At the top of that list is a more informal concession made by McCarthy: legitimizing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). McCarthy did this in the name of trying to fight the conspiratorial right that she effectively leads.
Increasingly, the right is beginning to take into account the predictable downsides of this situation.
Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-N.C.) comments on CNN Tuesday were particularly biting. Amid Greene’s efforts to oust McCarthy’s successor, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Tillis called her a “waste of time” and a “horrible leader.”
“She brings our mark down,” Tillis said. “It is she – not the Democrats – who poses the greatest risk to us returning to the majority.”
Tillis added: “I’m embarrassed that I lived geographically in her neighborhood at one point before she got there. »
Greene’s fights against Johnson and Ukraine aid, among other issues, like the TikTok ban, have also earned her increasing criticism from right-wing media:
- On Sunday, the cover of the New York Post read “NYET, MOSCOW MARJORIE.” (Nyet means no in Russian.) He has recently published articles calling her “Putin’s useful idiot” and calling her plot against Johnson a “case of madness.”
- A Fox News opinion columnist wrote an article last week titled: “Marjorie Taylor Greene is an idiot. She’s trying to destroy the GOP.
- The Wall Street Journal editorial board – like the New York Post and Fox, owned by the Murdoch media empire – recently christened her “Rep. Mayhem Taylor Greene” and said that she “and her crew of vandals would rather scream and throw soup at the walls.”
- Even the staunchly pro-Trump Newsmax recently published an article asking, “Who put Marjorie Taylor Greene in charge?” »
Republicans have criticized Greene before — often somewhat obliquely — but McCarthy’s bid for president in early 2023 served as something of a clarifying moment for her and the party.
The tenor of other Fox News coverage of Greene has also been skeptical of late.
Last month, Fox host Laura Ingraham aired a clip of Greene talking about China’s purchase of American farmland and joked, “I’m losing that thinking van over there.” may God bless her.”
On Sunday, Greene even got a skeptical interview from frequent MAGA booster Maria Bartiromo.
“How does this lead to President Trump’s re-election?” How does this lead the American people to believe that Republicans can govern? Bartiromo asked Greene, later adding, “I guess what I’m saying is how does this help maintain a majority in the House?” How does this help you elect your candidate – you know, your candidate? »
She also pressed Greene on her plan for what would happen after Johnson’s ouster, ultimately concluding that Greene had avoided her question. “Well, with all due respect, you didn’t give me a plan for the role of speaker,” Bartiromo said.
The same day on Fox, former Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said a Greene remark “sounds like a Democratic attack ad.” Former Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) added: “Yes. I haven’t heard the name (House Democratic Leader) Hakeem Jeffries come off his lips and talk about his frustration with Democrats.”
This is the content of much of the criticism. It’s not so much that Greene was an extreme conspiracy theorist who once unabashedly appeared at a conference hosted by a white nationalist — Republicans made peace with all that a long time ago. This is because it suddenly plays into the hands of Russia and the Democrats. The fear of intra-party discord that she uses to elevate herself suddenly becomes very real with just over six months until the 2024 elections.
But we’ve realized for some time that he’s someone Republicans shouldn’t associate their brand with. Greene isn’t even particularly popular with the Republican base; an early 2023 poll showed his standing among Republicans (30% favorable, versus 19% unfavorable) was better than that of current former Congressman George Santos (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) among a list of 11 top Republicans. She was one of the GOP’s biggest underperformers in the 2022 election.
His current crusade isn’t particularly in line with the GOP base either; a Monmouth University poll Wednesday showed that only 20 percent of Republicans want Johnson to step down. 32 percent oppose it and 47 percent have no opinion.
As I wrote at the time McCarthy mentioned Greene: “There is no doubt that she will test the wisdom of GOP leaders’ newfound affection for her. »
But there was (very) short-term politics at stake. It didn’t work for McCarthy. It doesn’t really work for his party either.
washingtonpost
