WASHINGTON. On Monday, Republican Congressional leaders broke their silence on the participation of two Republicans in the House of Representatives at the far-right white supremacy conference, condemning the actions of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona.
Three days after Ms. Green appeared in person and Mr. Gosar via video link at an America First political action conference hosted by prominent white supremacist Nick Fuentes, the responses reflected growing pressure on senior Republicans to denounce extremists. in their ranks.
They followed strong condemnation from the Republican Jewish Coalition and more indirect condemnation from the Republican National Committee, and marked a rare public rebuke from Congressional GOP leaders who have more often remained silent in response to outrageous remarks and behavior from their far right. members.
By Monday afternoon, California State Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader running for speaker, told reporters at the Capitol that he considered the couple’s behavior “appalling and wrong.”
After taking the Republicans to Israel and Yad Vashem, the sacred Holocaust museum, Mr. McCarthy said he returned to Washington to find that two of his colleagues “went out and participated in a group whose leader repeatedly expressed anti-Semitic views, and chanted Putin.
“The party should not be associated anytime, anywhere with someone who is an anti-Semite,” he added, calling Ms Green’s refusal to leave the stage after Mr Fuentes praised Adolf Hitler “unacceptable.” .
His comments came shortly after Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate’s top Republican, released a statement saying, “There is no place for white supremacists or anti-Semitism in the Republican Party.”
Ms Green dismissed criticism of her involvement, initially saying she did not know who Mr Fuentes was. But on Sunday, she delivered a rambling, defiant criticism that bordered on anti-Semitism when she denounced the attackers as “Pharisees in the Republican Party,” referring to an ancient group of Jewish leaders whom Jesus called hypocrites.
“We will not be stopped by Washington DC journalists and insiders who fear the name of our Lord and relentlessly attack those of us who proclaim His name,” Ms. Green said. “We know that Christ is our only judge.”
The episode provided further evidence of the problem of extremism Republicans are facing within their ranks in what should be turbulent days for the party. President Biden’s extremely low approval ratings have buoyed his fortune and brought control of Congress within his grasp since the midterm elections in November. But the words and actions of prominent Republicans, including former President Donald J. Trump, the figurehead of the Republican Party, have put lawmakers and leaders on the defensive.
In recent days, Mr. Trump has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as “intelligent”, “genius” and “smart”, resurrecting questions on Former President’s Efforts to Withdraw Military Assistance to Ukraine to force his president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to dig up dirt on Trump’s Democratic challenger Joseph R. Biden Jr.
“It was Zelensky who became a world hero who asked for weapons, and it was the American president who hesitated to provide these weapons so that Zelensky would conduct a political investigation of his enemy,” said Utah Senator Mitt Romney. the only Republican to vote to convict Mr. Trump since his first impeachment, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union program. “It was not right. It was a violation of the duty of the president to protect our nation and defend the cause of freedom.”
Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, pressed on ABC’s This Week to refute Trump’s praise of Putin, snapped: “If you want to know what Donald Trump thinks of Vladimir Putin or any other topic I would advise you to invite him to your show.
But neither Ms. Green nor Mr. Gosar are party leaders. House stripped Miss Green of her committee duties for threatening members of the Democratic Party and formally condemned Mr. Gosar for publishing a cartoon showing him cutting the neck of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, before violently confronting Mr. Biden.
In neither case did Mr. McCarthy impose any punishment. The only Republicans in the House of Representatives who faced punishment for their words or actions were Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who were condemned by the party this month for participating in the investigation of the case January 6, 2021 Capitol attackwhich RNA called “harassment of ordinary people participating in legitimate political discussions.”
Mr McCarthy defended the censure while Mr McConnell rejected it.
In the case of Ms. Green and Mr. Gosar, the Republican Jewish Coalition, which is generously funded by powerful party donors, was quick to condemn their appearance last week at an America First conference where lawmakers shared the stage with Mr. Fuentes, an anti-Semitic Holocaust denier. who wonders why comparing Mr. Putin to Hitler was “a bad thing.”
The crowd at the conference, which took place on the fringes of the larger Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, was heard on video chanting “Putin, Putin.”
“It is appalling and outrageous that a member of Congress shares a platform with someone who is actively spreading anti-Semitic bile, mocking the Holocaust, and promoting dangerous anti-Israel conspiracy theories,” the Jewish Republican group said, adding, “There is absolutely no place in the Republican Party and the RJC will be actively stand up to anyone associated with Nick Fuentes, AFPAC and the like.”
Without naming any members, GOP National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said Sunday that “white supremacy, neo-Nazism, hate speech and bigotry are abhorrent and have no place in the Republican Party.”
Mr. Fuentes, for his part, used the flap to advertise his collection.
“After a full day of viciously attacking Marjorie Taylor Green for speaking at AFPAC last night, Donald Trump welcomes her and gives her approval from the CPAC main stage,” he wrote on his Telegram account, before inviting Mr. Trump to attend. in future.
Kenneth S. Stern, director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate at Bard College, said the moment was reminiscent of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, invaded the Republican Party and trying to push his ideas into the mainstream.
In 1991, President George W. Bush called a press conference to condemn Mr. Duke as a “charlatan” who has not earned “one iota of public trust”.
“When someone so recently supported Nazism, it is inconceivable that anyone could reasonably claim a leadership role in a free society,” he said.
On the occasion, Mr. Stern said: “I’m less worried about Marjorie Taylor Green showing up at the conference with people she should be ashamed of being with and more concerned about the inability of many people in the GOP to call out the big lie with Donald Trump.” and the 2020 elections.”
For Republicans, this is a sensitive issue. Ms Green said she will not be silenced as she addresses young activists who should be groomed for the next generation of Republican voters.
“We must educate our youth in the ways of righteousness so that they do not go astray into darkness,” she said.
And the energy of the far right is young, led by Mr. Fuentes and his Groypers. who tempered their racist language in an effort to bring their ideas of white nationalism into the mainstream.
It is also completely unclear whether the Republicans will pay for the actions in their own right.
“I have complete confidence in Kevin McCarthy,” said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Jewish Republican Coalition. “He is rock solid when it comes down to it. If he wants to resolve this issue publicly or privately, all I can tell you is that it will be resolved. It’s not something he will ignore.”
Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary and prominent Jewish Republican, called Ms. Green’s appearance “the most wrong thing to do” and “a moral line that should never be crossed.”
But he, too, expressed confidence in Mr. McCarthy.
“They went, this is their behavior,” he said. “I have 100% confidence in Kevin and the Republican leadership that, whether publicly or privately, they are doing a good job of it.”