Having lost no less than three major elections in the last three months, some Republicans aren’t satisfied. They’ve got their eyes on losing in 2022 as well.
That’s not an exaggeration. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois was literally on MSNBC this week declaring his readiness to see his party’s electoral fortunes further decline, citing that age-old Republican truism that to lose is actually to win!
“You know what, the Proud Boys, the QAnons, they can leave,” he said Tuesday. “And if it costs us an election, great. Because then, what that gives us an opportunity to do, is, to resell to the American people what the conservative vision is.”
Liberal co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough’s heads nearly rolled off their necks; they nodded so enthusiastically with approval.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was another one eager to put his own party on blast, wading into a tiff that isn’t even in his chamber. McConnell on Monday released a severe statement indirectly criticizing Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who, like many middle-aged Americans, has a history of spending too much time on Facebook, sliding through wormholes of misinformation, and then sharing it with anyone who will listen.
Greene is a kook, of course. But the vast majority of voters have no idea what QAnon is or what the Proud Boys are. There’s a remedy for people like Greene — and it’s for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to tell her to straighten up, or else forgo committee assignments. Separately, the National Republican Congressional Committee can warn that they’ll devote no resources to her reelection campaign or perhaps even put money behind a primary challenger.
Here’s what doesn’t help: feeding into the attempt by Democrats and the news media to play up Greene’s oddities and make them the defining feature of the GOP. If Republicans’ main focus is going to be on wincing and cringing and trying to distance themselves from a weird member of their caucus, why should anyone care to vote for them? Surely there are bigger matters at hand.
McConnell unwittingly admitted as much in his statement. “This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party,” it said.
True! So, why are Republicans drawing so much attention to this?
That’s a question where Greene may have the answer. She tweeted in part on Monday against “weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully.”
That is a real thing in the GOP, as manifested in Kinzinger. She’s a kook, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.
