Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “[Aneta] Becker says she is so tired of the Republican Indiana lawmakers bringing legislation here because they don’t like the Democrat city council”
ICYMI: GOP lawmakers try to wrest control over Democrat-controlled Indianapolis on everything from IndyGo to IMPD
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today chose to highlight a statement from Republican State Senator Vaneta Becker for criticizing her own Indiana Republican Party and their choice to bully city governments across the state, including Indianapolis. Ahead of the Indiana Senate’s vote to override Governor Eric Holcomb’s veto on last session’s landlord-tenant bill, Senator Becker said she was “so tired” of the INGOP’s choice to disregard their party’s “local control, small government” branding in favor of a dangerous agenda — especially during a pandemic.
While Becker’s criticism is factually true, it also exposes the ongoing splinter happening within the Indiana Republican Party. Senator Becker, Governor Eric Holcomb, and even U.S. Senator Todd Young are quickly being brushed away as irrelevant in favor of the un-American, dangerous political movement known as Trumpism.
Below highlights the latest saga within the Indiana Republican Party civil war:
State Level
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “[Aneta] Becker says she is so tired of the Republican Indiana lawmakers bringing legislation here because they don’t like the Democrat city council”
Indianapolis Business Journal: “Several other Democrats are also speaking against the veto override. Said another way: Democrats are standing up for the Republican governor’s veto. Republicans are speaking against the governor’s decision.”
Indianapolis Business Journal: “…the governor’s staff told [Becker] that even if the Senate passes a bill to eliminate the “any other aspects” language, he still has concerns.”
Indiana Public Media: “Sen. Jim Buck (R-Kokomo) called overriding the governor’s veto a “win” for the governor.”
National Level
Briggs: Todd Young can’t kick QAnon out of the Republican Party
IndyStar // James Briggs
“It’s easy to see why Republican Party establishment figures including Young and McConnell want to cast out Greene from the GOP mainstream. But it’s not their call anymore. Their time to define the Republican Party passed by them in recent years while they stayed mostly silent for the sake of keeping the party together, passing tax cuts and confirming judges.
That became clear Wednesday when Greene reportedly received a standing ovation from half of the House Republican caucus and even clearer on Thursday when only 11 House Republicans joined Democrats in voting to remove Greene from her committees. Greene in a floor speech offered assurances that amounted to confirming the sky is blue, such as telling her colleagues that ‘9/11 absolutely happened.’ Greene also claimed to have stopped believing in QAnon, saying, ‘when I started finding misinformation, lies, things that were not true in these QAnon posts, I stopped believing it.’” […]
“Now, flash back to Young two days earlier. He’s talking about the future of the Republican party as if Greene is a sideshow, a distraction, rather than what she is — an animating force that has every bit as much of a stake in the party as Young does.” […]
“That is an inspiring vision for the Republican Party and everyone should be rooting for Young to see it through. But it also suggests Young is in denial about the state of the party today, overconfident in his power to repair and protect it and blind to how much damage occurred during the past five years in which he lacked the clarity he has summoned to speak out against Greene.” […]
“If you believe Carl Bernstein’s reporting from November — and I do — then Young is among more than 20 Republican senators who felt “extreme contempt” for Trump and were glad he lost the presidential election. It would not be a stretch to imagine Young leveling his words about Greene — “nutty” and “an embarrassment to our party” — toward Trump.” […]
“It is one thing for Young to call out an extremist when that person is a powerless freshman congresswoman from Georgia. It is apparently trickier when the extremist happens to be a rich, attention-grabbing celebrity who becomes president and holds the Republican base in his hands. Indeed, the party evolved on Trump himself. Republicans blistered the former reality television host with criticism before he became president and then muzzled themselves once he took office.
Trump and his conspiracy theories sat at the head of the Republican Party table for years, leaving no leeway for sincere, well-intentioned — yet formerly quiet — Republicans to assert now that Greene is unfit to have a seat.” […]
“Young’s comments about Greene likely reflect his sincere beliefs about the Republican Party and what it should stand for. It’s fair to wonder then whether Young had similar thoughts about Trump and, if so, why he didn’t say anything. That choice suggests a lack of confidence behind Young’s assertion that Greene represents an irrelevant fringe in an otherwise strong institution.
For anyone who cares about conservative governance, this is a time to worry. The Republican Party might not be big enough for both Young and Greene, but it is not yet clear which one of them must go.”
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