Over the course of 24 hours this week, Republican representatives voted in defense of a rookie lawmaker, a promoter of conspiracy theories known for her violent rhetoric, and a party establishment leader who voted for the political trial. and Donald Trump.
These seemingly contradictory decisions indicate that Republican leaders, especially in the lower house, are committed to creating a broad coalition of Trump supporters and haters to regain power. They also suggest that Republicans cannot or do not want to remove right-wing extremists from their ranks, whatever the wishes of some leaders.
“I think as a party, we need to figure out what we stand for,” Sen. John Thune said in urging Republicans to “stay away from members who promote conspiracy theories.”
On Thursday, Democratic lawmakers voted – something their Republican counterparts did not do the day before – in favor of stripping Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene of her seats on committees, which in fact disqualifies her from affecting the ‘passage of laws. Greene has used social media to promote racial prejudice, anti-Semitism and violence against Democrats, positions linked to the Trumpist group of conspiracy theories QAnon.
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, the Georgia lawmaker said in a speech at the venue that she stopped believing in QAnon in 2018. She refused to apologize for her specific allegations, including that a wealthy Jewish family would have used space lasers to start forest fires in California and thereby obtain economic benefits.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the face of the party, the face in the midterm elections, the face of the extremists,” Republican strategist Steve Schmidt said.
“I haven’t said any of these things since I was elected to Congress. They are words from the past and these things don’t represent me,” Greene said, and in his conclusion likened press reports to conspiracy theories. of QAnon.
QAnon’s central theory is that Democrats are linked to a global gang of sex traffickers, in addition to practicing Satanism and cannibalism.
The Republican Party is trying to leave behind the presidency of Trump, promoter of the violation of rules and inspirer of the deadly attack on the Capitol in its last days of government. Now that Democrats control the White House and both houses, the party’s political success — perhaps its own survival — depends on being able to unite its belligerent factions. Additionally, whether or not Republicans in Washington like it, those who think like Greene constitute an important sector of the party base.
The happy Democrats celebrated the obvious political dilemma of their rivals, especially after all at least 11 Republican lawmakers voted in Greene’s defense Thursday, but with their narrow majorities in the House, they face their own structural challenges in the face of next year’s midterm elections.
Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, leader of his party’s camera campaign, accused Democrats of concentrating on Greene to divert attention from President Joe Biden’s initial left-leaning measures, including aimed at combating climate change and could eliminate jobs in the fossil fuel industry.
“It’s the same tactic of QAnon that they rehearsed in 2020 and lost 15 banks,” Emmer said. “I assure them this cycle will be even worse for them.”
To appease the pro-establishment wing of the party, Republican lawmakers voted to retain the seat of Rep. Liz Cheney in the party leadership. Trump loyalists had called for his expulsion because he blamed Trump for inciting the Capitol attack and voted in favor of his political trial.
But Greene’s refusal to distance himself threatens to chase the party for the foreseeable future.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the face of the party, the face in the midterm elections, the face of extremists,” said Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, 1 co-founder of the Lincoln Project antitrump group that claims to be a heavyweight in the 2022 legislative elections.
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At the same time, the pro-democracy group Legislative Majority Forward aired a television commercial in which it accused minority leader in the lower house, Kevin McCarthy, of empowering extremists.
“QAnon’s conspiracies sound crazy, but the danger is real,” the narrator says in the warning to iron out Greene’s list of false accusations, which include denying the reality of school killings in Florida and Connecticut and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The new notice will appear in the district of California representing McCarthy and on cable TV in Washington starting Friday.
At its closed-door meeting Wednesday night, the Republican bloc listened to Greene’s explanations and gave him a standing ovation. McCarthy condemned his statements in the past, but defended his tenure on the commissions.
Despite the challenges, many Republican leaders were optimistic about their political future and see the opportunity to regain control of at least one of the chambers, if not both.
The story is on its side.
Democrats have a 10-seat majority in the lower house. Since 1994, the White House party has lost no less than 40 seats in the first midterm election for a new presidency. The exception was that of 2202, after the September 11 attacks.
But with his unified party behind Biden, at least for now, Democratic leaders said they will not allow voters to forget Republican reluctance to confront Trump extremists.
“Kevin McCarthy and his Republican bloc in Washington have just shown that they are too weak to resist the violent mob of Qnon that is consuming his party,” said Rep. Patrick Maloney, who heads the campaign branch of the democratic legislators.
“If they are too weak to do that,” he added, “they cannot be trusted to be able to do their job for the American people.”