You’d think that two Republicans as extreme and reactionary as Reps. Lauren Boebert (CO) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) would be best buddies, but it turns out they can’t stand the sight of each other, according to revealing new article from Politico.
Privately, Republicans say Boebert (R-Colo.) — who’s seen as more of a party team player than Greene — detests being tied to her Georgia colleague. And when the House Freedom Caucus board of directors gathered last month at its usual spot a few blocks from the Capitol, the two tangled over Greene’s appearance at a February event organized by a known white nationalist.
Their confrontation grew so heated that at least one onlooker feared the Greene-Boebert back-and-forth might escalate beyond the verbal cage match had another board member not stepped in to de-escalate, according to a GOP lawmaker who was granted anonymity to describe what happened. The incident was confirmed by three people connected to the Freedom Caucus, whose members largely avoided public criticism of Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) at the time and focused their discontent on the event organizer, Nick Fuentes.
What’s going on inside the GOP? Are the snakes turning on each other? To answer that question, it’s instructive to consider how the Freedom Caucus came to be.
The Freedom Caucus was created for the purpose of giving more power and influence to extreme right-wing, Tea Party Republicans, and it has become an influential (and controversial) offshoot of the GOP. Conference members are even signaling they may sink House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) plans to be the next Speaker of the House if Republicans win control in the midterm elections.
However, cracks are forming inside the Freedom Caucus, and some members are already talking about bolting the group and forming their own offshoot, which could fracture congressional Republicans even further, diluting their power even if they do manage to retake the House.
The dustup between Boebert and Greene is emblematic of a larger fissure building inside the GOP in the Age of Trump and the Big Lie about the 2020 election:
In part because of those Trump acolytes’ influence, some Republicans say privately that they’re watching to see if the Freedom Caucus ends up becoming what it was designed to correct: a bloated GOP group that lacks cohesion.
Even if McCarthy does manage to become the next House Speaker, it sounds like his new job will be about as thankless and impossible as that of the proverbial cat herder.