Republicans are finally getting clued in that GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn hates them just as much as he hates everyone else in Washington DC and maybe that he hates Republicans even more, and the fact he's only 26 years old and believes he's the smartest person in the room all the time means he hasn't picked up experience or wisdom enough to actually keep his government job.
When House Republicans gathered on the baseball field Friday morning for their weekly practice, members were abuzz about one topic: Rep. Madison Cawthorn.
The North Carolina Republican infuriated members of his own party this week for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "thug" and the Ukrainian government "incredibly evil" -- comments that surfaced just days before Zelensky made a passionate plea to Congress on Wednesday for more help in defending Ukraine against Russia's bloody assault on the country.
"It was the talk of baseball practice today," Rep. Roger Williams, a Texas Republican who coaches the GOP baseball team, told CNN. "It's not the time to toss accusations around like that ... What I would just say is, I wish he hadn't said it. That was the general sentiment (at practice.)"
Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina, who has not been shy about calling out his colleagues after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump last year, was even more pointed in his criticism.
"Madison Cawthorn has said he is here for PR and not legislating. I don't think he's a serious legislator," Rice told CNN. "I think he's more interested in throwing bombs than he is in actually trying to help the country."
"I don't think he has very much respect for the Republican conference or anywhere else," he added. "He's living in a dream land."
Cawthorn's latest comments have put GOP leaders in an awkward spot -- just as they're trying to show a unified front against Russia and paint President Joe Biden as weak against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The remarks from a freshman firebrand with the ear of former President Donald Trump risks undermining their anti-Russia position, and critics have seized on Cawthorn's most recent behavior to accuse the GOP of echoing Kremlin talking points and acting sympathetic toward Putin.
Now, lawmakers from across the conference -- including members of Republican leadership -- are dumping criticism on Cawthorn and racing to distance themselves from his remarks.
"Madison is wrong, if there's any thug in this world it's Putin," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said at his weekly news conference on Friday, though he said he's still supporting Cawthorn's reelection bid. "You just watched Putin directing Russia bomb a maternity ward. We watched yesterday in a theater that's identified in the front and the back from the air that you're housing children -- bombed. This is atrocious, this is wrong, this is the aggressor, this is the one that needs to end this war. This is the one that everybody should unite against."
Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the head of the House GOP's campaign committee, called Cawthorn's remarks "unfortunate."
Asked if Cawthorn is a productive member of the conference, Emmer didn't answer directly.
"I'm not gonna comment on this," Emmer added. "I'm focused on one thing and that is winning back the majority and making sure that we stay focused on the issues that matter."
Now the reality is that other Republicans are just as awful, if not even worse, than Cawthorn. The difference is Republican bomb-tossers like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert also come with millions of dollars of national fundraising, something Cawthorn isn't quite as good at. He's in fact broke at this point, having spent his $2 million fundraising haul already on ads.
Most politicians stop digging when they are in a hole. Not Cawthorn. He arrived late to Zelensky’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, missing half of the moving appeal. He went on to oppose the multibillion-dollar package of humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine that Congress overwhelmingly passed. He has signaled his opposition to supporting Ukraine, tweeting that the future of the Republican Party is “Anti-Warmonger” and against “endless wars” and “RINOs.” He can disparage Putin all he wants, but Cawthorn has shown that he thinks supporting a democratically elected government invaded by a brutal dictator is “warmongering.” I wonder what he would have thought of the Cold War.
Most Republicans disagree with Cawthorn. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans think it’s a good idea to send Ukraine weapons, and 80 percent say Ukraine is either an ally or a friend of the United States. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans say Russia is either an enemy or unfriendly, and 83 percent sympathize more with Ukraine in its war than with Russia. Sixty-eight percent also have a favorable view of Zelensky. It’s political malpractice to be on the wrong side of your constituents on such a high-profile issue, yet that’s exactly what Cawthorn has done.
Cawthorn will surely say he has nothing to worry about. Indeed, his campaign has already put out a poll showing him with 62 percent support in his primary bid. But Cawthorn’s recent comments will likely make that old news. He has yet to face the negative ads his well-funded opponents will run castigating him for his actions and his views. Who knows what his constituents will think after that barrage?
Cawthorn, even if he loses this year, will only end up running for statewide office eventually. He's only 26. He has years to craft a Senate or Governor campaign. Even 20 years from now he'll be...my age now. Older, wiser, and far more dangerous. The reality is however that all of his House GOP "friends" support his re-election.
He's burning bridges now, but he figures the rest of the GOP will be long gone and that he'll outlast them anyway.
He's nearly assuredly correct.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment