Schism of Reality, Schism of the Republican Party By Anjeanette LeBoeuf

The failed insurrection on January 6^th  should have been a watershed moment for many to abandon the parasitic party of Trump. Sadly, after the dust and armed guards cleared, many have returned to their delusions and skewed realities. A few key Republican politicians have refused to return to the fold; Liz Cheney (WY) and Adam Kinzinger (IL) have become the most vocal in their opposition.

Those that have started to voice their concerns and positions are creating fractures and a schism is coming.  Those that are breaking away from the Trump merry-go-round have started to push back against the continual lie that the 2020 Elections were stolen, January 6^th was not an attempted insurrection, and that 2024 will be another presidential bid for Trump. Those in opposition have been highly censored and threaten with derailment of political careers and even physical harm.; which Liz Cheney has been at the forefront. Liz Cheney was one of the most ardent political supporters of Trump and his administration’s policies. She was elected the House Republican’s Chairperson in 2018 and helped to vote on countless harmful laws and policies. Cheney is not a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, Women’s Reproduction Rights, and all other social justice/equity policies. Yet something happened to her on January 6^th when she had to shelter in place. From that day on, Cheney has become the Republican voice against Trump. She was one of only 10 republicans to vote for the 2^nd Impeachment of Trump. Her vote created quite a stir amongst Congress Republicans and her own Wyoming constituents.

Liz is considered Republican political royalty. She is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Weeks after her vote to impeach, Liz Cheney was censored by her State’s Republican party and over 7 candidates have filed to run against her in the 2022 election.

She has since been stripped of her position as the House Republican Chair. After the announcement, Liz publicly stated that she would do everything in her power to ensure that Trump does not gain a second presidency, including going onto FOX News and stated that EVERYONE including FOX News needs to stop spreading the lies of a stolen election.  

On Friday May 14, it was announced that the House Republicans voted to elect Elise Stefanik to be the House Republican Chair; Stefanik is an extremely loyal Trump mouthpiece. Despite the pressures Cheney is receiving, she has continued to hold fast to her new position outside of the Trump Republican Party.   

Concurrently, there is also a large scandal and legal action brewing against House Representative Matt Gaetz. Matt Gaetz is the frat boy hype man for Trump. Gaetz has been highly aggressive during his time in Washington. If you watched any of the hearings to elect Justices Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett or the two impeachment trials, Matt Gaetz and his aggressions were on full display. Gaetz and his political track record speaks for himself. While as a Florida State House Representative, he voted to quicken state executions, voted against a bill on cyber bullying, restricted rights of immigrants, and refused to do nothing when charged to oversee policy changes after the 2012 Trayvon Martin killing.

Since 2016, Gaetz has wreaked havoc in the US House. Recently, he was one of two Republicans to vote against the anti- Asian hate crime bill, the only one to vote against stricter cyber-crimes and sex trafficking legislation. This past March, weeks after Gaetz voted against the new sex trafficking bill, it was announced that there was a large federal investigation on sex trafficking of minors that included Matt Gaetz and his close associates. The evidence that has been released/leaked are damning.

Gaetz used Venmo to pay for underage girls to be flown across state lines to be used at parties. One of his best friends/co-workers elected Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty to six charges, included wire fraud, stalking, and sex trafficking of a minor. The guilty plead is part of a plea agreement to cooperate with further investigations of other parties which still includes Gaetz. Despite the ongoing investigation, Gaetz not only is still continuing to be a member of Congress, the House Republican party has not censored him, nor placed him on probation, or taken away his committee placements.

And this post can’t end without talking about the other Trump loose cannon Marjorie Taylor Greene. Marjorie was elected in the 2020 election to represent Georgia’s 14th District. The very election to which Marjorie has claimed was rigged, false, and stolen. She even opposed her own state’s certification process despite that fact that she was elected from that same ballot. Her hypocrisy knows no bounds. Marjorie has made very public statements that are anti-LGBTQ+, antisemitic, and lacking of any scientific or even common sense. Representative Cori Bush moved her office after Taylor Greene berated her and her staff.

Her actions, statements, and presence has been highly problematic to the point that the House voted to remove Taylor Greene from her appointment committee assignments. A recently released 2019 video shows Taylor Greene with a known Jan. 6^th insurrectionist, visit House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office. On May 13^th, Taylor Greene stalked AOC as she was leaving, hurling aggressive epitaphs. Once again, we see the continual support from the Republican party despite clear violations of codes of conduct.

The current Republican Party is at a crossroads, does it stay the course headed by Trump or does it shift? Over 100 Republican politicians have announced that they will split from the Republican Party if it continues to support Trump. Its now a waiting game to see how it all plays out.

Bio

Anjeanette LeBoeuf is fully vaccinated but is still hunkering down during this pandemic and hopes all that reads this are safe and well. She is the Queer Advocate for the Western Region of the American Academy of Religion. Her focuses are divided between South Asian religions and religion and popular culture. She is focused on exploring the representations of women in all forms of popular culture and how religion plays into them. She is an avid reader of both academic and fictional works.