, supported by Trump's actions. The most telling of these actions is Trump's appointment of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist in the White House. The resistance to Bannon's appointment transcends political ideology — certainly all of Trump's appointments will be illiberal, but Bannon is unique in that his belief system and practices make him fundamentally unfit as an advisor.

Before being appointed as one of Trump's campaign advisors in August, Steve Bannon was an executive chairman for Breitbart News, an alt-right news source which has featured incendiary headlines such as, "There's No Hiring Bias Against Women in Tech, They Just Suck at Interviews" and "Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler and Renegade Jew." Bannon is notorious for his nationalist sentiments and explicitly anti-semitic, racist and sexist comments. His ex-wife alleged that he did not want to send his daughters to a school filled with "whiny brat" Jews, and Bannon has repeatedly praised anti-Muslim extremists like Pamela Geller as beings "experts on Islam." And yet, Bannon is in line to be the top advisor to our next president.

Trump's appointment may not seem surprising, considering the president-elect has proven himself sufficiently sexist, racist and nationalistic on his own. But the decisions Trump makes in the White House will also be the first governing decisions he will make in his life, meaning he'll presumably be relying on his advisors heavily. Had Reince Priebus been alone in guiding Trump, certainly there would be many neoconservative decisions made. But this appointment gives the most powerful figure in the alt-right community a direct line of influence to the next president.

In the coming weeks, we may very well see Trump making more explicit appeals to the middle, where he walks back on certain comments about mass deportations or unconstitutional bans on Muslims entering the country. Some may take this as a signal that the fight is over, and that our guard can be let down. But Steve Bannon was the man giving Sarah Palin policy and campaign advice. He allowed Trump to continue making claims that challenged the legitimacy of the outcome of the general election. As long as a man like Steve Bannon is pulling the strings, we must continue fighting tooth and nail.

Contact your senators and representatives and tell them your concerns about Bannon's appointment and alt-right dogma. While Bannon is not directly confirmed by the Senate, with enough push, we can force our senators and representatives to go on record against the appointment of Steve Bannon.Some have even called for the Senate to put holds on confirming Trump's appointments unless Bannon is removed from his post. To find your local representative, go online to www.house.gov/representatives/find. Most of the time, contacting the office in your local district is much more impactful than contacting the legislative office in Washington. Calling the offices directly and organizing person-to-person meetings is most effective, while sending emails is generally easier but less direct and often less effective. Tell your representatives to take a stand against bigotry — against Bannon.

The next four years will be marked by hard-fought legislative changes, many of which could have detrimental effects on us and our loved ones. A women's right to choose, healthcare, citizenship and countless other issues hang in the balance. It is unacceptable that an alt-right nationalist will be one of our next president's top advisors.