Not so long ago, right-wing congresswomen like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Nancy Mace (R-SC) were the stars of the MAGA movement. But they seem to be fading, and many of their erstwhile allies are turning on them — and that's no accident, argues Amanda Marcotte for Salon.
The ultimate problem, she wrote, is that conservative women in the Trump movement are held to an impossible and contradictory standard. They are supposed to be confrontational firebrands exactly the same way the men are — and yet the "deeply misogynist" wing of the movement doesn't care for women who are overly assertive or stand up for themselves, setting them up for failure when they inevitably have to do that as well.
All three women are currently mired in controversy, noted Marcotte. Boebert, who only barely won re-election last year, was kicked out of a theater after vaping and groping a date. Greene was kicked out of the right-wing flagship House Freedom Caucus over her perceived closeness to dismissed ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). And Mace, who recently wore a scarlet letter in a strange stunt, has been exposed by her own staff as demanding celebrity status and TV appearances.
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"It all seemed so promising for these three women when they first came to Congress in January 2021. Just combine the 'who me?' innocent-sexy act of a pageant queen with the belligerence of the nastiest troll on Twitter, and voilá! Instant MAGA stardom," wrote Marcotte. However, a few years into their congressional tenure, "their popularity is diminishing and the enemies lists are growing longer" as their outrage machine's novelty is wearing off and they are "done in by the impossible dilemma of trying to be a female leader in the deeply misogynist world of MAGA."
What that means, Marcotte continued, is that ultimately there's no long-term success for women in politics who back the Trump movement.
"Along with racism and queerphobia, hating women is central to the MAGA brand," she wrote, and that puts "hard limits" on women advancing through the ranks of the GOP today. "Not that anyone should pity them," she added. "They sold out other women for their own gain, making this a case of just desserts."
