Those who regularly return to the American Notebook already know that I’ve wanted the Republican Party to purge its troops for quite some time.
Stripping a political formation of its pernicious elements is not easy, especially when election deadlines are pressing. Pale imitations or emulators of Donald Trump, elected officials like Marjorie Taylor Greene shamelessly feed misinformation and stoke passions in a context of polarization where matches certainly should not be passed to those carrying gas cans. .
A national divorce
In a tweet that has been circulating since yesterday, the representative from Georgia spoke of the need to separate the red states from the blue states. She, like so many others, shakes the awakened scarecrow that would plague democratic states and envisions nothing less than a “national divorce.”
We need a national divorce.
We need to separate red states and blue states and downsize the federal government.
Everyone I speak to says that.
From the sick and disgusting waking culture issues stuffed down our throats to the Democrats’ treacherous America Last policy, we are… https://t.co/Azn8YF1UUy
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) February 20, 2023
From both the most progressive elected officials and the craziest Trumpists, I have read or heard many things that have puzzled me over the past few years. But for an elected official to propose this “divorce” on the very day American presidents are honored (President’s Day) marks a radicalization that was already evident during the contesting of the results of the 2020 election and the May 6 attack on the Capitol .2021.
Clearly, the far-right muse needs some history lessons and a crash course in how her country’s political institutions work. We can understand the strategic payoff of acting like a demagogue and exploiting the anger and hatred of certain voters, but this is where the exercise limits us.
The “national divorce” that took place between 1861 and 1865 is intended to remind us of the dangers and horrors of this possible separation of states. We’re not yet at the point of directly referencing violent battles or the destruction of specific regions, but we know enough not to evoke such memories.
Taylor Greene’s tweet from an elected official is not only dangerous and irresponsible, but it must be remembered that Kevin McCarthy, in a necessary compromise to win the title of speaker of the House of Representatives, defeated his colleague on two committees, including that of the National Security, has agreed.
We must condemn sharply
In my review of American media on Tuesday, I expected that elected officials, regardless of political affiliation, would agree to oppose the proposal. It goes without saying that I was not surprised by the angry tone of the Democrats, the opportunity was too good to make up for such a mistake politically.
If Democratic condemnation is strong, I’m still looking for a coherent response from the Republican Party. There is indeed a statement by Liz Cheney, who was banned from her political formation, and by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who called Taylor Greene “diabolical,” but there is no consensus within the GOP. The party is there in 2023?
