On the eve of the anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, experts say the House GOP’s failure to choose a speaker despite multiple rounds of balloting this week demonstrates the power wielded by far right extremists over both the Republican Party and the nation’s broader political atmosphere.
In the two years since former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally morphed into the January 6 mob, the movement behind the deadly riot spread out and became a more localized phenomenon, with militia groups and far right activists targeting LGBTQ people and public institutions such as school boards and libraries in their communities.
The rising tension on social media over hate speech, anti-transgender rhetoric and right-wing misinformation was punctuated by an increase in targeted violence and mass shootings targeting a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, and a LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs. Experts say the greatest threat of domestic terrorism arises from the far right, not the anti-fascist left, despite ongoing efforts by Trump and other conservatives to draw a false equivalence between the two movements.
“What we are seeing now are the ongoing results of both [January 6] and the way that Trump really opened the door for bigoted and anti-democracy groups to enter the mainstream of politics,” said Lindsay Schubiner, director of a counter-extremist program at the Western States Center, in an interview.
Bigotry and extremism are problems nationwide, but Schubiner said there is a particular history of fringe movements in western states such as Oregon, Texas, Washington and Colorado, where white supremacists have gathered for decades and routinely target liberal enclaves in cities such as Portland and Houston. Militias and “Christian nationalist” groups regularly post viral videos of their members gathering outside drag shows and other LGBTQ events and clashing with anti-fascist counterprotesters.
“The insurrection two years ago saw this coalescing of a range of bigoted and anti-democracy groups, and they have continued to work together, spreading bigotry to build political power,” Schubiner said.
Back in Congress, a group of 20 far right House Republicans leveraged the GOP’s razor-thin majority to blockade Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker, showcasing the deep ideological divisions between moderates and members who are still bristling with MAGA energy and eager to catch the spotlight. As of Wednesday, McCarthy was unable to secure a majority in six votes, with defectors rallying behind Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.
The 20 Republicans include a dozen who have denied the results of the 2020 election, and almost every incumbent voted against certifying the results despite the Trump-inspired riot on January 6. Schubiner said several prominent McCarthy defectors — including Rep. Lauren Boebert, Rep. Paul Gosar, Rep. Andy Biggs and Rep. Matt Gaetz — have embraced conspiracy theories such as the racist “great replacement” theory about immigration.
“Bigoted conspiracy theories have served as an accelerant for white nationalist and other anti-democracy movements to reach people and build power,” Schubiner said.
Still, McCarthy maintained support among other right-wing figures, including self-described Christian nationalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has complained on social media about the optics of failing to choose a speaker. Greene was likely offered plum committee assignments after being kicked off committees in the last Congress, and critics say McCarthy made a host of other concessions behind closed doors to rally the rowdy MAGA crowd behind him. So far, the Republican leader has been unsuccessful.
David Brock, president of bipartisan watchdog group Facts First USA, said McCarthy has already unleashed a “corrupt bargain” by cutting backroom deals with extremists and conspiracy peddlers.
“Whenever a final candidate stumbles into the speakership, it is absolutely imperative that the American people get transparency into what corrupt bargains were struck to gain power,” Brock said in a statement this week. “It is clear that any coming investigations or impeachments from the Republican caucus are already irreparably tainted by backroom dealing with the MAGA extremists who want to undermine democracy.”
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy