A major conservative magazine chief links chaos in the House of Representatives to the far-right Freedom Caucus setting a standard of “impossible purity,” he said in a New York Times opinion piece.
“National Review” editor-in-chief Rich Lowry argued Tuesday that House Republicans have been unable to live up to the standards set by a conservative group whose members include Trump's former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (a co-defendant in the racketeering case against Donald Trump), Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“The pattern was that the right, associated with the House Freedom Caucus after its founding in 2015, would hold out a standard of impossible purity, and then when leaders inevitability [sic] failed to meet it, denounce them as weak and traitorous,” Lowry wrote.
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“Some of these members consider the legislative process in and of itself corrupt, and refuse to participate even if they can increase the negotiating leverage of their own side.”
Lowry traces the origin of the caucus to the Tea Party movement, which he describes as populist, but was later discovered to have been orchestrated and funded by the libertarian billionaire Koch brothers.
Once again, Lowry says the problem was “purity.”
“The Tea Party of the 2010s seemingly reflected the same tendency toward greater conservative purity,” Lowry argues.
“Yet, it was more populist and more disaffected with the G.O.P., which is why so many of its leaders and organizations lined up so readily behind Donald Trump.”
The op-ed, which was headlined: “How the Right’s Purity Tests Are Haunting the House G.O.P.,” chastises U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz for prioritizing glitz over politics when he orchestrated the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whom Lowry describes as “a pragmatist and coalition-builder.”
House Democrats might raise an eyebrow at that last descriptor, considering McCarthy made his reputation about a decade ago as a key obstructionist against then-president Barack Obama.
"We've gotta challenge them on every single bill,” McCarthy reportedly said, “and challenge them on every single campaign."
That McCarthy ultimately toppled when bombarded by his own tactics from his own party is not the point, Lowry decrees. The point is exhaustion.
“The question for House Republicans, mired in a weeks-long demonstration of their internal dysfunction, is: Does anybody here want to play this game?”
