MAGA Republican extremism on display
Earlier this year, we noted that President Joe Biden had started using the term “MAGA Republicans” to describe his political opponents, especially the ones who are “threatening our freedoms, by attempting to cut Social Security,” threatening women’s healthcare decisions (i.e. banning abortion), banning books in schools, etc. Now, months later, President Biden, his 2024 reelection campaign team, his White House staff and other Democrats are continuing this use of “MAGA Republicans.” We think doing so is effective.
Essentially, there are two related advantages in using the term “MAGA Republicans.” First, it’s a way of saying, “look, there are plenty of reasonable Republicans with whom I can work, but there’s an extreme wing of the Republican Party that is causing problems.” And in fact, President Biden has worked with Republicans to pass major legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Safer Communities Act of 2022 (which provides mental health assistance to reduce gun violence), the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, and others, all with Republican votes (and some of which the Biden Administration even terms “Bipartisan” when referring to these laws).
Second, referring to “MAGA Republicans” is a way of driving a wedge into the GOP, possibly weakening the party. Indeed, this year we have seen evidence of such splits in the Republican Party. For example, it could be said that the rank-and-file base of the party, including the January 6, 2021 insurrectionists, are “MAGAs” who follow Donald Trump like a cult leader and who at least act like they believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, along with exhibiting an unhealthy dose of racism and bigotry. Next, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is split, with the very MAGA “Freedom Caucus” bullying the supposedly more moderate group, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy, every which way. Indeed, McCarthy just caved to the House MAGA Republicans in announcing that the House will pursue an impeachment inquiry of President Biden even though they have no evidence of wrongdoing by the President.
Then there is the U.S. Senate, where the Republicans generally are thought of as more sane than those in the House. For example, a number of Republican Senators oppose the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, to varying degrees, believing the lack of evidence will blow back on Republicans. Even there, however, some GOP Senators are more gung-ho and MAGA-like. And the most reasonable current Republican Senator, Willard Mitt Romney, just announced that he will retire when his term ends in January 2025. This comes amid reports that Romney’s Republican colleagues have ostracized him for his more moderate stances, including being the lone Senate Republican to vote to convict and remove Donald Trump when Trump was first impeached in 2020.
Finally, there are other MAGA Republicans, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who spends his time banning books, banning abortion, attacking the LGBTQ community, and fighting Mickey Mouse, instead of trying to help make life better for his constituents.
All of these Republican divisions can be exploited, and it appears that is what President Biden and his team are trying to do. The goal, of course, is to have Republicans in “disarray” (a description the press often likes to apply to the Democrats) going into the 2024 elections, and to have their identification as MAGA extremists repel the great bulk of American voters. It just might work.
Photo by Mike Licht, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/Q6A8od
