Self-destructive Tide Pushing GOP Underwater

Punching Fellow Republicans and Getting on TV

There have been more than two million illegal border crossings during each of the last two years under President Joe Biden.

It should be no surprise then that a September Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 54% of Americans agree with the statement, "immigration is making life harder for native-born Americans."

Under normal political circumstances, Republicans would see an opportunity and run with the party's pro-legal but not illegal immigration bent.

Instead, before our very eyes, the lemming wing of the GOP is mucking up an opening so that the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., can get on cable TV.

Monday, MTG, as Greene is known, forced a floor vote on a resolution to impeach Biden's Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Her gambit failed in a 209 to 201 vote.

Of course, it failed. It was a stunt.

The sad part is that only eight House Republicans voted against the measure.

And the measure only made it to the floor because of crazy House GOP rules that allow one Republican to push a measure that is a waste of time, because the Democratic-controlled Senate won't pass it.

Some of the eight dissenting Republicans could find themselves in a world of hurt when they run for reelection and they have to face the wrath of constituents who think that committed conservatives have nothing better to do than fall on their swords.

So, thank you, gentlewoman from Georgia.

Savvy Democrats must love you.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., one of the GOP eight, is as conservative as they come.

Indeed, he is so old-school that he actually cares about the Constitution.

Mayorkas, McClintock offered in a statement, is "the worst cabinet secretary in American history," and his policies "produced the worst mass illegal migration ever recorded. Elections have consequences, and this is one of them."

McClintock added, the grounds for impeachment are "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

And really, when you think about it, policy disagreements are not a political crime.

After her stunt failed, Greene posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) that blasted the GOP eight.

Once again, MTG got on cable news attacking Republicans. Not Democrats.

Such is the self-destructive tide that is pushing the GOP deeper underwater.

Debra J. Saunders is a fellow with Discovery Institute's Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. She has worked for more than 30 years covering politics on the ground. She has also covered politics in Washington, D.C., as well as American culture, the media, the criminal justice system, and dubious trends in our nation's public schools and universities. Read Debra J. Saunders' Reports — More Here.