The suggestion that there was an “ extremist ” fever that has run its course is false .
The reality : MAGA Republicans are the Republican Party . Few Republican politicians who resisted Trumpism remain in office , while Republican office-holders who supported Trump ’ s efforts to overthrow American democracy remain the mainstay of the party .
Recall that in 2020 , even in the immediate aftermath of an insurrection that threatened the murder of Vice President Pence and House Speaker Pelosi , a large majority of Republican representatives voted to reject the results of a free and fair election .
These democracy-defying Republicans remain the core of the party . A solid majority of the Republican representatives who will assemble in Washington in January are the very same people who voted to reject the 2020 election result . There is no reason to imagine they will be more respectful of democracy in the future .
The Republican Party long ago abandoned behaving like a normal party — one which prizes democracy , accepts the verdict of the voters when it loses , and learns from defeats .
Instead , the lesson drawn by the GOP has been to prevent its opponents from voting , gerrymander legislative districts to give Republicans power even when they lose , and pack the judiciary with right-wing judges who will rubber-stamp the results .
The January 6 attack on Congress was not followed by bipartisan revulsion . Instead , the Republican National Committee defended the assault as “ legitimate political discourse ,” while Republican statehouses advanced a wave of restrictive voting laws .
In response , Democrats proposed national legislation to protect our democracy . The Freedom to Vote Act would have protected early voting and voting-by-mail , made state voter ID requirements less onerous , cracked down on voter intimidation tactics , protected voters from discriminatory practices that made some voters ( usually voters of color ) wait for hours before they could cast their ballots , protected election officials , and prevented election sabotage .
All 50 Senate Republicans voted against even debating the bill .
Since his big reelection victory , Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been touted as a more palatable standard-bearer for the GOP . But DeSantis is just Trumpism without Trump .
Under DeSantis ’ s so-called Office of Election Crimes and Security , Florida minority voters faced arrest by DeSantis ’ s voting police for “ crimes ” like helping relatives vote , giving water to voters in long voting lines , or helping people register .
DeSantis ’ s assault on voting rights aims not at voter fraud , for which he offers little evidence . Instead , it ’ s an effort to make voting as burdensome as possible and to intimidate likely Democratic voters .
A federal judge struck down many of Florida ’ s anti-voting provisions , noting the state ’ s “ grotesque history of racial discrimination .” But some voters were arrested anyway .
Beyond voting rights , DeSantis has made plain that he is totally on board with the MAGA agenda that promotes white resentment and grievance , limits free speech in schools , makes scapegoats of gay and trans people , and attacks abortion rights .
With or without Trump , the modern GOP — with its love of guns and sympathy for violence , its contempt for free elections and hatred of a free press , and its embrace of white supremacy — remains an extremist organization that threatens American constitutional democracy .
The Trial Lawyer x 79