Yesterday, we saw the birth of yet another G-O-TEA political stunt. Yet now, even this is on its way to being derailed. Even as they released their stunt with plenty of pomp and circumstance, it was being castigated... By many of their own.
And that's not all. Oh, yes. That's right. Queue Rep. Steve King (R-Crazytown).
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Last month, we looked at G-O-TEA efforts to win future elections by simply winning over more white voters. So far, it seems like they're deciding this is their path of least resistance. And they still fail to see how this is already coming back to bite them in the ass.
It's already happening now. The 21st Century Know Nothings are even objecting to Republican induced immigration stunts! And again, they're already succeeding in forcing House Republican "leaders" to keep away from CIR. Even though they claim to reject Steve King's xenophobic stink bombs, they're ultimately letting him call the shots on immigration policy.
To be sure, House GOP leaders eventually got around to criticizing King's comments last night, just as they did in March when another House Republican lawmaker used the "wetbacks" slur.
But soon after, King doubled down on his remarks, appearing on an Iowa radio show to say, "It's not something that I'm making up. This is real."
And while King keeps talking, and party leaders keep wringing their hands, it's worth appreciating the political circumstances that have brought us to this point. Note, for example, that the right-wing Iowan may come across as a racist buffoon that the American mainstream finds repulsive, but at this point, he's winning -- King has been fighting to kill comprehensive immigration reform, and by all appearances, House Republican leaders intend to hand him and his allies the outcome they prefer.
In other words, as ridiculous as Steve King appears, he and his kooky friends are shaping the House Republican caucus' position on immigration policy, largely because Boehner and his friends are too inept to lead.
They're not interested in sound policy. And at this point, they're not even interested in smart politics. At this point, the inmates are taking over the asylum.
But then again, House Republicans have even been objecting to basic governance. Is it any surprise they don't mind seeing bipartisan immigration reform legislation die on their vine? As long as they keep surviving G-O-TEA primaries and feeling good about ginning up more xenophobia to scare more older straight white Christian voters (aka "Sarah Palin's Real America") onto their side, that's all that matters.
They still don't realize they're in for a(nother) rude awakening. I guess this is what happens when one party panders relentlessly to crazy people.
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