Meet the GOP’s version of “The Squad”: Anti-Muslim bigot Laura Loomer; anti-LGBT, Christian sharia-law-loving Bob Good; QAnon supporter/anti-Muslim bigot Marjorie Taylor Greene; and Madison Cawthorn, who surrounds himself with white supremacist symbols and called visiting Hitler’s vacation home something on his “bucket list.”
All four of these people recently won their respective GOP primaries for Congress, and it’s expected that three of the four (all but Loomer) will win in November. As I’ve written before, Trump is not an aberration, he’s a manifestation of everything the GOP has been working toward for years. And this new wave of Republicans is the true face of where today’s GOP is heading.
Let’s be blunt: If GOP leaders really didn’t want people like this as elected officials, I’m sure we would hear them denouncing these people loudly on Fox News and talk radio the same way they slam other things they hate, like Obamacare. Their silence—except for the usual suspects of Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and a few others—speaks volumes.
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In fact, we don’t even need to speculate if the GOP is on board with their Squad since Trump has embraced these people (Cawthorn was not Trump’s candidate in that primary race, but after Cawthorn’s win, Trump called to congratulate him). Very visible GOP members of Congress have done the same, like Rep. Matt Gaetz, who worked to help Loomer win, and Jim Jordan, who called QAnon’s Marjorie Taylor Greene “exactly the kind of fighter needed in Washington to stand with me against the radical left.”
Here’s some context: In the 2020 election cycle, six QAnon supporters have won their respective GOP primaries. (QAnon is what happens when you fail out of Trump University.) But how many Black GOP members of Congress are there? Two, Senator Tim Scott and Rep. Will Hurd—and Hurd is leaving at the end of his term. That means there could possibly be more QAnon supporters in the GOP congressional caucus come January than Black GOP members.
At this point we still don’t know the full list of speakers for this week’s RNC. We do know that Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who made headlines for pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters in June, will be speaking. I’m assuming entertainment will consist of a duet by Scott Baio and Chuck Woolery. But don’t be surprised if you see the GOP’s Squad at the RNC.
The most likely “Squad” member getting some RNC love will be Loomer, who Trump teamed up with for fundraising during her primary and congratulated her as soon as she won. Loomer has been banned by just about every social media platform for spewing hate, such as declaring, “Muslims should not even be allowed to seek positions of political office in this country.”
Loomer has also praised and shared a stage with self-professed Canadian white nationalist Faith Goldy, who has infamously stated that homosexuality facilitated the Holocaust and openly recited/defended the “14-word” mantra used by white supremacists. But such an association doesn’t trouble today’s GOP. After all, Trump defended those marching with white supremacists in Charlottesville as “very fine people.”
And since Trump last week praised the people of QAnon as “people who love our country” despite warnings by the FBI that the group poses a potential domestic terror threat, don’t be surprised to see Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene make an appearance.
Then there’s 25 year-old future of the GOP, Madison Cawthorn. Trump just weeks ago appeared at one of his fundraisers. Cawthorn either loves white supremacy or is the victim of a helluva of a lot of odd coincidences. Cawthorn, who recently won the GOP nomination in what is considered a likely GOP district in North Carolina, named his real estate company SPQR, an abbreviation for a Latin phrase that means the Senate and the Roman People that has often been used by white nationalists. He also has frequently been pictured behind the 13-star Betsy Ross flag in his house, again adopted by racists, since it refers to a time when white supremacy ruled and slavery was legal.
In addition to this, his bucket list trip to the Eagle’s Nest, “the Fuhrer’s” (that’s how he put it) mountain aerie in Berchtesgaden. The Charlotte Observer noted that Cawthorn followed exactly 88 people on Twitter until he was called out. What does “88” symbolize? As the ADL notes, it’s used by white supremacists as code for “Heil Hitler” since “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet. Add to that Cawthorn recently slammed the idea of reparations as being “racist” and accused Black people of being ungrateful for even seeking them, stating, “Six hundred thousand Americans gave their lives to free slaves and you’re going to tell me that’s not enough?” Wow.
Then there’s Bob Good, who defeated a fellow Republican and sitting member of Congress in Virginia’s 5th congressional district primary in June. This self-professed “bright red biblical and constitutional conservative” not only opposes equality for LGBTQ Americans, he also opposes abortion with zero exceptions—even if the life of the mother is at risk. To be clear, Good is where the GOP base is heading on abortion.
Win or lose, these people were chosen by the rank-and-file Republicans in their districts over more mainstream Republicans. In other words, the GOP base has been Trumpified. It’s bigoted, cruel, selfish and loves conspiracies. So here’s hoping that the GOP version of The Squad is front and center at the RNC because it truly represents who the Party is, and America needs to see that.
