Sarah Huckabee Sanders may have a point – America’s new political choice really could be between “normal or crazy.”
But after a wild week in Washington, it’s fair to ask who is on each side of the line the Arkansas governor drew in her Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Two days later, it seems Republicans triggered their own trap.
The unspoken purpose of Biden’s theatrical delivery on Tuesday night, and much of his presidency, is to ask Americans who the real extremists are. And the GOP’s behavior before, during and after his big night appears to be offering an emphatic answer – to moderate voters at least – as Republicans tolerate election deniers and use their investigatory muscle on topics that aren’t top of mind for most Americans.
Sanders spoke moments after Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was on her feet yelling “liar” at Biden, with the House chamber sounding more like a heckler-filled late-night comedy club than a solemn state occasion. New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was seen trying to shush his ruder lawmakers, but he was among those Republicans who voted not to certify Biden’s 2020 election victory over false claims of fraud. And it was McCarthy who embraced ex-President Donald Trump after his baseless claims of a stolen election incited an unprecedented insurrection at the US Capitol. More recently, he appeased untamed elements of his party to squeeze into power last month.
The new House majority is also grappling with the distraction of serial fabulist George Santos, the New York congressman who was caught lying about his education, his job resume and his family background. His fellow New York Republican, freshman Rep. Nick LaLota, told CNN on Wednesday, “Every time I have to come to something like this and talk about George Santos, I can’t talk about what…
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