The Landscape of Republican Politics Shifts with Extremist Tides
Once mixed support, Republican candidates are now weathering a new wave of extreme allies. In Ohio, J.D. Vance's remarkable victory marked a course change for the Republican establishment, abandoning their old ways in favor of Trumpism. Vance, the author of "Hillbilly Elegy", succeeded in overcoming Josh Mandel in the primaries and emerged as the beacon of the Mar-a-Lago team. In West Virginia, the Trump candidate, Alex Mooney, claimed victory, but in Nebraska, Charles Herbst - Trump's favorite gubernatorial nominee - failed against Jim Pillen.
A surprising development unraveled in Pennsylvania, where Trump backed television doctor Mehmet Oz. The alliance seemed perfect, but cracks began to form. Kathy Barnette, a right-wing candidate, found herself aligned with Oz and his more limited campaign funds. Don McCormick, the former hedge fund manager, also declared his support.
Barnette reveled in Trump's political ideologies and was not shy of making anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Muslim statements. In 2015, she argued that it was acceptable to discriminate against Muslims and compared rejection of Islam to the rejection of Hitler's or Stalin's ideologies. She also stated that having two men in bed, holding hands, or caring for each other was "not normal."
Barnette took advantage of her 2020 defeat in the 4th Pennsylvania District race with a baseless accusation of election fraud, clinching support from prominent right-wing figures like Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow. Former White House strategist Steve Bannon supposedly praised Barnette's victory, calling her "super."
At least in Pennsylvania, a new generation of radical Republicans has arisen, confronting the former President and his allies. Regardless of which candidate Barnette ultimately undercuts, her unexpected rise signals the direction in which the Republican Party is heading.
Though the story has taken a turn, this phenomenon is hardly surprising. This trend has influenced conservatism since the 1970s. In every generation, a new right-wing demagogue emerges, shaping this moment before eventually being overshadowed by the rising forces advocating for more extreme forms of right-wing partisanship and ideology.
Since the 1960s, the Republican Party has vacillated between the center and the right. In response to Senator Barry Goldwater's landslide loss against President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, the Republicans retrenched toward the center. However, the party has consistently moved to the right since Ronald Reagan's historic victory over President Jimmy Carter in 1980. During Reagan's first term as president, he successfully integrated right-wing conservative ideas into mainstream politics in a way that few others have managed.
Later, Newt Gingrich, a representative from Georgia, emerged as a Republican adversary in Congress. His trailblazing approach to partisanship paved the way for an uninhibited approach to political ambition and goals.
His influence is indisputable. After his first election to Congress in 1978, a group of congressional representatives who served in the House went on to win Senate seats and became known as "Senator Gingrich" as POLITIC news analyst Sean Theriot said. Theriot believes that the senators who worked with Gingrich have become more conservative and more willing to obstruct. In 1995, when Republicans took control of the House, Gingrich was, of course, elected as the Speaker of the House.
However, conservatism of the 1980s eventually gave way to a new generation of up-and-coming politicians. In the 2008 election, Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, emerged as a game-changer by criticizing the media and stirring up her supporters, creating a frenzy. It is not uncommon for people to accuse Democratic candidates like Barack Obama of being "terrorists" and using the most vile racist slurs.
Palin and her allies portrayed Reagan's conservative policies under President George W. Bush - which emphasized tax cuts, the dismissal of scientific evidence related to climate change, and the promotion of military strength abroad following 9/11 - as "Big Government against." Unlike Bush, Palin presented herself as an ordinary woman outside of the political machine.
Despite the McCain-Palin ticket's failure, the Tea Party emerged forcefully in 2010 and began governing in a style akin to Gingrich on steroids. In their first year, new representatives from the Tea Party seriously considered withholding approval of the U.S. debt ceiling, which could have triggered a government shutdown if President Obama refused to implement draconian budget cuts.
Tea Party Republicans delved deeply into the birther movement and exhibited the non-scientific and dishonest propensity of conservative media to become a powerful platform for political propaganda and disinformation. They also targeted House Speaker John Boehner, a former Gingrich ally and Republican defector, as an overambitious insider. Boehner, who had assisted Tea Party candidates leading up to the midterm elections, later criticized the Tea Party's politics and called representative Jim Jordan from Ohio a "legislative terrorist." He resigned in 2016, refusing to consider President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.
The Tea Party eventually morphed into the Freedom Caucus and became a powerful force on Capitol Hill. When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, many of its members found themselves in the administration, including Mick Mulvaney and Mark Meadows.
However, Trump surpassed even the wildest dreams of the Freedom Caucus. He attacked his enemies on Twitter and spread unchecked lies with abandon. He disrupted traditional governance procedures, flouted norms and procedures, and took every necessary step to advance his agenda.
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Sign up for CNN Opinion's new newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. There is nothing comparable to his efforts to tip the scales in the 2020 election with the "big lie" so much that it has become the equivalent of anti-communism for the conservative movement in the 1980s.
As a result, it should not be surprising that several candidates in 2022 will likely view Trump as submissive. Ultimately, they will accuse him of being content with the status quo and losing interest in challenging the political establishment.
While the Democrats continue to rally around centrist figures like President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Republicans remain firm in their support of the youngest generation of extremists. This dynamic is virtually unavoidable, as it is the story of modern Republican politics.
