Self-described "firebrand" Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is once again at war with the rest of the Republican Party, supporting GOP candidates seeking to replace a pair of incumbents in the House.
Over the weekend, Gaetz told CNN he is more than willing to go after "Republicans dressing as Democrats in drag" if it meant saving America from the left as it burns everything down around us.
Down in Texas, Gaetz is campaigning with "AK Guy" Brandon Herrera, who is seeking to replace Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) for the Lone Star State's 23rd District.
Heritage Action gave Gonzales a 77% conservative scorecard for the 2023-2024 Congressional session and a lifetime score of 80%, which in the current state of affairs makes him a bit squishy by some standards (although Gaetz's 2023-2024 session is also 77%, but his lifetime average is higher at 87%). Granted, San Antonio Express-News pointed out that Gonzales voted in favor of tightening background checks for younger gun buyers and supported codifying same-sex marriage protections.
But that's not really the part worth mentioning here.
Gaetz is also campaigning with Darren Bailey, who tried to take Illinois out of the hands of Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) in the 2022 midterms, against Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.).
Darren Bailey, with Gaetz's help, is running on the idea that Bost is not America First despite being endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Like Gonzales, Gaetz and Bailey may have a point when it comes to Bost. Even though the guy has a 100% Heritage Action score for the 2023-2024 Congressional session, his lifetime average is 68%.
Slate (don't judge me, this was strictly for research), on the other hand, suggested that the reason for Gaetz declaring war on Bost has a personal edge.
During the turbulent period after Gaetz successfully gave Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) the boot from the speakership, McCarthy tried to speak to the rest of the House Republicans when Gaetz apparently interrupted him. If McCarthy was unhappy enough to "scream" at Gaetz, Bost was supposedly enraged, apparently advancing toward the Florida Congressman and threatening, "If you don't sit down, I will put you down."
As we internet kids say, "Wew lad."
Still, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), as House Majority Leader, probably feels like an exasperated dad trying to corral his kids who are fighting, as evidenced by a recent statement to CNN during the House GOP retreat in West Virginia.
"I’ve asked them all to cool it. I am vehemently opposed to member-on-member action in primaries because it’s not productive. And it causes division for obvious reasons, and we should not be engaging in that," said Johnson.
Personally, I have no dog in this fight (I don't even live in Gaetz's district as a Florida Man), but found it was worth discussing.
The Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the House, and it is one we cannot afford to lose. Maybe Gaetz is right in that we will need Republicans who are all totally behind Trump if/when he retakes the White House, but one cannot help but think that maybe he is campaigning against Bost out of personal spite, and his antics may turn off voters once November comes.
I'll let the Illinois readership of PJ Media decide that for themselves.
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