Nancy Pelosi just went there
At the end of the day, individual Republican members of Congress only care about their personal re-election prospects. Because the GOP is little more than the party of whiteness and evangelical malice, Republican politicians aren’t motivated to do the right thing unless they think not doing so adversely affects their re-election chances. This is one reason we hear very little Republican reprobation or consternation when the likes of Rep. Lauren Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are up to their unhinged antics. Republicans like these say the quiet parts aloud, and other Republicans haven’t yet determined how much political fallout they’ll suffer.
Boebert and Greene are becoming the face of the GOP, and this can actually assist those of us on the left. We can help ensure that Republicans like these are what everyday Americans associate with the right-wing party, and we can take some comfort in knowing that their ilk is a turnoff to the majority of the electorate. Few Republicans will call out their GOP colleagues unless they see their own re-election odds jeopardized. This gives us an opportunity to advance the narrative that the deranged factions of that party are indeed what the GOP is at its core.
Nancy Pelosi seems to have already started moving in this direction. This weekend, Speaker Pelosi smartly equated the GOP with QAnon. We can work to associate the nefarious actions of the most egregious Republicans with the party writ large, showing that those who don’t distance themselves from the lunacy are actually complicit. Politicians like Boebert and Greene are what one gets when one pairs hubris and backwardness with incompetence. That’s the face of today’s GOP, and we can make upcoming elections a referendum on the likes of Boebert, Greene, and the disfavored previous president.
