The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Republicans in Georgia are bracing for a new round of bitter infighting over a proposal being pitched by a hard-right faction of the party to block Republicans the group deems "traitors" from serving in office.
According to the AJC, Georgia Republican Assembly head Alex Johnson on Monday night tried to rally support for the proposal while also assailing what he called the "paid political class" for trying to kill it.
“Right now, they buy the seats,” he fumed. “Do we get a seat at the table or are we left with whoever bought the primaries?”
The proposal in question would give the roughly 1,500 delegates in the Georgia Republican Party the power to veto any candidate from representing the party in a general election, even if they receive the most votes in a primary race.
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However, even some right-wing Republicans who are sympathetic to the plan are now lobbying against it because they fear it could easily backfire on their own ideological allies.
Former Republican Georgia state legislator Philip Singleton tells the AJC that the establishment wing of the party could enact a takeover of the state party apparatus and then use the proposal to block far-right candidates from running under the GOP banner.
"This rule is like the Georgia GOP jumping into a lion’s den, pulling the lion’s tail and waiting to see who will get bit,” he said. “My bet is everyone.”
