Marjorie Taylor Greene is sabotaging conservatives' fight against 'wokeness'


House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) got a preview Wednesday of what his life will be like if he becomes speaker next year: a fresh barrage of questions about Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.). The pair spoke at a white nationalist conference in February, an event that seemed to shock even former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and McCarthy so far won't commit to keeping them off congressional committees as repudiation.
The lawmakers' associations are a bad look for the GOP, whatever their insistence that their appearance at the conference didn't mean they share the white nationalists' views. It will become an even bigger focus of Democratic and media attention if Republicans win a House majority in November. But it also speaks to a larger debate between the left and the right that is only gaining in importance.
We are in the midst of a discussion about whether and how important national institutions, even the American founding, can be separated from the racism that was prevalent for much of our history. An increasingly vocal subset of the American left is effectively arguing this cannot be done.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That argument deserves serious conservative pushback, and the nationalist strand on the right at its best offers a robust defense of America's nationhood, sovereignty, heroes, and institutions. Making those arguments will at times require courage in the face of unfair accusations of racism. But this defense cannot be allowed to degenerate into apathy toward, or, worse, embrace of genuine racism.
If McCarthy and other mainstream Republicans want to be able to credibly push back on "wokeness" and popularized versions of critical race theory, with their expansive definitions of racism, they cannot tolerate or ignore actual racial animus in their own ranks. These left-wing trends will only grow in popularity if conservatives embody the caricature progressives would draw of them by declining to recognize the immorality of racial hatreds in all places and times, including Congress in 2021.
America's history with race, like that of other great countries, is complicated. Oversimplifying it in either direction does not help us move forward. The woke and the white nationalist need each other. Conservatives need neither of them.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
Keep the fun going with these 7 subscription gift boxes
The Week Recommends Bring the party to their mailbox
-
Babies born using 3 people's DNA are without hereditary disease
Under the radar The method could eliminate mutations for future generations
-
Crossword: July 23, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymandering
TALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
Can Texas redistricting save the US House for the GOP?
Today's Big Question Trump pushes a 'ruthless' new plan, but it could backfire
-
The Supreme Court and Congress have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairs
Talking Points Trump's budget bill and the court's ruling threaten abortion access
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
How successful would Elon Musk's third party be?
Today's Big Question Musk has vowed to start a third party after falling out with Trump
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Is Trump's military parade 'just a parade'?
Talking Point Critics see an 'echo of authoritarianism'