I always talk about the importance of leadership but there are some groups that shouldn’t be led. The National Socialist White People’s Party, for example, has problems that better leadership cannot solve. And so does the Republican Party. That’s really the only conclusion I can come to now that it’s apparent that the base is irredeemable deplorable.

Since taking office in January 2021, [Rep. Marjorie Taylor] Greene [R-GA] has raised over $7 million, making her one of the most prolific fundraisers in the entire House…

…According to four longtime Republican operatives working at senior levels on a variety of competitive GOP primaries across the nation, Greene’s endorsement in competitive 2022 Republican House and Senate primaries is not only considered as welcome, but also as one that should be actively courted—particularly in races where the nominee is likely to be decided by which candidate most animates the ultra-Trumpist grassroots.

“It is stunning,” one of these sources said. “Her popularity among much of the base and what she brings to a campaign right now is not nothing. Actually, it can be good for the candidate, and I don’t know if I would have predicted that a year ago.”

…Her continued rise in the conservative movement and in the party this election year underscores just how far the Republican Party’s mainstream is going to tolerate, if not wholeheartedly embrace, its far-right luminaries and policies—even if they’re to the hard right of Trump himself.

“If you can’t get Donald Trump, you are going to want to have MTG in your back pocket,” another one of the four operatives, who professed zero personal admiration for Greene, conceded, in discussing the most desired 2022 endorsements today.

I’ve said this before, but this isn’t so much the mainstream “tolerating” people like Marjorie Taylor Greene as the rank-and-file registered Republican voter plainly preferring Greene (and Trump) to “normal” Republican officeholders and candidates.

Being a representative of the people is always a mix between doing what your constituents want and educating or directing your constituents on where they should go. I’d never argue that a politician should simply ignore what the people think or what they demand.  But if what they demand is immoral and deranged, and you can’t change their minds, then you need to let someone else represent them. You need to walk away.

Insofar as “mainstream” Republicans are making an error, it’s in trying to adapt to a new situation that isn’t morally tenable. They want to hold onto power, but for what? So, they can be leaders in a dangerous, hateful movement?

Look, if someone thinks they can turn things around, I’ll give them the chance to try, but then they have to actually try. They can’t seek Trump or MTG’s endorsement or be silent about people who do.