House Republicans love to make a problem out of bigoted Democrats in Congress, and rightfully so. But their concerns fall flat when House GOP leadership continues to allow two congresspeople to tie the caucus, and the party, to white supremacist losers.
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia recently attended the America First Political Action Conference, organized by Holocaust denier and white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Greene claimed she didn’t know Fuentes or his views and never heard him speak, and yet she defended her appearance at the conference and said that she wouldn’t “cancel others in the conservative movement, even if I find some of their statements tasteless, misguided or even repulsive at times.”
Greene backtracks on speaking at a white nationalist conference which cheered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She claims she had no knowledge of the group or its anti-semitic leader before speaking to them which is just not believable. https://t.co/xYuxiDLbAe
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 26, 2022
I won’t cancel others in the conservative movement, even if I find some of their statements tasteless, misguided or even repulsive at times.
7/14
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 27, 2022
In short, Greene agrees with Democrats that white supremacists are part of the conservative movement. Is it any wonder Democrats try to make Greene one of the faces of the party?
And Greene isn’t even the first Republican member of Congress to pal around with Fuentes. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona attended the conference last year. Gosar, like Greene, thinks white supremacists are, and should be, part of the conservative movement.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to become the speaker of the House next year, had nothing to say about Gosar attending the conference. Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, denounced white supremacy in a general statement but made no mention of Greene specifically. And Greene and Gosar are still in good standing with the House GOP, most of whom voted against stripping them of their committee assignments.
Republicans can’t complain about Democratic representatives such as Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar or Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib while shrugging off the antics of Gosar and Greene. House Republicans can’t pat themselves on the back for finally forcing out former Rep. Steve King of Iowa over racism while staying radio silent on two current members who are even more brazen in their ties to white supremacist losers.
White supremacists are not and should not be part of the conservative movement, and anyone who tries to shoehorn them into it, as Gosar and Greene are trying to do, should be run out of the party. By refusing to take those steps, McCarthy and House Republicans are failing the movement and giving Democrats real justifications for their rampant accusations of racism.
