By Brigitte L. Nacos
Nothing is surprising, when it comes to the Republican Party since most of the GOP establishment and membership bent their knees before Dear Leader Trump and the rest left because the party has left them.
When Steve Scalise, one of the founders of the super-conservative Freedom Caucus, and Jim Jordan, one of the most aggressive far-right performance artists in congress emerged as only competitors for House Speaker, it was more depressing than surprising.
On Wednesday, the Republican conference picked Scalise to be Speaker. He still needs a majority in the full chamber to win the office. Jordan wasn't a better choice and that not only because he was endorsed by Donald Trump.
Years ago, Scalise characterized himself as “David Duke without baggage.” Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, was then and remains a well-known racist and anti-Semite. Not exactly the model for someone who might win a top position in one of America’s two major parties—unless that party is the vehicle for driving Trump again into the White House.
While Trump was president, former fringe White supremacist/neo-Nazi groups made their way into the political mainstream. The 2017 “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville, Virginia, was a major public effort to bring the so-called Alt-Right under one umbrella of extremists. “Jews will not replace us,” was the battle cry of the marchers who also singled out Black counter-protesters for vocal and physical attacks.
But that was merely a prelude.
Violent neo-Nazi and White supremacist groups and individuals were among the violent insurrectionists on January 6, 2021. Like those characters, Scalise still does not admit that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
Whether Scalise becomes the House Speaker or not, his nomination by the GOP conference is a disastrous decision--especially at a time, when Israel is under attack and violent incidents against Jewish Americans are on the rise.
His ascent to the House Speaker would be even more so.
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