Greene, Gaetz, And Carlson Are Moving The Overton Window
Credit: Screenshot
April 18, 2021

You probably know about this already:

In an effort to "follow in President Trump's footsteps," a new America First Caucus led by far-right lawmakers is seeking to protect "Anglo-Saxon political traditions."

The new caucus is recruiting members, reports Punchbowl News, and is appealing to a "common respect for Anglo-Saxon political traditions," including pushing for infrastructure that "befits the progeny of European architecture." Punchbowl described the materials being distributed as "some of the most nakedly nativist rhetoric we've ever seen."

The new caucus is being led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.). Republican Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas) and Barry Moore (Ala.) are also reportedly going to join the group.

Moore's office denies that he's joining the caucus, and Colorado congressman Ken Buck, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, has denounced the group. But Matt Gaetz is an eager recruit.

This comes at a time when Tucker Carlson is pushing the limits of what's acceptable in mainstream, high-profile commentary with his proud invocation of "replacement theory."

Besides injecting a lot of overt racism into the discourse, all of this drags the Overton window further to the right, so Republicans who are proud Trumpists but don't speak this way appear to be part of "the sensible center." (That's nearly all of the D.C. GOP, of course, with Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger as rare exceptions.)

If you believe the election was stolen, think President Biden should finish the Wall, and have scheduled your ring-kissing pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago but you want it known that you would never, ever join a group that invokes "Anglo-Saxon political traditions," congratulations -- Greene, Gosar, Gaetz, and Carlson are making you look like the sane, reasonable ones. Sunday talk show bookers will see nothing wrong with inviting you to appear because, hey, at least you're not one of those Republicans. And so the "center" continues to be moved further and further rightward.

Published with permission of No More Mister Blog Spot.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon